Beautifully mounted (especially in the photography and costume departments), but dull talk-fest. The normally stylish director George Fitzmaurice can do little with the slow-moving script. In this follow-up to the superb 1932 film, Maurice Le Blanc's celebrated "prince of thieves" has retired from criminal activity to enjoy life as a country gentleman. A jewel robber then usurps his identity. But who? To everyone but the dialogue-bound players in this drawing-room "mystery", the identity of the real thief is obvious.The support cast is studded with some of my favorite players, although I make an exception for Nat Pendleton who grossly over-acts as usual. The principals pour on the charm. Virginia Bruce looks stunning in Dolly Tree costumes. Melvyn Douglas and Warren William, both likewise impeccably dressed, vie for her affections, but John Halliday is forced to wrestle with a nothing role.

The Arsene Lupin films have been around since well before the advent of talking pictures and a wide variety of actors have played the role of this gentleman thief (sort of like the Lone Wolf or Boston Blackie before they went straight). Because of the massive turnover of actors and generally lackluster films, despite the series continuing on and off for decades, it never caught on with the public.In this installment, it picks up three years after the last film. While the actors were different, the plot was a logical follow-up to the earlier film and once again, while the film was set in France, no one spoke with even the vaguest of French accents. This time, a fat-headed but brilliant detective (Warren William) is out to catch the thief but must contend with some decent plot twists to untangle the mystery.This is a pretty good film of about the same quality as the earlier ARSENE LUPIN starring John and Lionel Barrymore. While this film did not have quite the same star power as this other film, Melvin Douglas and Warren William are both entertaining to watch. Sadly, however, despite a decent supporting performance by Virginia Bruce, there were also some disappointing performances as well. George Zucco (a perennial heavy from B-films) and Monty Wooley (a likable sort of rogue in most films) are pretty much wasted, as they are given very little to do. It's a shame, because with better writing, these two could have been major assets in the movie. Instead, Douglas and William are pretty much the whole show.

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.

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.