For movie fans circa 2026, the franchise that launched with 1934’s Thin Man remains William Powell’s dominant legacy. Of course, he worked in dozens more films, with 1932’s Jewel Robbery as one of many pre-Thin Man.

Austrian Baroness Teri von Horhenfels (Kay Francis) finds herself stuck in a lifeless – though lucrative – marriage to wealthy Baron Franz (Henry Kolker) so she embarks on romantic affairs. When she visits a jewelry store, she meets suave thief (Powell).

Teri finds herself intrigued by the criminal. This leads them on a relationship fraught with ups and downs thanks to the robber’s line of work.

To refer to Jewel as a trifle would exist as an understatement. The movie lacks anything that resembles a real plot, the characters seem one-dimensional, and nothing much really transpires.

Trifle Jewel may become, though, it gives us a charming trifle. Light and lively, it turns into an enjoyable mix of romance and comedy.

The chemistry between Francis and Powell helps. Neither breaks a sweat in their superficial roles, but they add spark to the proceedings and mesh well.

Director William Dieterle moves along the tale at a brisk pace. At barely 68 minutes, we find no room for superfluous fluff, so the flick cranks along rapidly.

As implied, this means no real depth to the proceedings. However, Jewel doesn’t aspire to much more than light entertainment, so the absence of substance fails to turn into an issue.

With clever dialogue and vivid performances, Jewel overcomes its thin nature. The movie mostly delights.

Jewel Robbery appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Warner Archive produced an age-defying image here.

Sharpness looked great. Nary a sliver of softness marred the presentation.

The film never suffered from jaggies or shimmering, and I saw no edge haloes. Grain felt appropriate and print flaws failed to manifest.

Blacks appeared deep and dense, while shadows came across as smooth. Everything about the image satisfied.

Unfortunately, the film’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack brought more obvious signs of age. Dialogue could feel edgy, although the lines always remained intelligible.

Music and effects came with roughness and could appear somewhat shrill. No background noise or pops manifested, however. While adequate given the movie’s vintage, the audio seemed inconsistent.

Along with the film’s trailer, we get two vintage animated shorts. The disc includes You’re Too Careless With Your Kisses (7:21) and Bosko’s Store ().

In Kisses, a dapper partying bee deals with consequences from his wife. Well, that’s a sentence I never thought I’d write, and this becomes a mildly entertaining reel even with the anti-Semitic vibe given off by a spider who tries to eat Mrs. Bee.

Store offers more from Warner’s racist Mickey Mouse clone Bosko. None of the other Bosko cartoons I’ve seen amused me and Store becomes yet another dud.

A light rom-com, Jewel Robbery never threatens to become a genre classic. Nonetheless, thanks to lively performances from its stars and brisk direction, it becomes a frisky adventure. The Blu-ray boasts excellent visuals with mediocre audio and minor supplements. After 94 years, Jewel Robbery holds up nicely.