Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

st-shot Sparks fail to ignite in this light comedy about a bunch of jewel thieves and upper crust hypocrisy featuring an all star cast of Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery and William Powell all handsomely photographed but uniformly dull and restrained. Faye Cheney (Crawford) dazzles the well heeled set with her charm and beauty. She soon finds herself pursued by two wealthy suitors but she has other plans. Her servants are actually a gang of thieves intent on ripping off the swells. When she becomes susceptible to the charms of Lord Dilling the caper begins to unravel.The Last of Miss Cheyney is well mannered slow and passionless. The larceny in the hearts of Crawford and Powell gives way to noble acts of self sacrifice and they both almost seemed fatigued by the whole idea. The comedy comes across forced and the intimacy between the leads passionless. As the plot begins to unfold a dowager suggests that the whole affair portends to French farce. We should be so lucky.

theowinthrop There is a lot of criticism, mostly negative, on this board about this film, which I can't understand. I have never seen the original film version with Norma Shearer, but it appears not to be bowdlerized like this one. But bowdlerized or not, this is a very good film.It has a first rate cast led by Crawford (who was capable of comedy but opted for dramatic intense roles like Mildred Pierce). As the role calls for her to be compromised by her actions (she has masqueraded as a socialite to be accepted by the jaded aristocrats in order to pull off a jewel robbery) the role is not a slap happy funny part like say Rosalind Russell's Hildy Johnson, but a tonier style of sophisticated comedy. As such it is perfectly fitted to Crawford's screen persona.As for the jaded aristocrats: Frank Morgan may not do a British accent at all, but his fumbling is pretty good here - he is the richest man in England, and could give an intelligent talk on industrial output or tariffs, but cannot open up his heart to Crawford; Nigel Bruce is another nobleman, who has a randy set of eyes for pretty ladies, and cannot see his wife (Benita Hume) is far too close to her "cousin" (Ralph Forbes). The splendid Jessie Ralph is an aging dowager who befriends Crawford (it is her pearl necklace that Crawford is seeking to steal). She is a lively and likable old lady, and one with a scandalous past (as we eventually learn). But if none of the aristocrats are spotless in character (except possibly the boring Morgan), the other members of the gang are not wonderful. Melville Cooper (pretending to be Crawford's chauffeur) is constantly ready to whip out his handy knife and cut the throat of anyone he thinks is double crossing them.But the most interesting thing about the casting were the two leading men: Robert Montgomery and William Powell. The two most sophisticated and suave leading men of the golden age of movies only appeared in this one film together. They share only four scenes, but it is remarkable about how smooth the scenes are - like a perfect set of volleyball games with no shots and counter shots missed by either party (and when Crawford joins them she is equally smooth in responding to both her leading men). She had made other films with Montgomery but there were no others after this one. As for Powell, this was there only film together. As such it should be seen for the bright chemistry between the three leads alone, but it is a good comedy on its own.

nycritic Joan Crawford, desperate to get out of her shop girl roles, tries to re-do this Norma Shearer vehicle with somewhat staid results. Not for lack of trying -- when she really applied herself and if the part was written and directed well, she shone as clearly seen in GRAND HOTEL or THE WOMEN. The problem lies that the story, that of a jewel thief passing as high society with her partner-in-tow William Powell (who was used to farce and works well here), would have seemed better if Myrna Loy, who had better chemistry with Powell, had taken this part. Somehow something fails here. The comedy is really not all that there, and while Dorothy Arzner was ultimately credited as the director of this film, there were two others, and that makes for some eventual problems which will mar a film.

EightyProof45 Many earlier reviewers have said the Crawford was "mis-cast" as Mrs. Cheyney. I have to disagree. It is not her best performance (for her best acting, see her small but scene-stealing role in The Women and for a Crawford feast, see her Oscar-winning turn in Mildred Pierce), but it is far from her worst. The blame cannot be entirely placed on Crawford either. Nor can it be placed on the director. It must be placed on the production code administrators who sheared Hollywood scripts after 1934, cutting out anything considered "risqué." The original play by Fredric Lonsdale is a surprisingly hilarious and fresh send-up of the class sytem in England. Butler and footmen who are actually thieves in disguise get to act veddy propper and then (when the guests leave) get to drop their phony apparel. Its really quite funny. In the play, when Crawford's would-be suitor catches her at robbery, he forces her to spend a night in the closet with him. This was wonderfully handled in the 1929 Norma Shearer original of this picture. But the production code said that thieves had to always be punished, and sexual actions could not be forced or blackmailed. Thus, this is an extremely bowdlerized version of the play. It is interesting to watch the stars interplay, and I'm a bit surprised that it flopped so largely in 1937. Seeing some of the junk that goes over big nowadays, one would think that with a cast like this and high production values, it would have at least made its mark. See the Norma Shearer version, if you can find it. Unfortunately, its very rare (there is a laser disc version of it on The Dawn of Sound Volume III), but totally worth it. It is risqué and hilarious. Or see Trouble In Paradise, another early pre-Code comedy about jewel thieves, who in that film, don't have to face punishment for their actions.