How to Steal a Million

Last updated

How to Steal a Million
Howtostealamillion.jpg
Theatrical release poster by Robert McGinnis
Directed by William Wyler
Screenplay by Harry Kurnitz
Based on"Venus Rising"
1962 story in Practise to Deceive
by George Bradshaw
Produced by Fred Kohlmar
Starring
Cinematography Charles Lang
Edited by Robert Swink
Music by Johnny Williams
Production
company
World Wide Productions
Distributed by 20th Century-Fox
Release date
  • July 13, 1966 (1966-07-13)(United States)
Running time
123 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6.4 million [1]
Box office$4.4 million (US rentals) [2] [3]

How to Steal a Million is a 1966 American heist comedy film directed by William Wyler and starring Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Eli Wallach, Hugh Griffith, and Charles Boyer. The film is set and was filmed in Paris, though the characters speak entirely in English. Hepburn's clothes were designed by Givenchy.

Contents

Plot

Prominent Paris art collector Charles Bonnet forges and sells famous artists' paintings. His disapproving daughter, Nicole, constantly fears that he will be caught. Late one night at their mansion, Nicole encounters a burglar, Simon Dermott, holding her father's forged "Van Gogh". She threatens him with an antique gun that accidentally fires, slightly wounding his arm. Wanting to avoid an investigation that would uncover her father's fake masterpieces, Nicole does not contact the police, and instead takes the charming Simon to his lavish hotel, driving him in his expensive sports car.

For an important exhibition in Paris, Charles is lending to the Kléber-Lafayette Museum his renowned "Cellini" Venus statuette that was actually sculpted by his father. Charles has never sold it because scientific testing would reveal that the "million-dollar" artwork is fake, and his entire collection would then be suspected. Charles signs the museum's standard insurance policy, then learns it includes his consent to just such a forensic examination. However, withdrawing the Venus from the exhibition would also raise suspicions. Desperate to protect her father, Nicole seeks Simon and asks him to steal the Venus before the examination. Unknown to Nicole, Simon is actually an expert consultant and investigator hired by major art galleries to enhance security and detect forgeries. He was investigating Charles' art collection when Nicole first encountered him. He initially believes that it is impossible to steal the Venus in any case and refuses to help Nicole, but changes his mind upon realizing he loves her.

American tycoon Davis Leland, an avid art collector, becomes obsessed with owning the Venus. He meets Nicole solely to purchase the statue, but becomes attracted to her. At their second meeting, he proposes marriage to ensure he can acquire her art, but Nicole must rush off to the museum for the "heist", so she accepts his ring in a hurry. When she mentions this to Simon, he tries to hide his disappointment.

Nicole and Simon hide in the museum's utility closet until closing time. After observing the guards' routine, Simon repeatedly sets off the security alarm with the help of a boomerang until the "faulty" system is finally disabled. Simon notices Nicole's resemblance to the Venus, and she admits that her grandfather sculpted the statuette and that her grandmother was the model; he in turn admits that he knew all along the Venus was worthless and only agreed to the heist for her. Simon steals the Venus, and Nicole, disguised as a cleaning woman, hides it in a bucket. When the Venus is discovered missing, they escape in the ensuing chaos.

Following the robbery, Leland seeks to acquire the Venus by any means. Simon connives to "sell" it to him on condition that it never be displayed to anyone and that he never contact the Bonnet family again; Leland should expect to eventually be asked for payment. Leland runs from Nicole when she tries to return her engagement ring, so Simon secretly adds the ring to the package.

Nicole meets Simon to celebrate their success. He says the Cellini Venus was his first heist too and reveals his true occupation of exposing forgeries, but implies he has no intentions of exposing her or her father to the authorities because she means too much to him. He then meets Charles and assures him that the statue will be safely out of the country. Charles is so relieved that he is only momentarily disappointed when Simon says that the purchase price was zero dollars (and because the statuette was never authenticated, there is no insurance). Simon tells Charles that one of them must retire, and Charles agrees to give up forgery.

As Nicole and Simon prepare to marry, a collector who had earlier admired Charles's new "Van Gogh" arrives at the Bonnet residence and is warmly welcomed by the wily forger. Nicole says the man is a "cousin". Simon admires her newfound flair for lying, and they drive off to begin their new life together.

Cast

Reception

In a New York Times review, critic Bosley Crowther called the plot "preposterous" but added, "It is still a delightful lot of flummery while it is going on, especially the major, central business of burglarizing the museum." [4]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 11 critics, with an average rating of 7.1/10. [5]

Box office

According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $12 million in rentals to break even and made $10.45 million, meaning it made a loss. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forgery</span> Process of making, adapting, or imitating objects to deceive

Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud. Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidden by law in some jurisdictions but such an offense is not related to forgery unless the tampered legal instrument was actually used in the course of the crime to defraud another person or entity. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations.

<i>The Lavender Hill Mob</i> 1951 film by Charles Crichton

The Lavender Hill Mob is a 1951 British comedy film from Ealing Studios, written by T. E. B. Clarke, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway and featuring Sid James and Alfie Bass. The title refers to Lavender Hill, a street in Battersea, a district in London SW11, near to Clapham Junction railway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benvenuto Cellini</span> Florentine sculptor and goldsmith

Benvenuto Cellini was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the Cellini Salt Cellar, the sculpture of Perseus with the Head of Medusa, and his autobiography, which has been described as "one of the most important documents of the 16th century".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentleman thief</span> Stock character; a sophisticated and well-mannered thief

A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to steal, and often has inherited wealth. They steal not only to gain material wealth but also for the thrill of the act itself, which is often combined in fiction with correcting a moral wrong, selecting wealthy targets, or stealing only particularly rare or challenging objects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art theft</span> Stealing of paintings or sculptures from museums

Art theft, sometimes called artnapping, is the stealing of paintings, sculptures, or other forms of visual art from galleries, museums or other public and private locations. Stolen art is often resold or used by criminals as collateral to secure loans. Only a small percentage of stolen art is recovered—an estimated 10%. Many nations operate police squads to investigate art theft and illegal trade in stolen art and antiquities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art forgery</span> Creation and trade of falsely credited art

Art forgery is the creation and sale of works of art which are falsely credited to other, usually more famous artists. Art forgery can be extremely lucrative, but modern dating and analysis techniques have made the identification of forged artwork much simpler.

<i>Heist</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by David Mamet

Heist is a 2001 American heist film written and directed by David Mamet and starring Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito and Delroy Lindo, with Rebecca Pidgeon, Ricky Jay and Sam Rockwell in supporting roles.

<i>The Thomas Crown Affair</i> (1999 film) 1999 American film

The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1999 American romantic heist film directed by John McTiernan, written by Leslie Dixon and Kurt Wimmer and is a remake of the 1968 film of the same name. Its story follows Thomas Crown, a billionaire who steals a painting from an art gallery and is pursued by an insurance investigator with the two falling in love. It stars Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, and Denis Leary.

The Lufthansa heist was a robbery which took place at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 11, 1978. An estimated US$5.875 million was stolen, with $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry, making it the largest cash robbery committed on American soil at the time.

<i>Gambit</i> (1966 film) 1966 film by Ronald Neame

Gambit is a 1966 American comedy heist film starring Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine as two criminals involved in an elaborate plot centered on a priceless antiquity owned by millionaire Mr. Shahbandar, played by Herbert Lom. It was nominated for three Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niccolò Tribolo</span> Italian sculptor

Niccolò di Raffaello di Niccolò dei Pericoli, called "Il Tribolo" was an Italian Mannerist artist in the service of Cosimo I de' Medici in his natal city of Florence.

<i>Nothing Lasts Forever</i> (Thorp novel) 1979 thriller novel by Roderick Thorp

Nothing Lasts Forever is a 1979 action thriller novel by American author Roderick Thorp, a sequel to his 1966 novel The Detective. The novel is mostly known through its 1988 film adaptation Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis. In 2012, the book was brought back into print and released as an ebook for the 24th anniversary of the film.

The Air France robbery was a major robbery that took place in April 1967, when associates of the Lucchese crime family stole $420,000 from the Air France cargo terminal at New York City's JFK International Airport. While there were many cargo thefts at JFK airport in 1967, this was the largest cash robbery that had taken place at the time. It was carried out by Henry Hill, Robert McMahon, Tommy DeSimone and Montague Montemurro, on a tip-off from McMahon. Hill believed it was the Air France robbery that endeared him to the Mafia.

<i>Art Heist</i> 2004 Spanish film

Art Heist is a 2004 action thriller film directed by Bryan Goeres and starring William Baldwin, Ellen Pompeo, and Abel Folk. Written by Diane Fine and Evan Spiliotopoulos, and produced by Manual Corbi, it was released on July 13, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah Charney</span> American novelist

Noah Charney is an American art historian and novelist. He is the author of The Art Thief, a mystery novel about a series of thefts from European museums and churches, and is the founder of the Association for Research into Crimes against Art.

<i>The Town</i> (2010 film) 2010 American crime thriller film directed by Ben Affleck

The Town is a 2010 American crime thriller film co-written and directed by Ben Affleck, adapted from Chuck Hogan's 2004 novel Prince of Thieves. The film stars Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Titus Welliver, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper and Slaine. Its plot follows a Boston bank robber who begins to develop romantic feelings for a victim of one of his previous robberies, while he and his crew set out to get one final score by robbing Fenway Park.

<i>The Art of the Steal</i> (2013 film) 2013 Canadian film

The Art of the Steal is a 2013 Canadian comedy film written and directed by Jonathan Sobol. It stars Kurt Russell, Jay Baruchel, Chris Diamantopoulos, Matt Dillon and Katheryn Winnick. It was shown at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Leonore Carol "Lee" Israel was an American author known for committing literary forgery. Her 2008 confessional autobiography Can You Ever Forgive Me? was adapted into the 2018 film of the same name starring Melissa McCarthy as Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonded Vault heist</span>

The Bonded Vault heist was the August 1975 robbery of the Bonded Vault Company, a commercial safe-deposit business occupying a vault inside Hudson Fur Storage in Providence, Rhode Island. It served as the unofficial "bank" used by the Patriarca crime family and associates. The stolen valuables were worth about $30 million. According to The Providence Journal, it was among the biggest heists in US history and resulted in the longest and costliest criminal trial in Rhode Island history.

<i>Destroyer</i> (2018 film) 2018 film directed by Karyn Kusama

Destroyer is a 2018 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by Karyn Kusama, written and co-produced by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, and starring Nicole Kidman with Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Scoot McNairy, Bradley Whitford, and Sebastian Stan. The film follows a former undercover police officer (Kidman), who takes revenge against members of a gang, years after her case was blown.

References

  1. Solomon 1989, p. 254.
  2. Solomon 1989, p. 230.
  3. "Big Rental Pictures of 1966". Variety . January 4, 1967. p. 8. ISSN   0042-2738.
  4. Crowther, Bosley (July 15, 1966). "Screen: 'How to Steal a Million' Opens at Music Hall". The New York Times . p. 34. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  5. "How to Steal a Million". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  6. Silverman, Stephen M. (1988). The Fox That Got Away: The Last Days of the Zanuck Dynasty at Twentieth Century-Fox . Secaucus, New Jersey: L. Stuart. p. 325. ISBN   978-0-8184-0485-6.
  7. Holloway, Charles (February 8, 2012). "Va va Voom". Millnet. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015.
  8. "Review of Loafer". Shankar's Weekly . Vol. 25, no. 2. 1972.
  9. Kainthla, Ramesh. "Loafer – movie review". Planet Bollywood.
  10. Sen, Raja (December 12, 2014). "Review: Lingaa is buffoonery at its most old-school". Rediff.com . Retrieved January 22, 2016.

Bibliography