''Raffles'' is a 1939 American

crime comedy film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

starring

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

and

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

, and is one of several film adaptations of an 1899 short story collection by

E. W. Hornung Ernest William Hornung (7 June 1866 – 22 March 1921) was an English author and poet known for writing the A. J. Raffles (character), A. J. Raffles series of stories about a gentleman thief in late 19th-century London. Hornung was educa ...

, ''

The Amateur Cracksman ''The Amateur Cracksman'' is an 1899 short story collection by E. W. Hornung. It was published in the UK by Methuen & Co., London, and in the US by Scribner's, New York.Rowland, p. 280. Many later editions ( T. Nelson & Sons, 1914; University of ...

''.

Plot

A.J. Raffles, the celebrated

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, is welcomed in the parlours and country estates of

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

. This circumstance he uses to his advantage in his secret career as "The Amateur Cracksman", a master

burglar Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murd ...

and

safecracker Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe without either the combination or the key. Physical methods Different procedures may be used to crack a safe, depending on its construction. Different procedures are required to open different safes ...

who remains always one step ahead of Scotland Yard. An old school friend,

Bunny Manders Harry Manders (almost exclusively known as Bunny Manders) is a fictional character in the popular series of Raffles stories by E. W. Hornung. He is the companion of A. J. Raffles, a cricketer and gentleman thief, who makes a living robbing the ...

, reintroduces Raffles to his sister, Gwen, with whom Raffles had been infatuated a decade ago. Raffles falls in love with her all over again, and she with him. When Bunny confides a crushing gambling debt over which he is considering suicide, Raffles assures him the money can be obtained. He plans to accept a weekend invitation to the country house of Lord and Lady Melrose; Lady Melrose's famous jewelry can easily solve Bunny's problem. However, another guest is Inspector MacKenzie ''incognito'', who strongly suspects Raffles of being the Cracksman. Raffles plots to frame a

petty criminal A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

with the theft, but keep the jewelry for himself.

Cast

as A.J. Raffles *

as Gwen Manders * Dame

May Whitty May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the third of seven months to have a length of 31 days. May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May ...

as Kitty, Lady Melrose *

Dudley Digges Sir Dudley Digges (19 May 1583 – 18 March 1639) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. Digges was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia ...

as Inspector Mackenzie * Douglas Walton as

E. E. Clive Edward Erskholme Clive (28 August 1879 – 6 June 1940) was a Welsh stage actor and director who had a prolific acting career in Britain and America. He also played numerous supporting roles in Hollywood movies between 1933 and his death. Biog ...

as Barraclough, Raffles' butler *

Lionel Pape Edward Lionel Pape (17 April 1877 – 21 October 1944) was an English born stage and screen actor. His acting career begun in his native UK with eventual migration to the US. He appeared on the Broadway stage in over 20 productions between 1 ...

as George, Lord Melrose * Peter Godfrey as Harry Crawshay *

Gilbert Emery Gilbert Emery Bensley Pottle (June 11, 1875 – October 28, 1945), known professionally as Gilbert Emery, was an American actor who appeared in over 80 movies from 1921 to his death in 1945. He was also a playwright, author of seven Broadway pla ...

as Bingham *Hilda Ploughright as Wilson, Lady Melrose's lady's maid *

Margaret Seddon Margaret Seddon (November 18, 1872 – April 17, 1968) was an American stage and film actress. Biography She appeared in more than 100 films between 1915 and 1951. Her most memorable role was perhaps as one of The Pixilated Sisters, a come ...

as Maud Holden *

Leyland Hodgson Leyland Hodgson (5 October 1892 – 16 March 1949), also known as Leland Hodgson, was an English-born American character actor of the 1930s and 1940s. Born in London on 5 October 1892, Hodgson entered the theater in 1898. In his early 20s, Ho ...

as Bobby *

Leonard Carey Leonard Carey (25 February 1887 – 11 September 1977) was an English character actor who very often played butlers in Hollywood films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. He was also active in television during the 1950s. He is perhaps best known f ...

as Bingham's Secretary (uncredited) * James Finlayson as Hansom Cab Driver (uncredited) *

Gibson Gowland Gibson Gowland (4 January 1877 – 9 September 1951) was an English film actor. Biography Gowland was born in Spennymoor, County Durham. He started work as a sailor and later became the mate on a ship. For several years from the age of 25 he ...

as Villager (uncredited)

Source material

There are several differences from Hornung's short stories. The plot takes inspiration from the 1898 short story " Gentlemen and Players," in its inclusion of Inspector Mackenzie, a

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

setting, and the centrality of a necklace theft.

, described as an only child in the series, has a sister named Gwen, who is Raffles' love interest. The 1939 movie was based heavily on the 1930 film ''Raffles'' starring Ronald Colman, which was reported at the time as part of a larger strategy to remake Colman films starring Niven.

Production history

Screenplay

Sidney Howard Sidney Coe Howard (June 26, 1891 – August 23, 1939) was an American playwright, dramatist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for ''Gone with the Wind''. ...

was given credit as co-author of the screenplay with

John Van Druten John William Van Druten (1 June 190119 December 1957) was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observation ...

, due to his having been the writer of the 1930 version. Howard had died four months prior to the release of this film.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

may also have worked on the script, as he is mentioned by Niven in his 2nd memoir, but Niven suggests Fitzgerald may actually have been working on his final novel - The Last Tycoon

Filming

Olivia de Havilland, under contract with Warner Brothers at the time, was "lent" to Goldwyn for the film in April 1939. As

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began during filming, and Niven was a British citizen, it was rumored that the project would have to be suspended if Niven were called up for the army. Due to an accelerated schedule, by October 1939, filming had been completed and Niven left for England. It was rumored that there would be a sequel if Niven returned from England, but this film was not made.

References

External links

* * * * {{Sam Wood 1939 films 1930s crime comedy films American adventure comedy films American black-and-white films American crime comedy films American romantic comedy films American heist films Works based on A. J. Raffles Films based on British novels Films directed by Sam Wood United Artists films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films