Larceny (1948) User Reviews (27)

John Payne makes smart his move to the newborn noir cycle

[bmacv · 7/10 · 29 August 2004]

Like Dick Powell, John Payne was another crooner and hoofer from ‘30s musicals – a light leading man – who saw new opportunities waiting in the changing Hollywood of the late ‘40s and seized them. Eschewing also-ran roles in prestige pictures (The Razor's Edge, Miracle on 34th Street), he found he was better off taking top billing in the grittier Bs of the newborn noir cycle. It was a smart move. With rugged good looks but no glamour boy, a strong, silent type who didn't make it a gimmick, he turned into a plausible and appealing Average Joe, without ever fading into the generic. In the half-dozen or so noirs he starred in, he straddled both sides of the law, though he usually found himself stranded in a no-man's land in the middle.

In Larceny, he's one of a gang of con-men led by Dan Duryea. They've just finished a grift in Miami Beach, so Payne is sent to the far coast, to `Mission City,' to lay groundwork for the next job. He poses as an old service buddy of a slain war hero so the widow (Joan Caulfield) will spearhead a fund-raising drive for a memorial – sort of a posh Boy's Town for underprivileged youth – that, of course, is nothing more than a scheme for bilking donors.

But that mischievous cherub Cupid throws a few monkey wrenches into the works. First off, Payne starts developing protective feelings for Caulfield and, more slowly, she for him (she's been playing Vestal Virgin at her husband's altar for so long she finds her own feelings a betrayal). Even worse, Duryea's moll, a `boa constrictor in high heels' (Shelley Winters, in full blonde-bombshell mode) carries such a torch for Payne that she follows him out west, by bus yet. The sicker Payne grows of her, the needier and more reckless she gets – their unstable chemistry threatens to blow them both sky high. The plot executes several quick turns when the possessive Duryea shows up (as does the victim of the Miami scam), when Caulfield reveals that she plans to put up all the money herself, and when Winters decides to take matters into her own pistol-packin' hand....

The violence in Larceny is toned way down, confined mainly to Winters' being slapped around (but she slaps back). It relies instead on a tight script, bristling with smart-mouthed cracks: `[Winters] is like a high-tension wire. Once you grab on, you can't let go – even if you want to;' `You kiss like you're paying off an election bet;' `I said I'm sorry but I'm not going to write it on the blackboard 100 times.' It allows Percy Helton and Dorothy Hart space enough to flesh out their small parts (Hart does a scrumptious riff on Dorothy Malone's bookstore clerk in The Big Sleep). All in all, Larceny proves a congenial vehicle for Payne's welcome arrival in dark city.

Excellent Noir

[gordonl56 · 8/10 · 6 April 2016]

LARCENY 1948

This one is a rather unseen film-noir gem put out by Universal–International Studios in 1948. The cast is made up of Dan Duryea, John Payne, Shelly Winters, Joan Caulfield, Dan O'Herlihy, Richard Rober, Dorothy Hart and Percy Helton.

Dan Duryea, John Payne Richard Rober and Dan O'Herlihy are con men who have just pulled a 250,000 dollar score in Miami Florida. In the mix here is young and hot looking, Shelly Winters. She is the main squeeze of gang leader, Dan Duryea, or so he thinks. Miss Winters however has the hots for John Payne. Payne refers to Winters as, "a boa constrictor in high heels" and tries to steer clear of her.

Now the gang is moving cross country to pull another job in California. They are going to hit a small burg called Mission City. There is a nice sized population of well heeled types residing there.

Payne, the pretty boy front for the gang, hits town first to do the scouting. The mark is a wealthy war widow, Joan Caulfield. Payne is posing as a soldier from the same unit as Caulfield's dead husband. Payne is to say all the proper things and hook the widow into building a war memorial. Of course the whole thing will be a con job. Duryea and the others will stay out of the way till needed. Duryea will play the memorial builder etc.

Gumming up the works here is Miss Winters. She was sent on a trip to Cuba by Duryea. She however decided she prefers the company of Payne more and followed the group to California. Duryea, needless to say is not the type to take losing a dame lightly. He already suspected that the two, Winters and Payne were up to a bit of horizontal Cha-Cha.

Payne sets the hook and soon has the game, Caulfield, firmly on the line. Things are going rather well except for Winters showing at all the wrong times. Payne knows full well that Winters' infatuation with him, could get both of the them deep-sixed by Duryea. Muddying the waters here is also the fact that Payne has taken a shine to Miss Caulfield. He is not sure whether he wants to continue with the con.

The chance though of a $100,000 plus payday is just too juicy to resist. His end will be enough to break with Duryea and the gang, not to mention get away from increasingly nutty Winters. The deal is nearly complete when Winters again fouls matters up. Caulfield now tumbles to the fix but realizes that she has fallen for the heel, Payne. Of course there is a spot of violence needed to settle the matter, with Winters biting the floor and Payne being hauled off to jail.

This is a pretty nifty upper B film which was Payne's first foray into film noir. Payne would also shine in, THE CROOKED WAY, 99 RIVER STREET, HIDDEN FEAR, KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL, SLIGHTLY SCARLET and THE BOSS. Dan Duryea and Shelly Winters also had a fairly long list of noir on their resume.

The director here was veteran helmsman, George Sherman. Sherman could always be relied on to deliver a solid product. The man worked in several genres with, RELENTLESS, BLACK BART, SWORD IN THE DESERT, THE SLEEPING CITY, TOMAHAWK, WAR ARROW, BORDER RIVER, LAST OF THE FAST GUNS and BIG JAKE as examples of his films.

The screenplay features plenty of great lines and was supplied by William Bowers based on a novel by, Lois Eby. The two time, Oscar nominated Bowers worked on several top notch film noir, such as, THE WEB, THE MOB, PITFALL, ABANDONED, CRISS CROSS, CONVICTED, SPLIT SECOND and CRY DANGER.

I'm always surprised at just how drop dead gorgeous, Shelly Winters was as a young woman.

John Payne breaks into noir

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 8 August 2020]

"Larceny" from 1948 is a kind of an all over the place noir. It starts with a group of con men led by Silky (Dan Duryea) lousing up a scam and being forced to think of something else. He and his cronies come up with the idea of sending Rick (John Payne) to seduce a wealthy war widow (Joan Caulfield) into building a huge war memorial in her husband's memory. He has to lie and say her husband was his best pal in the service.

Meanwhile, Silky's girlfriend Tory (Winters) seems anxious to be with Payne and gets in the way at every turn. Silky isn't happy about this, which could be dangerous.

Payne meanwhile falls for Caulfield and vice versa. It turns into a real mess.

It was okay. Every woman in the film - Caulfield, Winters, Patricia Alphin, who plays a waitress, and Dorothy Hart all act as if they've never seen a man before when they meet Payne. He was handsome, but the characters seemed more like aggressive women from a later era.

The exception would be Caulfield, whose character was more subtle. Dorothy Hart didn't have much of a career, but she was absolutely stunning.

Funm, campy noir

[dellascott2004 · 6/10 · 30 October 2005]

When I went to see this lesser known noir, the person introducing it described it as "almost a parody" of this kind of film and said not to take it too seriously. Nevertheless, it is a film about con artists and their techniques, and I love those. Especially well showcased is the technique of letting a mark think something is his or her own idea, and people are always more determined to do things that they think are their own ideas. The story features a group of globetrotting, high-rolling grifters led by John Payne and noir regular Dan Duryea, who decide to target a wealthy but naive young war widow(Joan Caulfield) with a scheme to build a youth center memorializing her husband. This necessitates Payne pretending to be a buddy of her late husband, who in reality, he had never met. At first the plan is to raise money from wealthy friends, but she then decides to bankroll the whole project herself. Things are further complicated when a sometime girlfriend of both of the men, played by a tough-as-nails young Shelly Winters, refuses to stay under wraps. This film seems to have been largely forgotten, which is a shame.

Not Great, But Not Bad at All

[mackjay2 · 6/10 · 23 July 2021]

Above average, minor crime film, well-directed by George Sherman. The Noir credentials of LARCENY can be disputed, but we can see John Payne's character as trapped by circumstances of his own choosing. As successful con-man, with a special talent for romancing rich women, he meets his match when something like real love comes along.

Payne is good at playing the conflicted states of the character. We've also got Dan Duryea, at his best, playing a bad guy, Shelley Winters, a razor-tongued harridan, and Percy Helton in a rare, somewhat substantial role as hotel manager. Dan O'Herlihy seems an odd choice. His British accent and gentle manner seem at odds with the confidence racket (but maybe that's the point). The dialog is quite good all the way through, with some quotable lines.

"Stop twisting my arm! People will think we're married!"

"Tory's like a high tension wire - once you grab on, you can't let go... even if you want to... and I don't want to. I like Tory. I like her a lot."

Not essential, or even very memorable, but you could do worse than to see LARCENY, now nicely transferred on blu-ray.

From rags to riches?

[MegaSuperstar · 7/10 · 28 November 2021]

Based on Lois Eby and John Leming novel The velvet fleece and excellently adapted to the screen, the movie benefits from a well written script by Herb Margolis, Lou Morheim and William Bowers and from excellen performances by the whole cast. Not only John Payne and Dan Duryea provide their characters with solid credible acting. Also Shelley Winters does a good acting job as the femme fatale obsessed with Payne. She was an actress who had deserved more subtle roles that the ones she usually played. After shining in musicals, light comedies and adventure movies, Payne did several interesting film noirs with Phil Karlson: 99 river st. And excellent Kansas city confidential. Always credible, he conferred a solid presence to his works. This movie is not an exception mainly thanks to great dialogue lines. Screenwriter Bowers also did the script of several other good noirs like The web, Criss Cross, and Cry danger. Payne, Duryea and two more partners are confident men who work scamming rich people. When their last job fails they decide to go for a young wealthy war widow. But problems begin when, while payne is trying to seduce her, Duryea's girl Shelley Winters tries to seduce Payne - who is falling in love with the widow - causing complications and leading the job to fail. Deserves a watch.

Near noir

[mikeburdick · 6/10 · 25 January 2023]

While 'Larceny' has a cast of nasty, amoral characters, those expecting a traditional noir with the interesting camera work and lighting might be disappointed. However, it does have a fair bit of suspense, a few twists and turns and some fine acting, so I'd rate it slightly above average.

The plot revolves around a group of fraudsters who come up with elaborate fundraising schemes to bilk hundreds of thousands from wealthy investors then skip town; frighteningly relevant to today's mainstream business world. And they're very successful until one guy meets a dame and falls in love.

Unfortunately, the love story isn't very convincing, nor is the main character's transformation from amoral scumbag to upstanding citizen, which really makes everything else seem a bit implausible.

Regardless, there are some suspenseful moments, you do feel for John Payne's predicament, and the acting is generally quite good from Payne, Dan Duryea, character actor Percy Helton and especially Shelly Winters as the superbly annoying scorned femme fatale. She's good at being bad.

Anyway, if you're a completist like me, it's worth a go.

Good Film; Questionable Ending - Larceny

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 6 January 2023]

There is nothing more frustrating for a critic to review than a good film that goes slightly awry at the end. I will not give you any spoilers, but suffice it to say that Payne and Winters do a pretty good job, along with Duryea in convincing us that the world is divided among the rotten and the honorable. And then there are those who are stuck somewhere in between. The ending did not ring true to me, but others may have found it more convincing. See this one for yourself and decide if you think it was handled correctly.

Payne, who normally played goody-goody roles in most of his other films, is, at times, convincing as a confidence man, but at other times falls back into his Mr. Nice Guy persona. Maybe that was the intent of the writers, but I was not buying it.

A dandy noir film.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 25 January 2020]

I wasn't too surprised I enjoyed "Larceny". After all, I love noir and I love Dan Duryea, as he played the slimiest and most menacing villains in these films...and "Larceny" features both.

Rick Mason (John Payne) works with a gang of cons run by Silky (Duryea). The gang has two serious problems despite their successes. First, Silky's girl, Tory (Shelley Winters) is poison...and rather emotionally imbalanced. Secondly, Silky isn't exactly a rousing endorsement for sound mental health! Again and again, Tory chases after Rick and Rick rebuffs her...and time and time again, Silky assumes the worst.

The gang's next caper involves a grieving war widow (Joan Caulfield). Rick pretends that he was good friends with the widow's husband during the war and he quickly ingratiates himself with her. The plan is to sell her on creating a giant memorial to her dead husband...and then pocket the money and run. The problem is that over time, Rick finds he's actually falling for her...which is complicated when the highly unstable Tory shows up...and Silky soon follows.

This film doesn't have the great camerawork and dark shadows you'd want in the best noir, but it does have plenty of slimy characters and intrigue. A very engaging and well written film and ample proof that later in his career, Payne excelled at some non-pretty boy roles.

Larceny

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 3 December 2022]

Poor old war widow "Deb" (Joan Caulfield) is hoodwinked into donating her savings to build a memorial to her late husband by the sharp "Rick" (John Payne). It turns out that there is no such edifice, but "Rick" isn't able to be quite as cold and calculating as usual. He starts to fall for this dignified and respectable woman. That's a risky scenario, for his boss "Silky" (Dan Duryea) just wants the cash, and that's that. It doesn't help either that his bosses gal "Tory" (Shelley Winters) is pretty flaky, also quite keen on "Rick" and is quite shrewd at manipulation, too! Payne was never exactly versatile nor, for that matter, was the usually wooden Duryea but they do well enough with this solid story and whilst there is an inevitability to the ending, George Sherman manages to keep this well paced for 90 minutes and Winters plays her part really quite effectively. The lighting could have done with some extra wattage at times, but it is still good watch.

THE STING + Film Noir = LARCENY!

[filmklassik · 9/10 · 10 April 2019]

Shelley Winters: "I'm sorry, Rick. What can I do to help you?"

John Payne: "Stay away from me."

Shelley Winters: "I mean besides the impossible."

A con man's seduction of a war widow is part of a larger scheme to bilk a small town out of a fortune. But not everything goes to plan.

I cannot believe this sensational vintage noir isn't better known. It's taut as a garrote, and there are twists you won't see coming.

Plus: The dialogue is great, the actors tops, and who knew Shelley Winters was such a knockout?

Catch this one!

Money, money, money

[AAdaSC · 7/10 · 7 May 2018]

Fraudster Dan Duryea (Silky) heads an operation which includes John Payne (Rick) as his main player. They fleece the wealthy by convincing their targets to raise money for a false project and then disappear with the cash. Their newest mark is war widow Joan Caulfield (Deborah) and it is Payne's task to befriend her and gain her trust. So, off he goes - game on. Added into the mix, Duryea has a brash girlfriend - Shelley Winters (Tory) - who is having an affair with Payne and she is not shy in speaking her mind. Duryea is the jealous type so Payne had better watch himself on this front. All seems to be going well for Payne...

The main players in this film all give good performances. If you are familiar with the films of Miss Winters you may well guess something about her and you'd be correct. She delivers some great dialogue and is genuinely funny with it towards the end of the film. Payne should definitely have nothing to do with her.

The film keeps your attention and it is a great way to learn how to fleece the rich. There are some very good pointers and important rules of psychological engagement that are set out. After watching this, you may well feel rather accomplished in this field. But do you have the heart to carry out this type of mission? Unfortunately, I don't. And anyway, love conquers all and may well be your downfall. But if you don't have a heart....this film may prove educational.

Escaping from the past is a real Payne.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 22 February 2017]

With crime boss Dan Duryea keeping an eye on him, dashing con-artist John Payne does his best to go through with the larceny to end all larceny's, swindling sweet widow Joan Caulfield over bequests to build a youth center near the mission she works at. But there are far too many hot to trot broads after him, including jealous Duryea's equally jealous floozy moll (Shelley Winters), suave secretary Dorothy Hart and wisecracking waitress Patricia Alphin who is no match for Winters' threats to cut out her heart. Duryea keeps getting more suspicious, even though it's obvious that Payne is slowly falling for the gentle widow.

This is moderately entertaining but old hat as far as the story goes. However, with character performers like Percy Helton and Walter Greaza along, with tough talking Winters getting a ton of great dialog and Duryea equally sinister, the film seems to be better than it is. Caulfield seems too good to be true, especially with the three vixens dropping a quip every time she oozes more sweetness. Payne's a far cry from all the war heroes, athletes and other good guys he's played. I would recommend this simply on the basis of seeing Winters on her way up the ladder, still quite shapely, but certainly no lady.

Nice Script, But Depressing Instead Of Tragic

[boblipton · 6/10 · 6 February 2020]

It's a gang of high-class confidence artists run by Dan Duryea. With John Payne to keep the women happy, they hit on a plan to use him as the roper to steal $100,000 from wealthy Joan Caulfield, convincing her that he's a war buddy of her deceased husband. There are immediate complications when Duryea's girl friend, Shelley Winters, prefers Payne. Instead of flying to Havana, she follows Payne to a small suburban town where they're so wealthy they go slumming in Pasadena.

It's a dark movie from the get-go and everyone is good, but I found it depressing. I'm a fan of movies about con men, but it's handled with a depressive air from the beginning. Ambitious John Payne was trying to stretch himself, and the role is pretty good, but he's a bit monotonous in his role, as are most of the others. Dan O'Herlihy, as one of his confederates, has a few brief moments to shine and does so, but the movie, while always competent, turns into a soap opera with guns.

A husband's memory.

[ulicknormanowen · 7/10 · 9 February 2022]

Some soldiers coming home after WW2 were not as honest and virtuous as the vast majority ;fleecing the rich may be a way to make up for the best years of their life they gave to their country.

Rick is an ambiguous character: when he delivers his speech in front of the youth and later when he speaks to Deb in the car , ,although he knows the war memorial is phony and a swindle , his words do ring true :in a way,he may be sincere .Deb is a generous person ,par excellence the good girl (Tory being the bad one) , who never got over the loss of her husband killed in action and who knows statistics about juvenile delinquency :her sports center would be the solution ; but she does not know life ,and the man she idealizes is perhaps not the virtuous gent whose name she wants to remain engraved in memories .

The cast is excellent : the viewer does know if Rick puts on an act or if he approves of Deb's plan he almost regrets not to be able to carry on;Duryea is true to form as the bad guy ;Winters makes the best of a rather melodramatic part .

Exciting noir

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 13 April 2024]

Much different from his nice guy Mr. Gailey in Miracle on 34th Street the previous year, John Payne plays a villain in Larceny. This fun film noir features John and Dan Duryea as con artists who pick the innocent, pious widow John Caufield as their next target. They plan to swindle her into investing in their "charity", and John puts on the moves to help cloud her judgment. Meanwhile, Dan's girlfriend, Shelley Winters starts to get jealous when it seems that John's judgment gets clouded - she's got a crush on him and doesn't want Joan to take him away. While she still seems new to the screen, Shelley does assert a memorable presence. She's a tough moll with great one-liners to rattle off. She finds a photograph of another girl in John's wallet and gets upset. John insists she's his kid sister, and Shelley replies, "If she's your kid sister, I'm a boa constrictor in high heels." John admits she is, and when she slaps his face, he slaps her right back. Talk about exciting!

If you've seen all the popular noirs too many times and are in the mood for something new, check out Larceny. Dan is always a fun, slimy bad guy, and John gets to show a different side to him. Joan is as sweet as Shelley is salty; try to figure out who he's going to pick!

Shelley Winters Steals the Show

[leifhelland · 7/10 · 2 April 2024]

The film noir elements of LARCENY are well-covered in the other reviews, so I'm going to focus on how sensational Shelley Winters is in the bad girl role. Dan Duryea is obsessed with her, while Shelley is obsessed with handsome John Payne, who seems indifferent to her charms. It's the biggest hole in the script, since Shelley is slinky, sexy and sultry. How John could prefer the insipid, bland, weepy Joan Caulfield over the firecracker Winters is a mystery only a screenwriter could devise. It's easy to see from her assured performance that Shelley was definitely on her way up ... she would enjoy a brief sex symbol period before embarking on her two-time Oscar winning career as a dramatic actress and earned her place in film history.

Snappy & Pithy Dialog High-Light Noir High-Stakes Con-Game..Along With the Banter...Shelly Winters Steals

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 19 August 2022]

Shapely Shelly Winters Beginning Her Career as a High-Powered "Dame".

Here She is a Mouthy Dame, Hits-Back, and is a Force Likely to Botch the Larcenous "Game" Afoot by Gangsters Dan Duryea, as the Head-Honcho, and John Payne as the Woman-Trap...

"I know how we can do that, there's a Secretary that thinks I stepped out of a dream."

Payne's Magnetic Looks and Silver Tongue Woos Woman with Ease, Including the Main-Mark, Joan Caufield, a Grieving War-Widow Ripe for the Picking, a Hash-Slinger, a Secretary, and the Aforementioned Moll, a Blonde with a Fur-Coat, an Attitude, and a Gun.

Duryea and the Rest of the Larcenous Bunch have No Morals, and are Out for the Take Period. Regardless of Heartbroken War-Widow or the Youth Association that are the Victims.

Payne, on the other hand, Slowly is Shown to Have some Scruples", and Things Get Complicated.

The Film is Propelled by a Witty, Wordy, Script Filled with Conversations of a Wide-Ranging Way of Philosophizing, Moralizing, and Behavior Among the Folks.

It's Done with some Minimal Norish Lighting Flourishes, but for the Most Part it's the Personalities of Duryea, Payne, and Winters that Carry the Noir Banter.

Slightly Above Average for its Type and is Definitely...

Worth a Watch.

The big swindle

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 2 March 2021]

Watching Larceny I thought the way the film was building toward the climax I was sure of a sentimental ending. But far from it with this film. What we get is a crackerjack and original realistic ending in this noir film.

John Payne plays a smooth talking confidence man who is part of a gang headed by Dan Duryea. Duryea has set up a big score and Payne has to romance war widow Joan Caulfield who thought her hero husband walked on water. The con involves swindling Caulfield ot of money to build a youth center for the town's young people and Payne poses as a GI buddy of the late husband.

Payne's working a few cons here. He's also going out with the sultry and possessive Shelley Winters who is two timing Duryea. In the end though he falls for Caulfield and that sets up the climax.

Shelley Winters also has one of her good career roles in Larceny. The kind of woman that ought to come with a warning label. And Duryea gives us one of his classic bad guy roles as well.

The script is a fine piece of writing and the director gets some great performances out of his ensemble cast. Do not miss this one, it's one of the best noirs out there.

In Larceny Duryea plays a typecast con man, Payne plays a mournful crook and Winters a B-girl not too bad at all!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 7 May 2023]

Larceny is fine B-Noir picture, therefore has some fails undermining the whole presentation as the plot is preposterous, John Payne as a bad guy didn't a good choice, somehow he was in wrong side, Joan Caulfield is naïve and cold and George Sherman fits better in westerns pictures, however the crook Dan Duryea is unbeatable in this field also Shelley Winters as a B-girl is fabulous, still young she was gorgeous playing the femme fatale.

As said before the plot is beyond of mindless, then when a major partner Walter Vanderline (Nicholas Joy) discovers that his minority partner Silky Randall (Dan Duryea) building a high class club at Miami Beach is a hoax then Walter fires them, actually Silky leads a small group which his second in command is Rick Maxon (John Payne) Silky figures out that the only way to stand there is through a blackmail, Walter has a kinship with war widow Deborah Owens Clark (Joan Caulfield) in California, the plan is spoils her integrity where Walter will consider his decision to break up the partnership henceforth.

The plan is quite simple Rick approach of Deborah pretending be a former friend at war and raise founds to build a memorial for his late husband also an Institution to get shelter for poor children, when she got the money Rick will steal the funds ashaming her afterwards and using Deborah's disgrace to overturn Walter's decision, well the things didn't happened as Sulky though, his sexy and compulsive girlfriend Tory (Shelley Winters) would rather Rick instead Sulky, then she sneak to California to harass Rick and forget the whole thing.

In this poisoned environment the picture unfolds, Larceny is average picture, due by strong presence of the typecast con Dan Duryea, also improves by the fine performance of the kind-hearted Percy Helton like always as supporting casting, already John Payne that usually plays straight guys reveals his good-nature at long last.

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2023 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5.

Slick, Good Looking Production

[maiasmarky · 8/10 · 7 February 2023]

I'm not embarrassed to say I am a huge Shelley Winters fan. No, she really wasn't classically movie star beautiful, or elegant...but she had that gritty, toughness, coupled with vulnerability that keeps your eyes glued. She was one of the few young actors like Lansbury who excelled in character roles early in their career, but could easily junp into a lead when given a chance , in a good noir or atmospheric moody drama.

Larceny caught me by surpise. It's a B noir with some A production value.....start with the crisp b&w photography, A- rate leading actors of the day John Payne & Joan Caulfield, both on loan to Universal from Fox & Paramount respectively, always terrificly slimy Dan Duryea ( in this case named 'Silky'), a bevy of noir characters, and a knockout Winters early in her Hollywood career in usual 2nd leads essaying molls and bad girls. ( Love her brief role in Fox's Cry of City also in '48) Winters never looked better in this picture ...sleek, pretty, platinum blonde and in a knockout wardrobe...by the way, all the ladies were 'dressed to kill' ( no pun intended) in this one, especially Caulfield in stunning rich-B New Look wardrobe.

I was always intrigued by John Payne, a kind of handsome zombie in those big budget Fox pictures, but here he is right at home and has the allure...well you can see why 4 dames fall hard for him in this one. And speaking of dames, there are great small parts essential to the plot played by unknowns who are just swell , most especially a super stunner Dorothy Hart who walks off with every scene she is in. When those cheaters come off In Dorothy Malone style.... BAM!

Production values here are pretty high for a Universao B picture, with a great plot, scenery, wardrobe, acting and continuity. The wind up is a little cheesy, but fun. Winters is typically cast as a desperate man-hungry victim...poor Shelley..but its great fun to see her chew up the scenery and toss some great one liners. Joan Caulfield, another lovely zombie on the screen is effective here as the saintly war widow. Duryea is always terrifying and deadly.

I really enjoyed this one. In Winters first appearance , look hard for her famous platform ankle-strap FM shoes she shared in real-life with her then roommate Marilyn Monroe. They both wore them, (as well as a striped 2pc swim suit) often in their early career publicity/ pinup shots.

I think this was written for Cary Grant...

[tomhoranlu · 7/10 · 10 November 2023]

John Payne is basically playing a Cary Grant part of a devilishly delightful con man, but Payne plays it straight. The lies he can tell under the most heart-wrenching circumstances are breath taking. The "tension" of the film is not really based on the money or the time. The ever-increasingly cruel lies Payne's character forces himself to tell, right up to the climax, is what "turns the screw." But, without the little gleam in Cary's lovable scoundrel eyes...On the other hand, Shelley Winters is delightfully DANGEROUS. Dan Duryea is thick as thieves. And speaking as a retired fraud investigator myself, I'd say it's a pretty realistic depiction of a gang of cold-blooded sociopaths. But overall, I think they simply couldn't make up their minds what this movie was "about." It could have been a sappy melodrama, or a snappy noir comedy. But, it's not quite a dramedy. Not quite a classic. Absolutely worth watching.

Less than the sum of its parts. Shelley Winters steals the soap.

[blogward · 2/10 · 28 January 2023]

Dan Duryea is convincing as the boss of a gang of real estate con artists, Shelley Winters is convincing as the borderline psychopathic moll, Joan Caulfield is convincing as the tragically demented war widow, and the rest of the female cast acquit themselves well in finding the weak-chinned, balding, broad-shouldered, woman-beating John Payne irresistible.

I kept wishing Mitchum, or maybe Alan Ladd , or Dick Powell even, had played the male lead, because John Payne, bless him, seems to be stuck in the1930s Hollywood paradigm. Plenty of calculating nastiness, but no sexiness whatever. And frankly, he phones it in.

Worth watching for a weird glimpse of a white, white, post WWII California world of upperclass grift, but as entertainment, Larceny gradually becomes less and less likeable. The ending attempts to be unpredictable, but all that buildup and it's deus ex machina, basically.

I repeat; not an entertaining film, but not without interest. Nice cars.

Rotten scoundrels doing their best to botch a job by blunders

[clanciai · 8/10 · 6 March 2020]

The fact that Dan Dureya is one of the leads here announces that you are in for another squalid and dirty hoodlums' cocktail with some innocents involved being turned into helpless victims, usually dames, but here is also Shelley Winters in the beginning of her career as one of the worst collaborators involved in this mess, but she ultimately pays the full price, while fortunately Joan Caulfield gets out of it alive and clean. John Payne is rather unwilling in the racket but hangs on, until he falls in love with Joan Caulfield, which actually saves his character. It's a sordid story of crtiminality and scoundrelism and repentance and maybe atonement and nothing great in the genre, just another episode out of the dark world of deceits and lies.

Twisty noir: well directed, photographed and acted

[adrianovasconcelos · 8/10 · 2 April 2022]

Director George Sherman does a fine job with 87 minutes of larcenous and murderous twists, on the back of a super script by Margolis & Morheim, and truly excellent photography - if you manage to find a revamped copy - that focuses on facial nuances to advance much of the intrigue, without ever losing sight of good old fashioned action to keep matters lively!

Best of all, a superlative long performance by John Payne as the handsome and suave Rick Maxon, and an incisive, much shorter performance by evil incarnate Dan Duryea, whose Achilles' heel is the film's cherry on the cake role, courtesy of the tarty Shelley Winters whose love for Maxon turns her into a ruthless stalker and criminal.

Very good display from the beautiful Joan Caulfield, too.

If this was a filler, a B noir, I don't know - but it's a darned sight better than most of the films you see today. Recommended!