Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Salubfoto
It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Gypsi Bates
Vinay (Dev Anand) suddenly finds himself being mistaken for another man named Amar. It then begins to seem that this Amar is a jewel thief, and Vinay's doppelganger. Vinay joins with his father, the police commissioner, to infiltrate Amar's gang to catch the thief.The film also stars Vyjayantimala as the main love interest, and Ashok Kumar as her brother. It also features four actresses in secondary romantic roles: Anju Mahendru, Tanuja, Faryal and Helen.This popular movie is, for the most part, an enjoyable watch. It becomes genuinely confusing--intentionally, no doubt--to keep up with who is doing what: Amar or Vinay. This adds to the feeling of suspense, as does some excellent film angles and the incidental music. It contains a great surprising plot twist. The music was average, and there are no exciting musical numbers, though it was fun to see the famous Helen dance. The costumes are mostly typical 1960's outfits, though Vyjayantimala did wear some beautiful traditional saris. The acting was more stilted than is the style today, but all the cast did well portraying their roles and creating the tense atmosphere. Despite being sometimes hard to follow--perhaps a problem due to having to read subtitles--it's easy to see why Jewel Thief was such a success and still enjoyed today.
ravi-or-raj
This is one of those rare suspense thrillers from the Indian Film industry ( also for some reasons referred to as Bollywood)which keeps you Guessing,engrossed , immersed and entertained right till the very end (Until the not-so fat lady sings). This film was way ahead of its time , it was from an era in which people actually spent time and effort on actually writing a good script. Vijay Anand (who also directed "teesri manzil" ) once again showed that he is the master of suspense . He is also ,in my opinion, one of the BEST at filming Song sequences, be it the sensuous "raat akeli hai" or the elaborate " hoton mein aisi baat" . This movie was on par (if not better) than many of the suspense thrillers which came out of Hollywood in that era.I really hope the Indian Film Industry finds more directors like Vijay Anand, who Value the importance of a good script.
peanutz454
Jewel Thief is *THE* crime thriller of Bollywood, and why should it not be? It is directed by the biggest exponent of the crime thriller art in Indian Cinema Vijay Anand ('Johny Mera Naam' and 'Teesri Manzil.) I could watch this movie for any of the following reasons (in order of importance):1 Vijay Anand's direction 2 R D Burman's music 3 Dev Anand 4 Vyjayanthimala 5 Ashok Kumar 6 Majrooh Sultanpuri's lyricsEven if Jewel Thief is not a Bond Movie it definitely has bond babes. Helen, Tanuja, and the mysterious Vyajanthimala (and some cameos.) But our sauvé Vinay (Dev Anand) is anything but Bond. He is out of control for most of the story and goes where the story takes him almost always as confused as we are. He even flirts with Anju (Tanuja) trying to hit her romantic nerve, just so that he can get employed in her father's shop.Dev Anand might be in a double role - well I don't want to spoil your movie or else I would have told you. That is what most of the mystery is about. Dev Anand works in a Jewelry shop and there is a robbery when he is supposed to be at work - though is not, or at least has a perfect alibi. We wonder who did it, is it Dev Anand as 'Vijay' the person he claims to be or is it 'Amar' someone we have not yet seen but many people claim is his look alike. Comes 'Shalu' (Vyjayanthimala) who even claims that he is her fiancé, in a tense situation Dev Anand has to prove that he is Vinay and not Amar. While everyone wonders if Dev Anand is Vinay or Amar he is asked to remove his socks. Amar we are told has 6 digits on one of his foot. While we watch with bated breath the events that are about to unfold Dev Anand even finds time to joke. The real life brothers Director Vijay Anand and Actor Dev Anand have many movies between them this is not the best of them but definitely the best in Crime Thriller. There are moments of Hitchcock's North By Northwest, but the movies are very different. Except for the confusion about who is who, a treacherous female lead and lot of traveling there isn't a lot of similarity. Dev Anand could very well be Amar in addition to being Vijay. People have seen him, they identify him where ever he goes. There are too many of those people for this to be a fraud. Finally Vinay thinks it is better to carry along with being Amar to find out what is the truth, and it is a sad mistake. He gets too deep into it, only to be saved by the twists of Cinema.When I watched the movie as a kid I was definitely not amused, the ending confused me completely. Even now there are parts about the ending that I do not like, but I'd recommend this movie anyway.Even as a kid I enjoyed the songs this movie has to offer. 'Yeh dil ...' - a definite loafers song in Kishor Kumar's voice. I could hear 'Rulake gaya ...' whole day long. Ditto for 'Aasmaan ke neeche' which is set 'under the skies' of Gangtok (at least the story line suggests that). 'Raat akeli hai' among the sexiest song to come out of Hindi cinema featuring Tanuja as the seductress. 'Meri taraf dekho' - Helen's cabaret and we 'look at her'. 'Hothon pe ...' - now, could there be any better thriller of a song than this. As the song progresses we are more tensed than we ever were and the words 'hidden in Shalu's lips' add to it.
Lobro
I don't remember if the Dev Anand's character was called Raju or not, but it could well have been, because he pulled off the familiar role of a gentleman thief with his usual style & elan. Cinematography, editing & screenplay were above average. The haunting tunes will endure for a long time to come.
