Grade: C
Synopsis: A star cricket player (David Niven) moonlights as a jewel thief while wooing his childhood crush (Olivia de Havilland).
Raffles is an agreeable enough film due in large part to the charisma of its two leads. While the young David Niven had yet to perfect the reserved polish that would characterize so many of his later roles, his charisma here is still undeniable. Opposite him, Olivia de Havilland is completely charming in a role that gives her very little to work with.
The script is fairly breezy, but at 72 minutes doesn’t wear out its welcome, although the ending is a bit ambiguous.
There’s a lot of potential here, as the Raffles character is quite entertaining, and practically screams for a series of films, but unfortunately, star David Niven began his military service before production completed and it would be almost three years before his next film. It’s a shame, as the two leads would have benefited greatly from the larger budget a sequel would have likely brought.
Bottom Line: An amiable little movie that should appeal to fans of Niven or de Havilland.
