Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman | |
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Directed by | George Irving |
Written by | Anthony P. Kelly (scenario) |
Based on | The Amateur Cracksman 1899 novel by E. W. Hornung Eugene Wiley Presbrey (1906 play) |
Produced by | L. Lawrence Weber |
Starring | John Barrymore Evelyn Brent Frank Morgan Mike Donlin Christine Mayo |
Cinematography | Harry B. Harris |
Production companies | Hyclass Producing Company L. Lawrence Weber Photo Dramas |
Distributed by | Hiller & Wilk (on State's Rights basis) |
Release date |
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Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman is a 1917 American silent film starring John Barrymore and Evelyn Brent. The movie also co-stars Frank Morgan and Mike Donlin, and was directed by George Irving. [1] The film has been released on DVD. [1] [2]
As described in a film magazine, [3] A. J. Raffles (Barrymore), a highly educated crook with entree to the best social circles, steals for the love of it and the thrill of the chase, enjoying outwitting the police and amateur detectives. An international swindler who has possession of a priceless "rose pearl" takes passage on a steamship and Raffles does likewise. Miles from land, Raffles determines that the swindler has hidden the pearl in a cavity in his shoe. After getting the pearl, Raffles empties a cartridge from his revolver and puts the pearl inside. There is an outcry over the theft, and on searching Raffles' cabin, a ship's officer takes the gun and removes all of the cartridges. Raffles grabs the cartridges and places them in his mouth and then jumps overboard, swimming to land. During his escape he was seen by Mrs. Vidal (Mayo), an English society woman with whom he had been flirting. Raffles reappears in London, mixing with the upper class, where he is recognized by Mrs. Vidal. She falls in love with him and attempts to force him to love her by threatening to tell of his past theft. Raffles defies her. The famous diamond necklace of Lady Melrose (Brundage) disappears while Raffles is a guest of the house. Mrs. Vidal immediately suspects that Raffles is the thief and again threatens to expose him, but he laughs at her. George Bedford (Perry), an amateur detective, declares that he will find the thief responsible for the Melrose robbery and even makes a bet with Raffles that the thief will be arrested. Bedford is sure that Raffles is the thief. Raffles then uses some ingenious methods to get the diamond necklace out of his possession, but still have it at his disposal when needed. Finally, after Bedford loses the bet, and gives Raffles his winnings of £150, which Raffles passes on to Bunny to cover a bouncing cheque Bunny had made out, Bedford tries to arrest Raffles. But Raffles gets away, and Bedford says he's pleased.
The film is set in England and was filmed in Livingston, Staten Island, New York. There are scenes filmed at the Staten Island Cricket Club.
Like many American films of the time, Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required cuts, in Reel 1, of the intertitle "Relieving such as he of their ill-gotten gain would be an ideal occupation", closeup of stealing pearl from slipper, hiding pearl in empty cartridge, Reel 2, the intertitle "He strolled through life taking from the rich to give to the poor", Reel 4, maid taking key from under pillow and stealing necklace, closeup views of tearing man's mouth(*these scenes are extant in surviving prints that weren't censored), two closeups of biting hand, Reel 5, two intertitles "Oh Bunny, there is nothing equal to it, your very life hangs in the balance" and "I've never stolen a farthing for personal gain. I've robbed the rich to give to the poor", Reel 6, the intertitle "Get the sparklers and be quick about it", and holdup scenes before and after. [4]
A photo in Daniel Blum's Pictorial History of the Silent Screen c.1953 has Raffles escaping pursuers through an opening in a large Grandfather clock which covers a doorway. The scene however is not in any of the surviving prints of the film. The picture may have also been staged just for publicity purposes.
A. J. Raffles is a British fictional character – a cricketer and gentleman thief – created by E. W. Hornung. Between 1898 and 1909, Hornung wrote a series of 26 short stories, two plays, and a novel about Raffles and his fictional chronicler, Harry "Bunny" Manders.
Three Mounted Men is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by John Ford and featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost.
Raffles is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy-mystery film produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It stars Ronald Colman as the title character, a proper English gentleman who moonlights as a notorious jewel thief, and Kay Francis as his love interest. It is based on the play Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1906) by E. W. Hornung and Eugene Wiley Presbrey, which was in turn adapted from the 1899 short story collection of the same name by Hornung.
Old Wives for New is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Prints of the film survive at the International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman House.
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The Bull's Eye is a 1917 American film serial directed by James W. Horne. It is now considered to be a lost film.
The Fatal Ring is a 1917 American action film serial directed by George B. Seitz. Silentera.com reports that the UCLA Film and Television Archive may have a complete print.
The Hidden Hand is a 1917 American film serial directed by James Vincent. This is a lost serial.
The Seven Pearls is a 1917 American silent action film serial directed by Louis J. Gasnier and Donald MacKenzie. Fragments are held by the Library of Congress.
The House of Hate is a 1918 American film serial directed by George B. Seitz, produced when many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
"The Gift of the Emperor" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in October 1898 by Cassell's Magazine. The story was also included as the eight and last story in the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1899.
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. Many later editions expand the title to Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman. Some editions such as Penguin Books, 1948, retitle the collection simply, Raffles.
Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1925) is a feature length silent adventure crime drama/romance motion picture starring House Peters, Miss DuPont, Hedda Hopper, Fred Esmelton, and Walter Long.
You Can't Believe Everything is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Gloria Swanson. It is not known whether the film currently survives, and it is likely to be a lost film.
The Man From Montana is a 1917 silent black and white film directed by George Marshall. It stars Neal Hart and George Berrell. It is not known whether the film currently survives, which suggests that it is a lost film. The film should not be confused with the 1941 film Man from Montana.
The Auction Block is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Laurence Trimble and starring Rubye De Remer. The film was produced by Rex Beach, upon whose novel, The Auction Block, the film is based. It is not known whether the film survives. The film was remade as a comedy in 1926 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starring Charles Ray and Eleanor Boardman.
Arthur J. Raffles is a fictional character created in 1898 by E. W. Hornung, brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Raffles is, in many ways, an inversion of Holmes – he is a "gentleman thief", living at the Albany, a prestigious address in London, playing cricket as a gentleman for the Gentlemen of England and supporting himself by carrying out ingenious burglaries. He is called the "Amateur Cracksman" and often, at first, differentiates between him and the "professors" – professional criminals from the lower classes.
The Fighting Trail is a lost 1917 American silent Western serial film directed by and starring William Duncan. It was produced and distributed by the Vitagraph Company of America. It was released in 15 chapters.
"Gentlemen and Players" is a short story by E. W. Hornung, and features the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles, and his companion and biographer, Bunny Manders. The story was first published in August 1898 by Cassell's Magazine. The story was also included in the collection The Amateur Cracksman, published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London, and Charles Scribner's Sons in New York, both in 1899.