How to Steal a Million (1966)

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.

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

George Bradshaw (based on a story by), Harry Kurnitz (screenplay)

Stars:

Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Eli Wallach

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Audrey Hepburn	...	Nicole Bonnet
Peter O'Toole	...	Simon Dermott
Eli Wallach	...	Davis Leland
Hugh Griffith	...	Charles 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

Storyline

In Paris, wealthy Charles Bonnet is well known in the art world as a collector of rare pieces, mostly of the impressionist masters. He will on occasion sell paintings from his collection at auction. In reality, he is an art forger, he only reproducing those pieces known to have gone missing. His daughter, Nicole Bonnet, wants him to stop this business fearing that some day soon he will get caught. She is most concerned about he loaning out his Cellini Venus statue to the Kléber-Lafayette Museum, as she knows that technology can now test for things such as material age which would prove that the statue and by association he is a fraud. He ends up causing a problem for himself when he signs a $1 million insurance policy for the statue for the museum, which unwittingly allows them to test the piece for its authenticity. To save her father from jail, Nicole feels the only thing she can do is try to steal the statue from the gallery which may not be the easiest thing to do especially as ...

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Plot Keywords:

museum | burglar | police | insurance | forgery | 

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Taglines:

A movie about those who appreciate the finest things in life... for free!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

19 August 1966 (UK)

Also Known As:

William Wyler's How to Steal a Million

Filming Locations:

Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

World Wide Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Color by Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Nicole dresses up as a cleaning lady, Simon Dermott says "That does it. For one thing, it gives Givenchy a night off." Hubert de Givenchy was Audrey Hepburn's costume designer.

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Goofs

When Dermott and Leland are having their conversation at the Ritz, the position of Dermott's hand with the cigarette changes multiple times between shots.

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Quotes

Simon Dermott: [about the Cellini Venus] Oh! She's fine. She's wrapped up in one of my old shirts, just as snug as could be. I rocked her to sleep in my arms last night. It's the first time I ever did that with a grandmother.

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Connections

Referenced in Virage de modes (2005)

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Soundtracks

La Marseillaise
(1792) (uncredited)
Written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle
In the score when the statue is transported to the museum

User Reviews

You really are the smuggest and most hateful man !

William Wyler crafts a delightfully frothy caper backed up by wonderful on screen chemistry between Peter O'Toole & Audrey Hepburn. It seems to me that Hepburn always managed to bond with her Male co-stars, and here the interplay between O'Toole and herself is wonderful. Check out a long sequence of events involving the pair hiding out in a closet, it's gold dusted cinema. The films central plot involves Hepburn & O'Toole planning a daring robbery from a Paris museum to keep her art forger Father {a delightful Hugh Griffith} out of trouble, at first the couple are purely business partners with no love lost for each other, but as the story plays out the pair are forced to get along and etc. The burglary itself is dramatic, attention grabbing entertainment, and it's also the film's highest point, but overall the film as a whole is simply good romantic fun. While it also features a very tidy shift for its finale to further reward the audience for their time spent with the movie. Throw in dapper turns from Charles Boyer & Eli Wallach too, and it's all good really. Open the wine, sit back and relax with Pete & Audrey. 8/10