Arsène Lupin is a French series from The '70s (it ran from 1971 to 1974) adapting Maurice Leblanc's stories about the Gentleman Thief of the same name, starring Georges Descrières in the role. It was produced by and first broadcast on the ORTF. Jean-Pierre Bourtayre composed the soundtrack.
Most of the stories were lifted straight from Leblanc's canon, with some original ones mixed in.
See also the two later miniseries starring François Dunoyer, which were heavily influenced by this one due to sharing the same writer, Jacques Nahum.
This series provides examples of the following tropes:
- Anachronic Order: The episodes' order doesn't follow that of the stories in the Leblanc canon.
- Con Men Hate Guns: Lupin hates firearms.
- Ending Theme: "Gentleman Cambrioleur"
by Jacques Dutronc plays for the closing credits. - Everyone Has Standards: As soon as the first episode, Lupin makes a point to his accomplice about not shedding blood during his heists (they would risk the guillotine in case of murder). So much so that, despite him being very much on the crime scene for a burglary in "The Crystal Stopper", the police doesn't even suspect him for the burglary, since a murder happens there (not by his hand) and committing murders is not his pattern.
- Expository Theme Tune: The Ending Theme by Jacques Dutronc, "Gentleman Cambrioleur", essentially describes what Lupin does.
- Gentleman Thief: Lupin, of course. He infiltrates the high society for his thefts, he's a man of taste and The Charmer, and he hates firearms.
- Iconic Outfit: Lupin most often wears his classic black top hat, black cape and High-Class Glass. The opening credits also feature it.
- Right Under Their Noses: In "The Crystal Stopper", during a party at Daubecq's house, the police inspector talks to Daubecq about the burglary and murder, just as Lupin lights himself a cigarette right in front of them.
- Rotoscoping: The animation in the Title Sequence is made of silhouettes, obtained via rotoscoping of live-action footage.
- Safecracking: In the opening of "The Crystal Stopper", Lupin cracks a safe to steal a small early Flemish Renaissance triptych that was believed to be lost when Germans plundered the areas of Northern France they occupied during World War I.
- Smoking Is Cool: The silhouette of a flapper smokes an extra long cigarette holder in the Title Sequence, and Lupin takes a puff of it too.
- The Teaser: There's a small scene setting up each episode's plot before the opening credits.
- Theme Tune: The saxophone main theme, composed by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre.
