Smash and Grab *** (1937, Jack Buchanan Elsie Randolph, Arthur Margetson) – Classic Movie 12,687

Jack Buchanan stars in the cheeky 1937 British crime comedy thriller film Smash and Grab as a private detective hired by an insurance company to solve a series of smash and grab robberies.

Director Tim Whelan’s 1937 British black and white film Smash and Grab [Larceny Street] is a cheeky crime comedy thriller in which a private detective (Jack Buchanan) is hired by an insurance company to solve a series of smash and grab robberies on London jewellers, and gets his wife (Elsie Randolph) to use her charms to help ensnare a devious jewel thief and his gang. They find the robbers are fencing the stolen gems via a Dublin barbershop.

Buchanan and Randolph reprise the success of their double act from This’ll Make You Whistle (1936) in this minor but still spirited and amusing vehicle for their discreet and charming talents. Buchanan, as ever, is outstanding in his convivial role as the sleuth, a character he repeated in 1939’s sequel The Gang’s All Here (but with Googie Withers as his wife).

Made by Jack Buchanan Productions, it premiered in London on 20 September 1937, released by General Film Distributors (GFD), and was later released by Film Alliance of the United States Inc (1941) in the US as Larceny Street. It was shot by cinematographer Henry Harris at Pinewood Studios with sets designed by Douglas Daniels.

The cast are Jack Buchanan as John Forrest, Elsie Randolph as Alice Thornby, Arthur Margetson as Malvern, Anthony Holles as Polino, Edmund Willard as Cappellano, Lawrence Grossmith as Rankin, Zoe Wynn as Carole, Edward Lexy as Inspector McInerney, Nigel Fitzgerald as Cosgrove, Laurence Hanray as Praskins, Sara Seegar as Miss Quincey, David Burns as Bellini, George Carney as Engine Driver, Peter Gawthorne as Insurance Company Chairman, and Edmon Ryan as Barman.

Runtime: 73 minutes.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,687

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