The film follows gentleman thief Arsène Lupin from a small boy, through the death of his father, and his adult years when he meets the strange woman, Joséphine, who appears to be immortal and uses a hypnotic drug to enslave people to her will. Arsène's ethos is to steal from the rich and deserving crooks. In this film he comes up against two parties, a secret society and Joséphine, who are intent on gathering three crucifixes which will reveal the secret of a lost treasure which contains secrets about Mehdi.
The film adapts elements from many of Leblanc's stories, including The Arrest of Arsène Lupin (the ship gala which introduces the adult Lupin), The Queen's Necklace (Lupin's childhood), Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late, The Hollow Needle (which provides the treasure that is a key component of the plot), 813, and The Countess Of Cagliostro (which brought over one of Lupin's recurring antagonists).
Reception
Lisa Nesselson of Variety dubbed the film, 'A thoroughly entertaining period romp bursting with intrigue'.[4]Empire awarded the film 3 out of five stars, criticizing Duris' performance, but complimenting the action and special effects.[5]Screen Daily praised the production values, but found the plot unclear.[6]
