Zeus

Dusty Ermine (1936)

Stars:

Ronald Squire, Jane Baxter, Anthony Bushell

Although Neil Grant's stage play Dusty Ermine enjoyed a 250-performance run in London, screenwriters Du Garde Peach and Michael Hankinson could not resist the temptation to "improve" the play for its 1936 film version. Surprisingly, the film actually did turn out to be better than the play, no small thanks to its star, the ever-delightful Roland Young. The story concerns a master forger named Jim Kent (Young) and his equally larcenous nephew Gilbert (Arthur Macrae). Upon discovering that Gilbert has followed in his crooked footsteps, Jim determines that the boy shall turn honest, and to that end he takes the blame when Gilbert is arrested in the company of an international counterfeiting gang. But Gilbert has no intention of going straight and continues manufacturing "funny money." Realizing at long last that Jim is not the culprit -- after all, he's safely behind bars -- the police track down Gilbert, rescuing him from an Alpine avalanche and finally convincing him to pursue a less-risky occupation.