The Devil Is a Sissy is a 1936 American MGM comedy-drama film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and Rowland Brown.

Claude Pierce is an aristocratic and well-bred boy from England, whose parents have received a divorce.

According to a child custody agreement signed by his parents, Claude will spend six months living with his father.

Jay Pierce, the father in question, has settled in New York City, where he works as an architect.

[2] Claude's "polished" manners make him stand out among his schoolmates, and the other children start playing pranks on him.

He soon gets on the bad side of two lower-class children, Robert "Buck" Murphy and James "Gig" Stevens.

Claude takes boxing lessons, which help him beat Buck in a street fight.

[5] Gig decides to raise the money by stealing, and convinces his friend Buck to help him.

[6] Claude learns of the problem, and instructs his new friends to start "stealing from the rich" and to emulate a fictional role model, gentleman thief A. J. Raffles.

The robbery and visit to the pawn shop go as planned, but the three juvenile delinquents are then arrested by a police officer who finds their activities suspicious.

Claude shows symptoms of illness at this point, but he attributes them to a common cold and pays no attention to them.

[15] The film is apparently based on a screenplay called The Devil Is a Sissie, which screenwriters Rowland Brown and Frank Frenton were working on in 1935.