Raffles (1930 film)
Encyclopedia
Raffles is a film starring Ronald Colman
as the popular title character
, a gentleman who is also secretly a notorious jewel thief. Kay Francis
plays the woman who Raffles falls in love with. It is based on the 1906 play Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman by E. W. Hornung and Eugene Wiley Presbrey, which was in turn adapted from the 1899 novel of the same name by Hornung.
Oscar Lagerstrom
was nominated for a Academy Award for Sound
, Recording.
An earlier film version was released in 1925 by Universal Studios
and a 1939 film version
starred David Niven
in the title role.
) tries to commit suicide because of a gambling debt he cannot repay, Raffles decides to take on one more job for Bunny's sake. He joins Bunny and Gwen as guests of Lord and Lady Melrose, with an eye toward acquiring the Melrose necklace, once the property of Empress Joséphine
.
Complications arise when a gang of thieves also decides to try for the necklace at the same time. Inspector Mackenzie of Scotland Yard
(David Torrence
) gets wind of their plot and shows up at the Melrose estate with his men. Burglar Crawshaw breaks into the house and succeeds in stealing the jewelry, only to have Raffles take it away from him. Crawshaw is caught by the police, but learns his robber's identity.
Meanwhile, both Gwen and Mackenzie suspect that Raffles is the famous jewel thief. When the necklace is not found, Mackenzie insists that all the guests remain inside, then quickly changes his mind. Gwen overhears Mackenzie tell one of his men that he intends to let Crawshaw escape, expecting the crook to go after Raffles and thereby incriminate him. She follows Raffles back to London to warn him.
Crawshaw does as Mackenzie anticipated. However, Raffles convinces Crawshaw that it is too dangerous to pursue his original goal with all the policemen around and helps him escape. Then, Raffles publicly confesses to being the Amateur Cracksman. When Lord Melrose shows up, Raffles reminds him of the reward he offered for the necklace's return (conveniently the same amount that Bunny owes) and produces the jewelry. Then, he outwits Mackenzie and escapes, after arranging with Gwen to meet her in Paris.
, this was the last film that Samuel Goldwyn
made in both a silent and talking version.
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
as the popular title character
A. J. Raffles
Arthur J. Raffles is a character created in the 1890s by E. W. Hornung, a brother-in-law to Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, a deliberate inversion of Holmes — he is a "gentleman thief," living in the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing...
, a gentleman who is also secretly a notorious jewel thief. Kay Francis
Kay Francis
Kay Francis was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the number one female star at the Warner Brothers studio, and the highest paid American film actress...
plays the woman who Raffles falls in love with. It is based on the 1906 play Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman by E. W. Hornung and Eugene Wiley Presbrey, which was in turn adapted from the 1899 novel of the same name by Hornung.
Oscar Lagerstrom
Oscar Lagerstrom
Oscar Lagerstrom was an American sound engineer. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Sound Recording for the film Raffles.-External links:...
was nominated for a Academy Award for Sound
Academy Award for Sound
The Academy Award for Sound Mixing is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most euphonic sound mixing or recording, and is generally awarded to the production sound mixers and re-recording mixers of the winning film. Compare this award to the Academy Award for Sound Editing...
, Recording.
An earlier film version was released in 1925 by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
and a 1939 film version
Raffles (1939 film)
Raffles is a 1939 film starring David Niven and Olivia de Havilland. It is one of several film adaptations of an 1899 novel by E. W. Hornung, Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman. Sidney Howard wrote the screenplay for the 1930 version, died in 1939, and was given credit as co-author of the screenplay...
starred David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
in the title role.
Plot
Gentleman jewel thief Raffles (Ronald Colman) decides to give up his criminal ways as the notorious "Amateur Cracksman" after falling in love with Lady Gwen (Kay Francis). However, when his friend Bunny Manders (Bramwell FletcherBramwell Fletcher
Bramwell Fletcher was a British stage, film, and television actor....
) tries to commit suicide because of a gambling debt he cannot repay, Raffles decides to take on one more job for Bunny's sake. He joins Bunny and Gwen as guests of Lord and Lady Melrose, with an eye toward acquiring the Melrose necklace, once the property of Empress Joséphine
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...
.
Complications arise when a gang of thieves also decides to try for the necklace at the same time. Inspector Mackenzie of Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
(David Torrence
David Torrence
David Torrence was a Scottish-born film actor. His birth name was David Tayson. He appeared in 104 films between 1913 and 1953. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame....
) gets wind of their plot and shows up at the Melrose estate with his men. Burglar Crawshaw breaks into the house and succeeds in stealing the jewelry, only to have Raffles take it away from him. Crawshaw is caught by the police, but learns his robber's identity.
Meanwhile, both Gwen and Mackenzie suspect that Raffles is the famous jewel thief. When the necklace is not found, Mackenzie insists that all the guests remain inside, then quickly changes his mind. Gwen overhears Mackenzie tell one of his men that he intends to let Crawshaw escape, expecting the crook to go after Raffles and thereby incriminate him. She follows Raffles back to London to warn him.
Crawshaw does as Mackenzie anticipated. However, Raffles convinces Crawshaw that it is too dangerous to pursue his original goal with all the policemen around and helps him escape. Then, Raffles publicly confesses to being the Amateur Cracksman. When Lord Melrose shows up, Raffles reminds him of the reward he offered for the necklace's return (conveniently the same amount that Bunny owes) and produces the jewelry. Then, he outwits Mackenzie and escapes, after arranging with Gwen to meet her in Paris.
Cast
- Ronald ColmanRonald ColmanRonald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
as A.J. Raffles - Kay FrancisKay FrancisKay Francis was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the number one female star at the Warner Brothers studio, and the highest paid American film actress...
as Gwen - Bramwell FletcherBramwell FletcherBramwell Fletcher was a British stage, film, and television actor....
as Bunny - Frances DadeFrances DadeFrances Dade, also known early in her career as Lorelei Lee, was an American film actress of the late 1920s and 1930s....
as Ethel Crowley - David TorrenceDavid TorrenceDavid Torrence was a Scottish-born film actor. His birth name was David Tayson. He appeared in 104 films between 1913 and 1953. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame....
as Inspector McKenzie - Alison SkipworthAlison SkipworthAlison Skipworth was an English stage and screen actress. She was born Alison Mary Elliott Margaret Groom in London....
as Lady Kitty Melrose - Frederick KerrFrederick KerrFrederick Kerr was a British actor who appeared on stage in both New York City and London, and in British and American films; he also worked as a major theatrical manager in London.-Early life:...
as Lord Harry Melrose - John Rogers as Crawshaw
- Wilson Benge as Barraclough
Production
According to Robert OsborneRobert Osborne
Robert Jolin Osborne is an American actor and film historian best known as the primary host for Turner Classic Movies, and previously a host of The Movie Channel.-Life and career:...
, this was the last film that Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
made in both a silent and talking version.