In some ways the Arsene Lupin character, a gentleman thief, is a perfect counterpoint to Sherlock Holmes, a gentleman detective. They were created by different writers, but the author of the Lupin stories, Maurice Leblanc, wrote a short story in which Lupin encounters Holmes. Not surprisingly, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes' creator, sued Leblanc. When the Arsene Lupin story by Leblanc was republished, Sherlock Holmes became Herlock Sholmes. I am sure this didn't fool readers!
We might also compare Arsene Lupin to another character, Raffles. Like Arsene Lupin, Raffles is a suave thief who is usually one step ahead of the police. Both characters are irresistible to women; and though they operate on the wrong side of the law, they end up doing things for the good of society. When MGM adapted Leblanc's material for this 1932 precode, Sam Goldwyn had already had a hit adapting Raffles in 1930 with Ronald Colman in the lead role.
I am sure these stories were more popular than ever in the Depression. Why? Because we have the thieves going all Robin Hood-- robbing from the rich-- which must have been fun for struggling moviegoers to watch when the U. S. was in the doldrums economically.
There is probably a little bit of 'let's see how much we can get away with' in all of us. Of course, the enforcement of the production code two years later meant these stories were revised to play up the idea that crime really doesn't pay. MGM rebooted the character in 1938's ARSENE LUPIN RETURNS, with debonair star Melvyn Douglas taking over; and in that later version, the characters were still cunning, but not so amoral.
One interesting aspect of the 1932 production is it features John Barrymore as Lupin, pitted against the inspector, who is played by his real-life brother Lionel Barrymore. Later in 1932 the two brothers would team up in RASPUTIN AND THE EMPRESS, which included their sister Ethel Barrymore. In this film, they perform scenes opposite Karen Morley.
From what I have read, the Barrymore brothers had a professional rivalry going on, but they were quite different from each other. In terms of casting, they'd never be up for the same types of roles. For example, I don't think the audience would have bought Lionel as Arsene Lupin, which translated from the French means quite literally 'virile male flower.'
Incidentally, Leblanc first published his stories about Arsene Lupin's daring exploits in a French magazine called Je Sais Tout. Translated into English, this means 'I Know Everything.' I don't think this necessarily applies to our main character, because if Lupin knew everything, he'd certainly know how to keep from being arrested.
The magazine was devoted to fiction that used scientific plot points. Not necessarily science fiction as we know it today, but fiction where science was used to solve a mystery or something that was previously unexplained by other methods. But in addition to police using a scientific approach to nab a thief, Leblanc's stories also included fantasy and supernatural elements. One of Arsene Lupin's girlfriends was the daughter of a magician. Maybe he thought her father could help him go up in a cloud of smoke and disappear with all the jewels.
We might also compare Arsene Lupin to another character, Raffles. Like Arsene Lupin, Raffles is a suave thief who is usually one step ahead of the police. Both characters are irresistible to women; and though they operate on the wrong side of the law, they end up doing things for the good of society. When MGM adapted Leblanc's material for this 1932 precode, Sam Goldwyn had already had a hit adapting Raffles in 1930 with Ronald Colman in the lead role.
I am sure these stories were more popular than ever in the Depression. Why? Because we have the thieves going all Robin Hood-- robbing from the rich-- which must have been fun for struggling moviegoers to watch when the U. S. was in the doldrums economically.
There is probably a little bit of 'let's see how much we can get away with' in all of us. Of course, the enforcement of the production code two years later meant these stories were revised to play up the idea that crime really doesn't pay. MGM rebooted the character in 1938's ARSENE LUPIN RETURNS, with debonair star Melvyn Douglas taking over; and in that later version, the characters were still cunning, but not so amoral.
One interesting aspect of the 1932 production is it features John Barrymore as Lupin, pitted against the inspector, who is played by his real-life brother Lionel Barrymore. Later in 1932 the two brothers would team up in RASPUTIN AND THE EMPRESS, which included their sister Ethel Barrymore. In this film, they perform scenes opposite Karen Morley.
From what I have read, the Barrymore brothers had a professional rivalry going on, but they were quite different from each other. In terms of casting, they'd never be up for the same types of roles. For example, I don't think the audience would have bought Lionel as Arsene Lupin, which translated from the French means quite literally 'virile male flower.'
Incidentally, Leblanc first published his stories about Arsene Lupin's daring exploits in a French magazine called Je Sais Tout. Translated into English, this means 'I Know Everything.' I don't think this necessarily applies to our main character, because if Lupin knew everything, he'd certainly know how to keep from being arrested.
The magazine was devoted to fiction that used scientific plot points. Not necessarily science fiction as we know it today, but fiction where science was used to solve a mystery or something that was previously unexplained by other methods. But in addition to police using a scientific approach to nab a thief, Leblanc's stories also included fantasy and supernatural elements. One of Arsene Lupin's girlfriends was the daughter of a magician. Maybe he thought her father could help him go up in a cloud of smoke and disappear with all the jewels.