AllMovie

Michel Simon stars in this cinemadaptation of Honore de Balzac's The Human Comedy. Simon is cast as Vautrin, a Robin Hoodlike thief who tries to restore the fortunes of impoverished nobleman Lucien Chardon (Georges Marchel). Vautrin's scheme involves the fleecing of the Baron de Nuncingen (Louis Seigner), a prominent banker. Assisting Vautrin is alluring Lady of the Streets Esther (Madeleine Sologne). The thief's motivations are not adequately explained, though the consequence of his chicanery are all too explicitly spelled out. Filmed in 1944, Vautrin the Thief wasn't released in the U.S. until 1949.