How to Steal a Million (1966)

Synopsis: Director William Wyler went to Paris to shoot this frothy caper comedy. Nicole Bonnet (Audrey Hepburn) lives with her father, Charles (Hugh Griffith). He keeps them in luxury by selling an occasional painting--maybe a Renoir, maybe a van Gogh. A well-known art connoisseur, he has an endless... Director William Wyler went to Paris to shoot this frothy caper comedy. Nicole Bonnet (Audrey Hepburn) lives with her father, Charles (Hugh Griffith). He keeps them in luxury by selling an occasional painting--maybe a Renoir, maybe a van Gogh. A well-known art connoisseur, he has an endless supply of paintings; he paints them himself--like his father before him, he is an expert forger. Persuaded to loan a Cellini sculpture--actually created by his father--for an exhibition, Charles is horrified when the museum decides to insure the sculpture and sends for an expert to authenticate it. Afraid the Bonnets will be exposed, Nicole decides to help. After thwarting an apparent robbery, she becomes attracted to the intruder, Simon Dermott (Peter O'Toole). She contacts Simon again, with a proposition: She wants him to help her steal the Cellini--before it is inspected. Never for a moment taking itself seriously, this amusing concoction rests in the capable hands of its handsome and witty stars. They both deliver: Audrey is fetching and Peter is dashing. The robbery--an amusing take on the elaborate jewelry heists seen in Jules Dassin's RIFIFI and TOPKAPI--is as intricate and amusing as it is unlikely. [More]