How to Steal a Million (1966)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

George Bradshaw (story)
Harry Kurnitz (screenplay)

Release Date:

19 August 1966 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

S-S-S-H-H-H-H-H - Meet a couple of smart operators who give a lesson in love and larceny

Plot:

Romantic comedy about a woman who must steal a statue from a Paris museum to help conceal her father's art forgeries, and the man who helps her.

Plot Keywords:

Statue | Burglar | Insurance | Forgery | Police

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Audrey Hepburn	...	Nicole
Peter O'Toole	...	Simon Dermott
Eli Wallach	...	Davis Leland
Hugh Griffith	...	Bonnet
Charles Boyer	...	DeSolnay
Fernand Gravey	...	Grammont
Marcel Dalio	...	Senor Paravideo
Jacques Marin	...	Chief Guard
Moustache	...	Guard
Roger Tréville	...	Auctioneer (as Roger Treville)
Edward Malin	...	Insurance Clerk (as Eddie Malin)
Bert Bertram	...	Marcel

Also Known As:

How to Steal a Million Dollars and Live Happily Ever After
William Wyler's How to Steal a Million (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Hong Kong:I | USA:Approved (certificate #21174) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

World Wide Productions

Trivia:

William Wyler first considered making this film as a follow up to Roman Holiday (1953); as in that film, Gregory Peck would have played the male lead opposite Audrey Hepburn. At that time he had a darker mood in mind and approached Stanley Kubrick, who had recently made The Killing (1956), to contribute.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When stealing the Cellini Venus Simon Dermot exchanges the Venus with the empty bottle. However as a clever thief he should have worn gloves because his fingerprints were on the bottle.

Quotes:

Nicole Bonnet: For a burglar you're not very brave, are you?
Simon Dermott: I'm a society burglar. I don't expect people to rush about shooting me!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Star Wars: Music by John Williams (1980) (TV)

Soundtrack:

La Marseillaise

Enjoyably light little caper movie

Nicole's grandfather is a master forger of art who has made a career from dealing in real and forged art. His granddaughter Nicole knows this and looks after him. One evening while he is out an art evening, she interrupts a charming burglar as he is trying to steal one of the pictures. She is won over by him after shooting him accidentally and takes him back to his house – protecting him, but also keeping the police from investigating the forgeries too closely. Later, Charles takes insurance on one of his sculptures only to find that the policy must involve an official technical investigation. Knowing that this will expose and ruin her grandfather, Nicole approaches Simon to help her steal the sculpture and keep the secret.

I had never heard of this film but I was off work one day and watched it for lack of anything else to watch. The film has a nice bubbly feel to it that really helps cover how slight it is. The plot really sort of drags along at one point but for most of it, it does have a slight energy. The romance between the two leads is a little unconvincing but is helped by the charm of the two of them. The actual robbery is light but amusing – nothing like the usual hi-tech robbery in these caper movies, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

O'Toole is on good form in a witty role that he seems to enjoy doing. Hepburn is not as good as in other films and she suffers from the lack of material. The two together are good and have a nice chemistry that really saves the film.

Overall this is an enjoyable film. It may be very slight but it has a nice energy that makes it a quite fun movie to watch. Only the sudden rush of plot towards the end make it feel a little heavier.