Jim la houlette, roi des voleurs

At the heart of Roger Lion’s 1926 farce lies a biting critique of intellectual vanity and the parasitic nature of the upper class. Philibert Bretonneau is a literary sensation, a man whose name adorns the spines of popular novels, yet he possesses not an ounce of creative talent. The actual labor is performed by his invisible secretary, Moluchet, a man who lives in the shadows and harbors a silent, desperate longing for Bretonneau’s wife, Pauline. The status quo is disrupted by the return of 'Jim la houlette,' a notorious criminal who begins terrorizing the elite, starting with the theft of jewels from a prominent lawyer's wife. Sensing a marketing opportunity, Bretonneau’s opportunistic publisher, Saint-Lévy, devises a scheme: they will stage a theft of a new manuscript by the 'King of Thieves' to drum up publicity. Moluchet is tasked with playing the part of the criminal. However, the plan collapses when the real Jim appears during the charade. In a moment of paralyzed indecision, Moluchet allows the real thief to escape, only to find himself caught in the snare of his own deception, facing the full weight of the law while the true criminal remains at large.