RAFFLES, THE AMATEUR CRACKSMAN

E. W. Hornung andEugene W. Presbreycollaborated on this four-act comedy based on Hornung's stories, produced byLiebler& Co. at the Princess Theatre, where it opened on 27 October 1903 for 168 performances. Presbrey directedKyrle Bellewas Raffles, an English gentleman who indulges his desire for excitement as a jewel thief. Visiting a nobleman's home as a guest, Raffles steals family jewels while courteously rebuffing flirtations with both the lady of the house and her daughter. An amateur sleuth catches on to Raffles's theft, but when the jewels are returned, no harm is done. The play won popularity on tour andCharles Frohmanrevived it in 1910 with Bellew once again playing Raffles. "Broncho Billy" Anderson starred in the 1905 motion picture. This enduringly popular character was also played in movie versions byJohn Barrymore(1917), House Peters (1925), Ronald Colman (1930), and David Niven (1939). There were innumerable sequels and television* adaptations.