Amateur Crook

Starring: Herman Brix & Joan Barclay Director: Sam Katzman

A young artist tries to protect a young girl from dangerous loan sharks.

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Description by OLDIES.com:

A large diamond owned by mining engineer Jerry Cummings is used as collateral to secure a loan to finance his expedition to Mexico. However, Jaffin and Crone, the crooked loan sharks to whom he entrusted the gem, intend to steal it. Their plans are thwarted by Cummings' daughter, Betsy, who has taken a job in Jaffin's office with the sole purpose of returning her father's diamond. The crooks call the cops after she makes off with the stone, and in an effort to elude them, she takes refuge in the studio of penniless artist, Jimmy Baxter. Smitten by the girl and her intrigues, Jimmy becomes her accomplice by helping her escape. Now the lovebirds are fugitives on the run from Jaffin, Crone and the local police.

This comic crime caper was directed by the legendary Sam Katzman. New York-born Katzman produced aremarkably long list of economic but highly successful B-pictures during his career, ranging from westerns, sci-fi, and East Side Kids comedies to Elvis Presley musicals for MGM. Katzman felt there was star potential for Herman Brix, whose featured role in Amateur Crook followed a career initially built on his athletic prowess. The 1928 Olympic shot-putter had previously played the title role in The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935). Brix later changed his name to Bruce Bennett and enjoyed a successful film career that included several pictures for Warner Bros, including the classic Bogart adventure, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).

Product Description:

When her father tries to placate a pair of crooked loan sharks with an enormous diamond on a short-term loan, Betsy Cummings (Joan Barclay) poses as a thief to keep them from running off with the goods. Her efforts to "steal" the diamond back, however, are thwarted by Jimmy Baxter (former Tarzan Herman Brix), who is unaware of her true identity. This 1937 film predates the similar Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole classic HOW TO STEAL A MILLION by almost 30 years.

Plot Keywords:

Drama | Drama (General) | Mistaken Identity

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