Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

blanche-2 "Arsene Lupin Returns" is a 1938 film starring Melvyn Douglas, Virginia Bruce, Warren William, Monty Woolley, and John Halliday.Rene Farrand (Douglas) is engaged to a wealthy, beautiful woman, Lorraine de Grissac (Bruce). When a fabulous emerald necklace is stolen from Lorraine's uncle, everyone is a suspect. A private eye who once worked for the FBI, Steve Emerson (William) is brought in to investigate. The name of the famous jewel thief, Arsene Lupin, is tossed around, though he is dead. However, Emerson has never believed that, and there are clues pointing to his return from the grave.Emerson is very suspicious of Farrand, and suspects that he might be the dead Lupin. In one scene, the necklace keeps turning up, first in one person's pocket, and then another's.One bone to pick. One review here complained that NO ONE in this movie had a French accent, even though this story takes place in France. In France, the people speak French. They don't speak English with a French accent. So no accent is needed since one assumes they're speaking French. Following the line of thought of the review, if these people needed accents, so would anyone performing a Chekhov play need Russian accents, and you'd need Swedish accents for Strindberg. Incorrect.This is a good movie with nice performances all around; the series never caught on, in part due to the fact that Arsene was played by different actors all the time.Pleasant.

ksf-2 Melvyn Douglas (Ninotchka, 1939) plays Rene Ferrand in this 1938 film, one of the many follow up films to the "first" talkie Arsene Lupin movie from 1932. Warren William is insurance agent Steve Emerson, who accompanies the Grissac family Lorraine (Virginia Bruce) and the Count (John Halliday). Monty Woolley, with his Santa Claus beard, best known for "The Man Who Came to Dinner" is Georges Bouchet; Familiar face Nat Pendleton (always played the henchman or tough guy) is Joe Doyle, Ferrand's sidekick, and Vladimir Sokoloff is Ivan Pavloff, the mysterious prowler. When a thief tries to steal a valuable necklace, everyone is a suspect. Then things get complicated. Fun scene near the end where the necklace turns up, and it goes from one pocket to another in slight of hand -- then more shooting, more accusations, and a clever way to catch the thief. We aren't really given any early clues in "Murder She Wrote" style - in this one, we can only watch as it all takes place, and try to guess which are the red herrings. Good story, but much more buttoned down and proper than the 1932 Lupin story, starring the Barrymore brothers. TCM showing the collection in November 2007.

whpratt1 Melvyn Douglas, (Arsene Lupin) keeps his real name a secret from everyone and gets himself involved with a stolen necklace and also has a romantic relationship with Lorraine DeGrissac, (Virginia Bruce) who both give an outstanding performance throughout the entire film. There is plenty of laughs and comedy in this film and it captures your attention and then turns quickly away from stolen jewelry and centers around all the characters involved in this mystery. George Zucco, (Perfect of Police) instead of playing the role as a crook which he has done all his acting career, is now a police man who tries to catch his criminal and suspects Arsene Lupin of stealing this necklace. Georges Bouchet, (Monty Wolley) plays low key in this film and has some very dark secrets which he does not want to reveal.

Neil Doyle MELVYN DOUGLAS is debonair, WARREN WILLIAM is clever and sophisticated, and VIRGINIA BRUCE is decorative but bland as a lovely blonde, but ARSENE LUPIN RETURNS is pretty much a replay of the original film "Arsene Lupin" with little variation in plot and theme.The supporting cast includes such dependable actors as GEORGE ZUCCO and MONTY WOOLLEY, but the story never becomes more than a routine mystery with overtones of comedy, despite the handsome MGM production values.It's interesting mainly to see how Douglas will evade detection as the police close in on the man suspected of being the jewel thief whose theft of a precious emerald from a safe has them on his heels, just waiting for a chance to catch him in the act. The plot takes an unexpected twist when a cast member who is the least of the suspects, turns out to be the man responsible for murder and theft.Overall effect is that it's a watchable film, mainly because of the cast, but it's a forgettable item as a mystery.