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.

[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.

Gig initially tries to get money from his aunt Rose Hawley, who is a kept woman and financially secure.

[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.