A little while back I re-visited "Arsène Lupin (1932) and re-found it talkative, too long, yet overall okay - but just okay. Last night I watched "Arsène Lupin Returns" (1938) with Melvyn Douglas, Warren William, Virginia Bruce, John Halliday, Monty Woolley, Nat Pendleton, E. E. Clive, George Zucco, and a host of other character actors, many of great note. The wit of this one's dialogue and the speed of its development and plot all the way to the denouement is wonderful viewing and superbly done. Too bad the film gets too caught up in its own enthusiasm and self-importance and pulls a rabbit out of the hat for a clincher that's just a tad too far-fetched. Still, it's fun from beginning to end. Douglas is sophisticated and excellent as the "resurrected-from-the-dead" Arsène Lupin. Virginia Bruce never looked lovelier, and she's also quite sophisticated in her part, both a fine comedian and good dramatic actress in the same part. John Halliday is given an important character for plot development, but the part, as written, is minor, and, as a result, Halliday only shows up in a few scenes, albeit major ones. The real surprise in this show, and the thing that makes it sparkle, is Warren William as a cop so well known for his heroic captures, etc., through news articles that he is asked to resign from the force so that criminals can now be captured by those who aren't known to them first! He'd planned to resign anyway, and he becomes an insurance investigator.
The rapport between William and Douglas is wonderful, and when Bruce becomes part of their dialogue, the scenes crackle with wit, humor, and good dramatic impulse.
Well worth the watch. Douglas seems to have made several Such-and-Such Returns films, being the second or third person to have played a detective, a jewel thief on the lam, a this-or-that that was known from some series of novels and earlier films. But many times, and this is one of them, he's better than the original.
This is the second film of two Arsène Lupin films on a Warner Archive Collection release. The other is the Barrymore brothers' 1932 version.
The rapport between William and Douglas is wonderful, and when Bruce becomes part of their dialogue, the scenes crackle with wit, humor, and good dramatic impulse.
Well worth the watch. Douglas seems to have made several Such-and-Such Returns films, being the second or third person to have played a detective, a jewel thief on the lam, a this-or-that that was known from some series of novels and earlier films. But many times, and this is one of them, he's better than the original.
This is the second film of two Arsène Lupin films on a Warner Archive Collection release. The other is the Barrymore brothers' 1932 version.