Ronald Colman, the well-known cricketer, is staying at the stately home of Lord Frederick Kerr, when Inspector David Torrence of Scotland Yard shows up. The Amateur Cracksman is set to hit the join this very evening. It is already apparent to the audience that Colman is the thief, although how Scotland Yard has gotten wind of it is never revealed.
It's based on E. W. Hornung's play and carried on Colman's charming and offhanded manner; throughout the 1930s this would deepen into a melancholy acceptance of fate. For the moment, though, it's more of an attitude of playing the game. The movie struggles with dialogue that is more arch than witty, even with a cast that includes Kay Francis, and Allison Skipworth.
Still, George Fitzmaurice demonstrates his visual flair with the robbery of Miss Skipworth's necklace shot with only a couple of incidental background noises. This was the period before major pictures came with sizable scores, and the movie makers often seemed insistent on making sure the audience knew this was a modern, talking picture by filling up every frame with noise. Later directors took note, and so we have the central robberies in caper films like RIFIFI and TOPKAPI presented without any blather or music.
It's based on E. W. Hornung's play and carried on Colman's charming and offhanded manner; throughout the 1930s this would deepen into a melancholy acceptance of fate. For the moment, though, it's more of an attitude of playing the game. The movie struggles with dialogue that is more arch than witty, even with a cast that includes Kay Francis, and Allison Skipworth.
Still, George Fitzmaurice demonstrates his visual flair with the robbery of Miss Skipworth's necklace shot with only a couple of incidental background noises. This was the period before major pictures came with sizable scores, and the movie makers often seemed insistent on making sure the audience knew this was a modern, talking picture by filling up every frame with noise. Later directors took note, and so we have the central robberies in caper films like RIFIFI and TOPKAPI presented without any blather or music.