Larceny
THEY MADE THEIR OWN RULES... and played for keeps!
1948 | 89m | English
Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | George Sherman |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Lois Eby, Lou Morheim, John Fleming, Herbert H. Margolis, William Bowers |
| Staring: |
| Rick Mason is the no-good lowdown rat who tries to capitalize on postwar patriotism and grief. He finagles a war widow into giving up her savings for a nonexistent memorial. When Mason falls in love with the widow he has pangs of conscience, but he reckons without his con-artist boss, who tends to bolster his arguments with muscle and bullets. | |
| Release Date: | Sep 03, 1948 |
|---|---|
| Director: | George Sherman |
| Writer: | Lois Eby, Lou Morheim, John Fleming, Herbert H. Margolis, William Bowers |
| Genres: | Drama, Crime |
| Keywords | con man, film noir |
| Production Companies | Universal International Pictures |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 10, 2025 Entered: Apr 20, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| John Payne | Rick Mason |
| Joan Caulfield | Deborah Owens Clark |
| Dan Duryea | Silky Randall |
| Shelley Winters | Tory |
| Dorothy Hart | Madeline |
| Richard Rober | Max |
| Dan O'Herlihy | Duke |
| Nicholas Joy | Walter Vanderline |
| Percy Helton | Charlie Jordan |
| Walter Greaza | Mr. Owens |
| Patricia Alphin | Waitress |
| Harry Antrim | Mr. McNulty |
| Russ Conway | Detective |
| Paul Brinegar | Mechanic |
| Don Wilson | Master of Ceremonies |
| Oliver Hartwell | Black Porter (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Lois Eby | Novel |
| Rosemary Odell | Costume Design |
| Lou Morheim | Screenplay |
| Richard H. Riedel | Art Direction |
| Glenn E. Anderson | Sound |
| Ted Offenbecker | Set Decoration |
| John Fleming | Novel |
| Frank Gross | Editor |
| Herbert H. Margolis | Screenplay |
| Bernard Herzbrun | Art Direction |
| Leslie I. Carey | Sound |
| Russell A. Gausman | Set Decoration |
| Carmen Dirigo | Hairstylist |
| George Sherman | Director |
| Irving Glassberg | Director of Photography |
| Bud Westmore | Makeup Artist |
| Orry-Kelly | Costume Design |
| William Bowers | Screenplay |
| Jesse Hibbs | Assistant Director |
| Leith Stevens | Music |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Aaron Rosenberg | Associate Producer |
| Leonard Goldstein | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 2 |
| 2024 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 4 |
| 2024 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
| 2024 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 3 |
| 2024 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 2024 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Trending Position
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 digni ... fied 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.