The Burglar (1957 film)

The Burglar
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Paul Wendkos
Screenplay by	David Goodis
Based on	The Burglar 1953 novel by David Goodis
Produced by	Louis W. Kellman
Starring	Dan Duryea Jayne Mansfield Martha Vickers
Cinematography	Don Malkames
Edited by	Paul Wendkos Herta Horn
Music by	Sol Kaplan
Production company	Columbia Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	June 1957 (1957-06)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$90,000 (estimated)

The Burglar is a 1957 American crime thriller film noir released by Columbia Pictures, based on the 1953 novel of the same name by David Goodis (who also wrote the script). The picture stars Dan Duryea in the title role and Jayne Mansfield. The movie was the first feature film directed by Paul Wendkos.^[1] John Facenda, a well-known Philadelphia sportscaster, is featured as a news anchor in one scene. Much of the film was shot on location in Philadelphia and Atlantic City.^[2]

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Plot

A wealthy Philadelphia man's personal estate and fortune is left to the leader of a spiritualist group, headed by an older woman known as "Sister Sara". Part of the bequest is a jewelled necklace.^[3]^[4]

Intending to steal the jewels, Nat Harbin forms a gang, that includes two men, Baylock and Dohmer, and Gladden, the daughter of his mentor. Gladden is dispatched to case the spiritualist's estate, posing as a devotee of the group's work.

Gladden eventually discovers where to find Sister Sara's safe. The safest time to rob it is when Sister Sara is absorbed in the evening television newscast. Parked near the mansion, Harbin enters through a window, finding the safe while Sister Sara watches the news downstairs.

While working on the safe with a muted drill, Harbin is signalled that he is needed outside. Two officers have approached the thieves' car while Harbin's two cohorts hide nearby. Harbin tells the policemen that he has had car trouble and will wait there until morning when he can get help. The policemen drive back to their station. Harbin hurries back to the safe and succeeds in opening it and taking the necklace.

Sister Sara discovers the burglary while getting ready for bed. Meanwhile, Harbin and the two others change their car's license plates and make their getaway. They are followed, however, by another car. At their hideout, Blaylock and Dohmer are eager to fence the necklace and get their share of the money. However, Harbin says that they have to wait until news of the robbery dies down and to increase the return they might get from a fence. One of the officers that talked to Harbin meanwhile makes an artist create a sketch of the suspected robber.

At the gang's hideaway, Gladden feels out of place and unhappy, while Dohmer lusts after her. Blaylock wants to leave the country and achieve his dream of a quiet life in Central America. Harbin seems anxious and unable act and tells Blaylock about his and Gladden's past and the responsibility he feels for her. After an altercation with Dohmer, Harbin sends her off to Atlantic City to wait for him.

When Gladden takes the train to Atlantic City, she is followed by a man. The man later approaches her on the beach, and the two strike up a relationship. In Philadelphia, Harbin meets Della, someone who talks about her own hard life and invites him to her apartment. Having fallen asleep, Harbin awakens to find her gone. Stepping outside, he sees her with the same man who has been getting close to Gladden, and hears the two conspiring about getting the necklace. He then steals away.

Realizing that Gladden is in danger, Harbin drives toward Atlantic City with Blaylock and Dohmer, but a toll booth operator recognizes him from the sketch and calls the authorities. The gang's car is later stopped by an officer for a routine traffic violation. Panicking, Dohmer shoots the policeman, who fires back and kills him. Harbin and Blaylock abandon the car with Dohmer's body near Atlantic City, where they take refuge in a deserted shack. Knowing that the man he heard with Della has been pretending to be Gladden's boyfriend, Harbin calls her hotel room and tells her to send the boyfriend away so that he can see her. When the man comes downstairs to the lobby, Harbin realizes that he is Charlie, one of the officers who questioned him on the night of the burglary.

In Gladden's room, Harbin hides the necklace under her pillow after the two quarrel. When Harbin returns to the shack, Gladden finds the jewels and hides them in her musical jewel box. Charlie, meanwhile, has called Della and told her to come to Atlantic City. At the shack, Charlie has killed Blaylock and confronts Harbin, offering to spare him and even give him a cut of the money he will get if Harbin surrenders the necklace. Once Della arrives, Harbin reveals that he hid the jewels in Gladden's room, and Charlie heads out, leaving Della to hold a gun on Harbin. Harbin, though, walks out, hoping that Della will not be able to shoot him, which she does not.

Harbin calls Gladden at her room just before Charlie can arrive. The two meet at Atlantic City's Steel Pier, where Gladden shows Harbin the music box. The two retreat to the "Endless Tunnel" attraction to hide from Charlie, who finds them when Gladden drops the box and it plays its tune. As the three sit together at a show, Harbin offers the necklace in return for Gladden's life. As Gladden leaves, Charlie shoots Harbin in the back, and he falls down the stairs, where Gladden takes him in her arms. The police arrive, having been alerted, and congratulate Charlie, who has displayed his police credentials, on stopping the wanted fugitive. Charlie claims that Harbin had thrown the jewels into the ocean, but Della has just arrived and is enraged that he seems to be cutting her out of their deal. When Charlie lunges at Della, the head detective punches him and finds the jewelry in his pocket. Charlie is handcuffed and led away.