Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman is a 1917 American silent film starring John Barrymore and Evelyn Brent.

[1][2] As described in a film magazine,[3] A. J. Raffles (Barrymore), a highly educated crook with entree to the best social circles, steals for the love of it and the thrill of the chase, enjoying outwitting the police and amateur detectives.

An international swindler who has possession of a priceless "rose pearl" takes passage on a steamship and Raffles does likewise.

For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required cuts, in Reel 1, of the intertitle "Relieving such as he of their ill-gotten gain would be an ideal occupation", closeup of stealing pearl from slipper, hiding pearl in empty cartridge, Reel 2, the intertitle "He strolled through life taking from the rich to give to the poor", Reel 4, maid taking key from under pillow and stealing necklace, closeup views of tearing man's mouth(*these scenes are extant in surviving prints that weren't censored), two closeups of biting hand, Reel 5, two intertitles "Oh Bunny, there is nothing equal to it, your very life hangs in the balance" and "I've never stolen a farthing for personal gain.

[4] A photo in Daniel Blum's Pictorial History of the Silent Screen c.1953 has Raffles escaping pursuers through an opening in a large Grandfather clock which covers a doorway.