How to Steal a Million
I haven't written a review in like, forever. But I will rectify that right now by writing about one of my favorite films, How to Steal a Million.
How to Steal a Million is coming out on DVD on Tuesday (!) and I am really, really excited for it. I caught the film while I was in high school (back when AMC was commercial free and actually worth watching). It's an entertaining caper/romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole.
The film opens at an art auction where a Cezanne painting from the fabeled Bonnet collection is being sold. Nicole Bonnet (Hepburn) is driving in her tiny convertible to her Parisian home and hears about the sale on the radio. Her father (Hugh Griffith) is not a famed art collector, but rather a brilliant forger of the masters.
And one of their masterpieces, a statue purported to have been done by Celinni, is going to be exhibited in an art museum. Nicole worries, but because it is so much easier to detect fraud, but her father pooh-poohs her worries. The evening that the statue is exhibited in the museum, Nicole finds a burglar in their house! It's Simon Dermott (O'Toole, a burglar I would like to find in my house) and he's actually pulling something out of the faux Van Gogh. Simon and Nicole have a meet-cute interaction which leads to her shooting him by accident, Nicole driving his car back to the Ritz in her nightie, black rubber boots, and a pink coat thrown over it all, and Simon giving Nicole a good-night kiss before gently placing her in a taxi to go home.
The next morning Nicole and Bonnet find out that there needs to be a technical examination of the Celinni Venus before a million-dollar insurance policy can go into force. This is not a good thing for them, and Nicole decides to be proactive and contact Simon about stealing the Venus back. They meet at the Ritz Bar, and Nicole's outfit of a lace cocktail dress complete with lace mask and silver eye shadow has to be seen to be believed.
Simon decides to take the job and they wander around Paris while he tries to solve the problem of thwarting the security around the statue. The plan he comes up with is brilliant and utterly implausible in the computerized era. It must also be seen to be believed, but it involves a lot of time spent in a tiny broom closet. Eventually Simon gets it out of Nicole that the statue is a fake and reveals that he is going through with this crazy scheme because he loves her.
FILE UNDER: Classic Films
How to Steal a Million is coming out on DVD on Tuesday (!) and I am really, really excited for it. I caught the film while I was in high school (back when AMC was commercial free and actually worth watching). It's an entertaining caper/romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole.
The film opens at an art auction where a Cezanne painting from the fabeled Bonnet collection is being sold. Nicole Bonnet (Hepburn) is driving in her tiny convertible to her Parisian home and hears about the sale on the radio. Her father (Hugh Griffith) is not a famed art collector, but rather a brilliant forger of the masters.
And one of their masterpieces, a statue purported to have been done by Celinni, is going to be exhibited in an art museum. Nicole worries, but because it is so much easier to detect fraud, but her father pooh-poohs her worries. The evening that the statue is exhibited in the museum, Nicole finds a burglar in their house! It's Simon Dermott (O'Toole, a burglar I would like to find in my house) and he's actually pulling something out of the faux Van Gogh. Simon and Nicole have a meet-cute interaction which leads to her shooting him by accident, Nicole driving his car back to the Ritz in her nightie, black rubber boots, and a pink coat thrown over it all, and Simon giving Nicole a good-night kiss before gently placing her in a taxi to go home.
The next morning Nicole and Bonnet find out that there needs to be a technical examination of the Celinni Venus before a million-dollar insurance policy can go into force. This is not a good thing for them, and Nicole decides to be proactive and contact Simon about stealing the Venus back. They meet at the Ritz Bar, and Nicole's outfit of a lace cocktail dress complete with lace mask and silver eye shadow has to be seen to be believed.
Simon decides to take the job and they wander around Paris while he tries to solve the problem of thwarting the security around the statue. The plan he comes up with is brilliant and utterly implausible in the computerized era. It must also be seen to be believed, but it involves a lot of time spent in a tiny broom closet. Eventually Simon gets it out of Nicole that the statue is a fake and reveals that he is going through with this crazy scheme because he loves her.
Every girl would love to be trapped in a closet with him!
The film wraps up quite nicely from there, with only a hint of intrigue with Nicole's fiancee, David Leland (Eli Wallach) and his acquisition of the Cellini Venus.
It's quite a nice little film, a nice companion to Charade, which has a similar story line. But honestly, I have to say that the real reason to see this film is for Peter O'Toole. He's so pretty. It's those eyes!
It's quite a nice little film, a nice companion to Charade, which has a similar story line. But honestly, I have to say that the real reason to see this film is for Peter O'Toole. He's so pretty. It's those eyes!
FILE UNDER: Classic Films
posted by Rebecca at 2:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home