How to Steal a Million

Peter O'Toole shows Audrey Hepburn "How to Steal a Million" in this 1966 caper film directed by William Wyler. The film also stars Eli Wallach, Hugh Griffith, Charles Boyer, and Fernand Gravey. Hepburn plays Nicole, the daughter of a renowned art collector, Bonnet (Griffith), who in fact is not a collector but an expert forger. He has lent his famous Cellini Venus to the Paris Art Museum, only to find out that before it can be insured, there will be a technical test to assure its authenticity. Since it's a sculpture, and the chemical makeup was different from the material in the 14th century, the forgery will be easy to detect.

In order to help her father, Nicole Bonnet contacts Simon Dermott {O'Toole) whom she caught when he broke into the house she shares with her father, and asks him to steal the Venus from the museum.

In the '60s, caper films were all the rage, and it would be hard to miss with two such beautiful and sophisticated stars as Hepburn and O'Toole. Their chemistry is great, the caper is clever, and the dialogue is witty. The supporting cast is excellent; someone said Eli Wallach was miscast as an obsessive collector. Originally Wyler cast George G. Scott, but he was replaced when he arrived on the set late. Scott would have been more tycoon-like.

Like bubbly champagne, "How to Steal a Million" tickles and delights throughout.

Highly recommended.