How to Steal a Million (1966)

How sad is this?

Beautiful, moving film.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

not a comedy. not an brilliant example of ironic view about art market. or seductive love story with few memorable scenes. but a charming story about tricks, meetings, suspense and Audrey Hepburn in a fantastic role. and, maybe, useful revelation for discover Peter O 'Toole as great comedian. a film who challenges the viewer in many ways. this is the basic source of its charm. and the explanation for its success. because all is lovely, acid and touching. emotions, the statue, Hugh Griffith 's performance. and the clash between revelations and the tension of the work of impeccable fake thief are pieces for recreate the nostalgia. for a period, for a manner to make romantic films, for a lost form of innocent, wise, bitter and full of impressive sparkles movies.

Romantic comedy about a woman (Audrey Hepburn) who must steal a statue from a Paris museum to help conceal her father (Hugh Griffith)'s art forgeries, and the man (Peter O'Toole) who helps her.At this point in his career, William Wyler was a legend and had made many successful films and critical hits. This is a man who had been working for decades in a variety of genres. And yet, after all those years, this may be one of his most entertaining.We start with the fun idea of paintings being forged, with the incredible character actor Hugh Griffith. I wish Griffith had done more films, because he seems to have taken anything people would give him, ending up in a few AIP films. And then we have a comedy for the next two hours. The description says "romantic comedy", but I think that does not really do the film justice. It is not the modern idea of what we call a "rom com".

First of all, full disclosure: I had a GIGUNDA crush on Peter O' Toole as a young girl, and this film catches him at a moment in his life when he not only looked crazy fabulous, but appears to be having the time of his life with this gossamer wing of a tale with... who else? The Queen of Gossamer Wing Tales herself, Audrey Hepburn. But above and beyond these two knockouts and the delightful chemistry they have together, and their wonderful cast (most notably Hugh Griffiths as Audrey's father), we have Paris, we have that enchanting musical title theme, we have that stunningly gorgeous house they live in, and those cars! Peter's citrine Jaguar XKE has to be the sexiest car that has ever been filmed. I don't even know what Audrey's car was but it is SO adorable and chic - whoever chose the cars should have been nominated for an Oscar for that alone. The script is clever, the Givenchy outfits are lovely, and Wiliam Wyler directs with such a light touch. Come visit the Paris of 1966 and watch Peter and Audrey fall in love!

It's as easy to overuse the term "charming" in describing this film as it is the terms "gamine" or "soused" in describing its famous leads. That's because "How To Steal A Million" doles out charm in round numbers.Nicole Bonnet (Audrey Hepburn) must get her father's prize Cellini sculpture out of a Paris museum before it can be properly tested for insurance purposes and exposed as a forgery. To this end, she enlists the aid of a man named Dermott (Peter O'Toole) she caught breaking into her family townhouse. Dermott's blue eyes make an impression, as does his bossy manner."You really are the smuggest and most hateful man," she tells him."If you frequent criminal circles, you can't be choosy," he replies."How To Steal A Million" is a caper film that's rather heavy on the light comedy. At just over two hours, it is a bit long for the story it tells. But with Hepburn in glamorous form, dressed to the nines in Givenchy, and O'Toole surprisingly smooth in keeping up his end of the banter, the film makes for a frothy ride in mid-1960s ambiance and anything-goes entertainment.Director William Wyler was a stylish director who knew how to pace a film. The Hepburn-O'Toole pairing starts with a cute meet and builds effectively in a series of comic incidents culminating in the heist itself, which comprises about a half-hour. This could be deadly dull, except for the film's constant readiness to amuse and surprise you. Scripter Harry Kurnitz plays his cards ably, telling you just enough to keep you wondering what will happen next, whether it's escaping a museum closet or revealing Dermott's true nature.Hugh Griffith, florid in some other roles, shines here as Nicole's forger father, a proud man who sees his crime as a kind of art and blanches when his daughter calls one a "fake.""That's a word we don't use in this house!" he says, those famously tangled eyebrows flaring.And what a house! It took three viewings for me to notice the staircase banister is upholstered in purple velvet. Adding to the festive charm is an engaging score by one "Johnny Williams," who was still channeling his inner Mancini at this point, and quite well.A subplot involving an American tycoon is the one glaring weakness; it's not well incorporated in the story, and the character is overplayed by Eli Wallach. Wallach put on a clinic in screen acting that same year, in "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly," but he seems an odd fit for a role originally cast for George C. Scott, who might have been better but I suspect would have weighed down the film with his usual heaviness. Wyler should have chopped the tycoon out.Overall, the film goes down well, engaging you with beauty both artistic and human, and then delighting you with its humor and mild suspense. The heist itself is cleverly designed, its centerpiece involving Hepburn and O'Toole stuck in a tight closet for the ultimate in comic-romantic clinches. There's an easy quality to the film that makes it enjoyable, even in repeat viewings where you can pick up on the in-jokes and Wyler's gamesmanship, like the way he cuts from a series of paintings to Hepburn and O'Toole similarly framed inside that closet."How To Steal A Million" isn't quite a work of art, but it is a thing of rare beauty worth appreciating.