Kay Francis plays a bored rich lady who, frankly, is a bit of a selfish weasel. Despite having a rich and doting husband, she has affairs and is constantly bored (in psychological terms, perhaps she's a Borderline Personality). Then, when she and her husband and lover are caught in the middle of a jewel robbery, she is suddenly smitten by the seemingly gallant thief (William Powell).
In the 1930s, there were several films about gentlemen thieves and the women who loved them. The best of these, by far, was Ernst Lubitsch's TROUBLE IN PARADISE and ONE WAY PASSAGE (also starring William Powell and Kay Francis) was great but unfortunately JEWEL ROBBERY isn't up to the quality of these other films. It's sad, too, as the thief is played by one of my favorite actors, William Powell. He handles the role just fine, but is definitely inhibited by the talkiness of the script and rather confined atmosphere. It really seems obvious when watching it that this was once a play, as there just isn't much action or energy. Because of this, it is watchable but also seems a bit silly and stagy.
By the way, if you see this film, you'll see that Powell gives marijuana to those he robs and they smoke it--not knowing what it is. Seeing them light up and almost instantly become stoned is both shocking because they'd put this in the script and silly because no one gets that goofy that quickly. Because this film was made during the so-called "Pre-Code" era, some Hollywood films definitely pushed the envelope--featuring adultery, drugs, strong sexual innuendo, nudity and questionable language/gestures. The way adultery and drug use are glamorized in this film will definitely surprise many modern viewers, as they probably didn't know they dealt with such topics in the early 30s.
In the 1930s, there were several films about gentlemen thieves and the women who loved them. The best of these, by far, was Ernst Lubitsch's TROUBLE IN PARADISE and ONE WAY PASSAGE (also starring William Powell and Kay Francis) was great but unfortunately JEWEL ROBBERY isn't up to the quality of these other films. It's sad, too, as the thief is played by one of my favorite actors, William Powell. He handles the role just fine, but is definitely inhibited by the talkiness of the script and rather confined atmosphere. It really seems obvious when watching it that this was once a play, as there just isn't much action or energy. Because of this, it is watchable but also seems a bit silly and stagy.
By the way, if you see this film, you'll see that Powell gives marijuana to those he robs and they smoke it--not knowing what it is. Seeing them light up and almost instantly become stoned is both shocking because they'd put this in the script and silly because no one gets that goofy that quickly. Because this film was made during the so-called "Pre-Code" era, some Hollywood films definitely pushed the envelope--featuring adultery, drugs, strong sexual innuendo, nudity and questionable language/gestures. The way adultery and drug use are glamorized in this film will definitely surprise many modern viewers, as they probably didn't know they dealt with such topics in the early 30s.