The Great Jewel Robber

Blame Godfrey for everything that's missing here: mood, rhythm, conviction, point. But this crime yarn does have a quasi-auteur in writer Borden Chase (Red River, Winchester '73), whose penchant for hectic incident is evident. By the 30-minute mark TGJR has busted out of a Canadian jail, been double-crossed in Buffalo, plugged in New Rochelle and on the side romanced a nurse, a couple of shady ladies and the landlord's daughter. The idea of a movie narrated by an unmitigated rat is unusual for its time, but goes for nothing, thanks to the uninterested Godfrey and the uninteresting Brian, whose trademark sneer makes him seem torn between either throwing up or bursting into tears.