believe it or not and the mona lisa actually get steal once and and be miss for nearly two year . in 1911 and leonardo da vinci la gioconda ( good know a the mona lisa ) be take from the louvre by a petty thief ( and former louvre employee ) who allegedly seek to return the world most famous piece of art to it native italy . his action after the theft make it seem more likely that he intend to sell the painting for his personal profit . ( of course and he have no hope of find a buyer . ) the mona lisa be quietly return to the louvre on the very last day of 1913 and remain there ever since except for occasional loan out . when arsène lupin be release in 1932 ( twenty year after the theft ) and most moviegoer would have recall that 1911 crime and and their knowledge would have lend some plausibility to this movie . arsène lupin be quite enjoyable and with mgm usual high production standard and jack conway usual briskly efficient direction . this movie do not lack for pleasure while what it lack be plausibility . john barrymore be the master criminal of the title represent he specialise in perpetrate impossible crime and which he make even more difficult by announce them in advance . but of course he always commit the crime and fool the gendarme . tully marshall have a good scene a one of barrymore victim . lupin have a penchant for elaborate disguise and which enable barrymore ( a u. s. grade a ham ) to indulge his own penchant for tomfoolery . john old brother lionel barrymore be guerchard and the javert like surete detective swear to catch lupin . karen morley be an extremely beautiful actress whose private life be fill with populist political activity while on screen and she be most impressive in work class role that fit her own political belief ( such a her fine performance in our daily bread ) . in arséne lupin and morley naturally dark hair be bleach a horrid blonde tone and and she all tarted up in posh outfit that make her look uncomfortable rather than sexy . spoiler come . eventually and lupin decides to steal the mona lisa from the louvre . he slit the painting from it frame and roll up the canvas and and then smuggle it out in a flower basket . we see john barrymore casually brandish a tightly roll piece of cloth which be allegedly the great work of art in all human history . i have to laugh at the filmmaker error . in real life ( but not in this movie ) and da vinci paint the mona lisa on a plank of poplar wood and so a thief would have difficulty roll it up . eventually and guerchard capture lupin and haul him off to le calaboose . the scene between john and lionel barrymore in the police car be sheer delight and a their genuine affection for each other spill out into their character dialogue . i would have find this scene implausible with any two other actor . a it be and i can not imagine anyone but the barrymore brother play these role . well and maybe dennis and randy quaid and but just barely . don not look for a good plot line here and but arsène lupin be a delightful example of old style movie making . i will rate this movie 8 point out of 10 .