Gentleman Thief: Difference between revisions

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== Comic Books ==

* The Phantom Blot of the 40s, a Disney villain.

* Gambit, from ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'': charms the ladies while taking their pocketbooks.

* [[Fantomas]], going so far as to wear a top hat, opera cape, and cane while performing his second-story jobs. (He eventually stopped doing that, however.)

* Fantomex, also from ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' and the ''[[X-Force]]'', who Grant Morrison [[Captain Ersatz|based]] on classic pulp characters Fantomas and [[Diabolik]].

** In the first issue of ''[[The Adjectival Superhero|Uncanny]] X-Force'', he raids the Tower of London on a wager with [[Wolverine Publicity|Wolverine]] and, upon losing (Logan beat him to the vault), agrees to pay Logan with a case of cognac, worth "two million dollars a bottle". It's not about the money, but rather, it's simply "his poison".

*** This was heavily implied to be a bet between the two where the loser had to buy a case of alchohol for the winner.

* The Riddler from ''[[Batman]]'', occasionally. His personality varies, actually.

** The Penguin started out this way but eventually settled into a role as a semi-legit restauranteur/arms dealer.

* Zagar, by the Italian comic artist Jacovitti. This thief, master of disguises, is a parody of this trope.

* [[Modesty Blaise (comic strip)|Modesty Blaise]] and Willie Garvin.

* [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider Man]]'s foe, the Black Fox.

** There's also Walter Hardy, father of the [[Classy Cat Burglar|Black Cat]]. Unfortunately, he's something of a subversion in that he keeps retiring because he causes more harm than he intends to. In regular comics continuity and the 90s cartoon, he's tricked into working for Nazis and nearly gets them a [[Super Soldier]] formula. In [[The Spectacular Spider-Man]], he became [[The Atoner]] after killing {{spoiler|Uncle Ben}} in a moment of weakness.

** Marvel also has Shen Kuei, aka "The Cat" (he evens has a tattoo of a cat on his chest), who is both this trope and a rare male example of the [[Classy Cat Burglar]] at times. He's not only a skilled thief, but he also has martial arts skills that rival his arch enemies, Shang-Chi and Iron Fist.

* [[The DCU|DC subversion]]: the Gentleman Ghost may put on airs at times, but he's a highwayman through and through.

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* [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[To Catch a Thief]]'' follows John Robie (Cary Grant), a reformed Gentleman Thief, as he attempts to discover who has been framing him for a new spate of burglaries. It turns out to be a [[Classy Cat Burglar]].

* "Sir Charles Lytton, the Notorious Phantom", David Niven's ([[The Other Darrin|or Christopher Plummer's]]) character in the ''[[Pink Panther]]'' movies.

** Niven also plays Colonel Matthews, the titular character of ''The Brain'', where he, two petty crooks, and the mafia attempt to hijack a train transporting the NATO millions to the new NATO headquarters. Hilarity ensues.

* Pierce Brosnan plays a millionaire trying to be a Gentleman Thief in ''[[The Thomas Crown Affair]]''. "It's just a game, love; it's just a game."

** Complete with {{spoiler|a literal calling card: a pencil with the name of his firm left plainly at the scene of the final caper}}!

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** See [[wikipedia:A. J. Raffles|the other Wiki]] for a list of works featuring Raffles. Also recently appeared as a minor character in the webcomic ''Scary-Go-Round''.

* [[Arsène Lupin]] in the series of short stories and books written by Maurice Leblanc between 1905 and 1939, and in five additional volumes written by Boileau-Narcejac in the 1970s, is a Gentleman Thief who moonlights as a detective. He was the precursor of [[Lupin III|Arsène Lupin III]], and is pretty much the [[Trope Namer]], as the first collection of short stories on the character is called ''Arsène Lupin: Gentleman Cambrioleur'' (Arsène Lupin: Gentleman Burglar). He's also the [[Trope Codifier]], exhibiting many of the tropes associated with this trope and [[Phantom Thief]]: [[Calling Card]]s, being a [[Master of Disguise]], announcing his crimes ahead of time, fighting evil criminals and displaying a general romantic attitude.

* Flambeau is a clever, strong, joking, and very tall jewel thief of the ''[[Father Brown]]'' series by [[G. K. Chesterton]]. His name means "''torch''" in French. He liked to use paradoxical disguises (as in "''The Queer Feet''"). After several encounters with Father Brown, he gave up crime and [[Heel Face Turn|reformed]].

* Subverted to pieces in the essay ''Memoirs of a Private Detective'' by [[Dashiell Hammett]]:

{{quote|Second only to Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is Raffles in the affections of the daily press. The phrase "gentleman crook" is used on the slightest provocation. A composite portrait of the gentry upon whom the newspapers have bestowed this title would show a laudanum-drinker, with a large rhinestone-horseshoe aglow in the soiled bosom of his shirt below a bow-tie, leering at his victim, and saying: "Now don't get scared, lady, I ain't gonna crack you on the bean. I ain't a rough-neck!"}}

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* Seregil (and Alec) in Lynn Flewelling's ''[[Nightrunner]]'' books.

* Nicholas Valiarde/Donatien in ''The Death Of The Necromancer'' by Martha Wells.

* The titular character in the ''[[Montmorency]]'' series is an interesting twist on this. He is a gentleman and a thief, but not both at the same time {{spoiler|at first}}. He often struggles about which one is his real self and ends up progressing from a common pickpocket to a {{spoiler|spy for the British government}}, at which point he truly becomes a Gentleman Thief.

* The series title of Scott Lynch's ''[[Gentleman Bastard]]'' (''The Lies of Locke Lamora'', ''Red Seas Under Red Skies'') gives a nod to this trope and to the nature of the central protagonists.

* The series title of Scott Lynch's ''[[Gentleman Bastard Sequence]]'' (''The Lies of Locke Lamora'', ''Red Seas Under Red Skies'') gives a nod to this trope and to the nature of the central protagonists.

** Locke is pretty much a deconstruction of this trope: his deeds inspired the legend of the "Thorn of Camorr", who is a gentleman thief, but the real Locke Lamora will not hesitate to [[Kick the Dog|kick a few dogs to reach his goals]], even if he still have [[Even Evil Has Standards|his standards]] (after all, he is also {{spoiler|a priest of the 13th}}), hence the ''bastard'' (singular) in the series title. Because of his intelligence and education, people may expect this of him, even knowing that he is a thief. He speculates about this at one point, after he punches out his elderly woman captor, who apparently never considered that he would do such a thing, to gain an antidote to her poisoning and escape.

* Kelsier and his crew from ''[[Mistborn]]'' by Brandon Sanderson.

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* Eli Monpress of [[The Spirit Thief]] is this, and also a wizard. His 'light' (''it's hard to explain, you have to see it'', says all the spirits) makes it so that most spirits will do as he asks without a servant or a slave bond (as the good guys and the bad guys use, respectively), letting him pull off blatantly impossible acts of wizardry. His goal in life is to increase his bounty to one million golden standards (an insane amount, quoted as being more money than exists in the world).

* ''[[In Death]]'': you can be sure that Roarke became this as he became an adult. He is as suave as they come and is certainly an expert at stealing.

* Nicholas Valiarde, a recurring character in Martha Wells' ''Ile-Rien'' series and the hero of the novel "The Death of the Necromancer," is a master art thief from whom no wealthy collector's mansion is safe.

* Panamon Creel from ''[[The Sword of Shannara]]'' does an amazing impression of one of these, yet at the core he's far more of an [[Affably Evil]] [[The Highwayman|highwayman]] than he is one of these, and he knows it, putting on the act in an attempt at convincing himself that he hasn't wasted his life.

* Quinn/{{spoiler|Alex}} from Kay Hooper's ''Once a Thief'' and ''Always a Thief'' novels fits this to a T, though he prefers the term "[[Classy Cat Burglar|cat burglar]]".

== Live Action TV ==

* Dennis Stanton, a [[Recurring Character]] in ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'', was a Gentleman Thief in his first appearance, although in later appearances, he used his skills as an insurance investigator. He worked by three rules: he never steals from anyone who can't afford it, he never steals anything with sentimental value, and he makes sure that everything he steals is insured by the company who refused to pay for his late wife to have a lifesaving operation.

* Jerry Fagin, an international jewel thief who made a single appearance in ''[[Cagney and Lacey]]'' solely to challenge Cagney to a duel of wits. His first action is to pull a heist and plant evidence all over the scene that points to the police department itself. When this becomes clear, Cagney immediately says, "Jerry Fagin! Nobody else would do this with such unmitigated . . . style!"

* Autolycus, the King of Thieves of ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' and ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' fame.

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* ''[[Remington Steele]]'' was this kind of character before taking over his role as a private investigator.

* ''[[Hustle]]'' likes to play with this one. It's Albert's favourite character, despite him being a former cobbler. Mickey tends to be suave and debonair, as well. The others, not so much...

* ''[[It Takes a Thief]]'' (1968 TV series) was about a second generation Gentleman Thief who was caught and given the choice of prison or helping the government. He chose helping the government. Inspired by, though not based upon, the 1955 Cary Grant motion picture ''To Catch a Thief'' (see above). Notable for starring Robert Wagner as the thief and Fred Astaire!!! as his father, who says at the start of every episode, "I've heard of stealing "from" the government, but stealing "for" the government?".

* ''[[It Takes a Thief (2005 TV series)|It Takes a Thief]]'' (1968 TV series) was about a second generation Gentleman Thief who was caught and given the choice of prison or helping the government. He chose helping the government. Inspired by, though not based upon, the 1955 Cary Grant motion picture ''To Catch a Thief'' (see above). Notable for starring Robert Wagner as the thief and Fred Astaire!!! as his father, who says at the start of every episode, "I've heard of stealing "from" the government, but stealing "for" the government?".

* Subverted in the ''[[Psych]]'' episode, "Extradition: British Colombia." Pierre Despereaux seems to be one of these, but as it turns out {{spoiler|it's actually an elaborate art-insurance scam: the owners let Desperaux steal the art (who then presumably sells it on the black market or perhaps keeps some of it himself), so the cash-strapped owners can collect the insurance money rather than having to sell the art themselves (which is rather embarrassing).}}

** He comes back in a later episode to show that {{spoiler|he really is good at it}}.

* While none of the main cast use this persona on [[Leverage]], Archie Leach, played by Richard Chamberlain was [[Classy Cat Burglar|Parker's]] mentor and appears to still be effective despite being retired.

* Neal Caffrey from ''[[White Collar]]'' fits this trope to a tee.

* Mamoru Chiba, aka Tuxedo Kamen, in the [[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon|Live Action]] [[Live Action Adaptation|Adaptation]] of ''[[Sailor Moon]]''.

* Steve McBride, who is also known as a middle class thief ([[James McAvoy|James McAvoy's]] character in series 1-2 of ''[[Shameless]]'').

== Real Life ==

* In his memoirs, [[Badass]] early 1900s detective Frederick Porter Wensley refers to the Spider, a brilliant Gentleman Thief who turned to a life of crime for a sense of adventure.

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== Web Original ==

* Jeremy Archer from ''[[Shadow of the Templar]]''. He uses non-lethal weapons to avoid killing people during his thefts, has sexual tension with Simon, the FBI agent chasing after him in the first novel (which stops being tension soon after), and acts as an occasional consultant for Simon's team on cases involving more dangerous criminals.

** Kind of subverted in that, while he's extremely charming, any time he charms a woman, he does it with tongue firmly in cheek. It's implied that basically everyone knows he's gay (the team doesn't know because Jeremy doesn't want to mess up Simon's life).

*** According to [[Word of God]], he's bisexual with a preference toward men.

* [[The Onion]]: [http://www.theonion.com/content/video/bad_boy_fencing_star_implicated Bad Boy Fencing Star Implicated In Daring Jewel Heist.]