The Great Jewel Robber
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Peter Godfrey
David Brian
Marjorie Reynolds
John Archer
Jacqueline De Wit
Claudia Barrett
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Canadian jewel and fur thief Gerard Dennis is turned in to the police by the father of Marion Blain, a young woman who believes that Dennis is in love with her. After he escapes from a prison farm, Dennis convinces Marion that he will marry her and then takes the money she gives him and joins Peggy Arthur. Peggy then gives him money to buy a forged passport and drives him across the Canadian border to Buffalo, New York. Peggy and Dennis contact Brad Morrow, a crooked bartender, and they plan to rob the home of a vacationing wealthy man. When the homeowner returns unexpectedly, Peggy and Brad, who are waiting outside, desert Dennis. He manages to escape with the valuables, but when he attempts to double-cross Peggy and Brad, he is badly beaten, and is taken to a hospital with a broken jaw. There, his nurse, Martha Rollins, falls in love with him. On his release from the hospital, Dennis marries Martha, who believes that he is willing to reform, and the couple moves to New Rochelle. Unknown to Martha, however, Dennis uses information he gains from her and continues robbing wealthy homes. When he is shot during a robbery, Martha performs the necessary surgery and tries again to convince him to give up his life of crime. Despite her efforts, when Dennis recovers from his wounds, he takes a quantity of stolen jewels to New York City, where he intends to sell them. In New York, he meets Brenda Hall, an attractive fur model, and begins an affair with her. Martha discovers Brenda in Dennis' room, but Dennis placates her and promises to rejoin her in New Rochelle the following day. When he fails to do so, Martha takes his photograph to the police and tells them his assumed names. In the meantime, Dennis has checked out of his hotel and returns to New Rochelle. When he learns what Martha has done, he beats her and escapes from their apartment as the police close in. On the train to Los Angeles, Dennis meets wealthy Mrs. Arthur Vinson, a Beverly Hills divorcée. After they arrive in Los Angeles, Dennis becomes her houseguest. Later, during a party, he robs her home and guests. Posing as a gem salesman, he tries to dispose of the jewelry and is almost caught in a police trap. Just ahead of the police, Dennis boards a plane for New York. In Cleveland, Dennis steps off the plane to say goodbye to a casual pickup and is arrested. Dennis escapes again after he and the detectives arrive in New Rochelle. Under police fire, he runs into a large office building and after a chase, scales the exterior of the building. When he reaches the ground, he is arrested by Det. Sampter of the New Rochelle police and he is later sentenced to serve eighteen years to life in prison.
Director
Peter Godfrey
Cast
David Brian
Marjorie Reynolds
John Archer
Jacqueline De Wit
Claudia Barrett
Perdita Chandler
Mayor Stanley Church
Alice Talton
Fred Coby
Bob Williams
Kenneth Patterson
Bigelow Sayre
Warren Douglas
John Morgan
Bill Welsh
Duke Watson
Charles Lang
Fred Graham
Ed Hearn
Hal Price
William Ruhl
Larry Mcgrath
Pat Phelan
Stephen East
Jack Lomas
Russ Clark
Lyle Latell
Garrett Craig
Hugh Prosser
Weldon Heyburn
Don Harvey
Art Foster
John Pickard
Parke Macgregor
Leo Cleary
Geraldine Carr
Charles Kane
Mike Lally
Sailor Vincent
Art Miles
Howard Negley
Harry Strang
Creighton Hale
Charles Lind
Harry Lauter
Leslie O'pace
Joe Smith
Joel Fluellen
William E. Green
Clarence Straight
Tillie Born
Lois Austin
Sheilah Graham
Harry Crocker
Herschel Dougherty
Bo Ling
Chabing
Ken O'dell
Cleo Moore
Ned Glass
William Newgard
Don Forbes
Margaret Brayton
Ruth Robinson
Rodney Bell
Roger Cole
Cathy Dart
Jessie Arnold
Hazel Keener
Crew
Claude Archer
G. W. Berntsen
Marjorie Best
Paul Burnett
Larry Butterworth
Borden Chase
Agnes Flanagan
Stanley Fleischer
Bryan Foy
Bud Friend
Helen Goodman
Oren Haglund
Leslie G. Hewitt
Sid Hickox
Michael Joyce
Ted Kring
William Lava
Frank Magee
Louis Mashmeyer
Charles Maxwell
Rita Michaels
Fred Morgan
Leonard South
Perc Westmore
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film's working title was After Nightfall. Gerard Dennis, the real-life jewel thief on whose exploits the film is based, stole more than one million dollars from society homes during 1947 and 1948. In February 1949, he was sentenced to Sing Sing Prison for eighteen years to life. Mayor Stanley Church, a personal friend of producer Bryan Foy, headed the nationwide search for Dennis. Some scenes in the movie were shot on location in Glendale, CA. According to the New York Times review, the film ends with voice-over narration warning against crime. Bob Williams' character is called "Lt. Kelly" in contemporary reviews of the film, but the copyright records and CBCS list his character as "Capt. Ryan."
