User Reviews

William Wyler was at the end of his distinguished career when he undertook this project. The film with a screen play by Harry Kurnitz is a film that doesn't break any new grounds, but it's a favorite of a lot of fans, no doubt because of the luminous presence of Audrey Hepburn, a star of such charisma and elegance, unmatched by her peers.

Audrey Hepburn is seen in the film through the loving eyes of Mr. Wyler, a director who had worked with the star before. In fact, it was Mr. Wyler who was instrumental in directing Ms. Hepburn in "Roman Holiday", her big break in the American cinema. Audrey Hepburn is seen in the film at her best thanks to Givenchy, a designer that loved her, and whose clothes adorn the star and give the film a touch of chic.

Peter O'Toole makes an interesting partner for Ms. Hepburn. As Simon Dermott, Mr. O'Toole is the perfect match for his co-star. Both actors are seen at their most charismatic selves. They seem to be having the time of their lives working for Mr. Wyler and living it up in Paris!

The supporting cast is excellent. Hugh Griffith, Charles Boyer, Eli Wallach, Fernand Gravey and Marcel Dalio, and the rest grace the film with their distinguished presence and contribute to the general fun generated by this gentle caper.

Thanks to Mr. Wyler and its stars "How to Steal a Million" is a pleasure to watch.

Leave aside for the moment the two leads, Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole, both at the very pinnacle of their star power and attractiveness. Leave aside, too, the brilliant support of two comedy masters, Eli Wallach and Hugh Griffith. And the sheen of William Wyler's direction, honed to perfection over a long, award-winning career. And the sparkling dialogue of old-pro scenarist Harry Kurnitz. And the beautiful location photography in that most beautiful of cities, Paris. And John Williams' sprightly score, and the rich production design, and the exquisite costumes, and every other perfectly-executed facet of this gleaming gem of a film. And concentrate on one single moment: in the museum, in the cupboard under the stairs, when Audrey Hepburn's character realizes that Peter O'Toole is going through everything he's going through, including breaking the law even though he's a policeman, simply because he's fallen in love with her. The expression on Hepburn's face is one of those truly sublime moments that make movies what they can be: bigger than life, more real, more joyous, more true. And for that alone we can be grateful that this movie is available for us and our posterity to enjoy.

The trio of William Wyler directing, Audrey Hepburn as a charming French woman in need of help and Peter O'Toole as the dashing fellow who agrees to commit a crime for her seemed at first glance to many film aficionados to be potentially a fine partnership for making a winning comedy. "How to Steal a Million" in fact turned out to be atmospheric, very French, very sophisticated and a great deal of fun. The clever story and screenplay by George Bradshaw and Harry Kurnitz worked almost everywhere, I suggest. Some of the film's humor seems obvious to me--the use of rotund Gallic comedian Moustache borders upon parody at times; but this is a fundamentally light-hearted romp of a film from its flimsy but serviceable premise to its satisfying romantic conclusion. It is a comedy; and it turns upon O'Toole's ability to devise a means of stealing a well-guarded art object from a major French Museum, a physical feat which he proves to be quite capable of achieving. The reason he is asked by Hepburn to plan that robbery is that the lovely statue now on display is about to be examined and authenticated by experts--and her father created the work, as he has created so many others, his charming and adroit forgeries. There are several other currents at work in the plot as well; there is a U.S. buyer after the piece, Hepburn 's belief that her champion is a crook turns out to be an unfounded assumption, and he is falling in love with her as she is with him throughout the unfolding of actions and events. The production is expensive-looking but never "heavy" in feel to my way of thinking. Givenchy did Miss Hepburn's gowns, Charles Lang was the cinematographer, and the production design by Alexander Trauner and the bubbly music by John Williams both served the story very strongly. In the cast, O'Toole and Hepburn seem perfectly mismatched; she is a bit inconsistent, I believe not knowing how "old" to play her part; O'Toole is intelligent, and plays both a crook with a sense of humor and a romantic admirer of Miss Hepburn's very successfully. Her father who proudly but inadvertently loans the piece to the Museum and misses the clause relative to its being examined by experts is Hugh Griffith, who suggests as much as he blusters. His likability is the key to the plot, because if he were not talented and likable and worth saving, the viewers would not accept the story-line'e basic premise--much ado to save him. Eli Wallach is bright as usual as the obsessed would-be buyer; others in the cast include Charles Boyer, Fernand Gravey, Marcel Dallio, Jacques Mann, the aforementioned Moustache and Roger Treville. The film is often discussed as if it were a trifle, a cinematic glass of champagne and a delightful and only a bit-overlong comedy. the attitudes expressed miss the three points of the film...It is noir, since the police cannot be brought into the case; it is comedy, which means its tone of light-heartedness and clever dialogue is very often exactly right; and its sub-plot is adventure, a very daring and ingenious combination of psychology, physical paraphernalia and enjoyable suspense. It is well-liked by many, and as a writer, I am certainly one of its admirers..

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This Movie was one of the best Audrey made - not an easy statement to make since she made so many great ones. "How to steal a million" is not as well known as her early works (Roman Holiday for example) or as well regarded as Breakfast at Tiffany's (Considered her Signature role), but it is far and away her best comedic work.The casting for the movie was very good. from the principals down to the supporting cast. Notice especially the casting of Hugh Griffith as Charles Bonnet in the role of Audrey's (Nicole's) errant but very endearing Papa, The interplay of those two Characters together with her scenes with Peter O'Toole as Simon Dermott (Society Burglar / Private Investigator / Love Interest) secured, to my mind at any rate, the movie's success. In addition, notice also the performances of Jacques Marin and Moustache as the museum security guards. Both of these turned in terrific work in supporting roles as did Charles Boyer in his (all too brief) appearance as the art Dealer DeSolnay. The sole weak point was I believe the casting of Eli Walach for the character of Davis Leland. Though his performance was adequate, he was not the best choice for this character (a role that was originally intended for George C. Scott). In Summary: The casting was wonderful, The characters were believable, Principals were excellent together and the dialog was bright,sophisticated and (did I mention?) FUNNY! Conclusion: This is one my favorite movies. I have watched it repeatedly over the years and it never fails to makes me laugh. So, If you like to laugh and especially if you're a fan of either Audrey or Peter then this movie is a "must-have". I rate it 10 out of 10.

What makes a movie like this so wonderful? It's probably just an age thing (I remember seeing this movie at the cinema), but when I saw it again recently I just felt a sense of joy and pleasure and, yes, optimism. Now these are words that may be almost incomprehensible to today's jaded, cynical and, often, brutalised audiences, and I am sure that many would see this movie as slow, naive and totally irrelevant.

But for me the effortless playing, the perfect timing and understated sophistication is so much more intelligent, witty and rewarding than the clunking, crude sign-posted so called "rom-coms" of today.

This is not their best film by any means, but to watch O'Toole and Hepburn playing off each other with such natural and fluent grace is simply magical. Lighthearted fluff like this completely works when the actors really know what they are doing.

And has there ever been anybody who is simultaneously so sophisticated and vulnerable as Audrey Hepburn? There is a scene where she is wearing a chaste little nightdress and she put on a pair of ordinary street galoshes. As she clumps across the room she displays more sex appeal and sheer class than any of today's moussed up, made up, blown up actresses could ever comprehend.

If you are searching for a movie with wit, charm and delightful comedy in it, you've found it. "How to Steal a Million" is perhaps one of the finest Audrey Hepburn's films around. It's the story of a reclusive though slightly devious painter and forger (Hugh Griffith) Charles Bonnet who aside from his practice of recreating masterpieces and selling them to eccentric private collectors decides to donate a priceless but fake sculpture from his private collection to the La Fayette museum to be viewed by the general public. Not wanting to lose it to theft without compensation, the museum insures it for $1,000.000 dollars. However the insurance company wants it appraised to see if it's genuine and calls in an expert who will use modern techniques to ascertain it's authenticity. If it's discovered to be a fake, the painter, his reputation and his family will be ruined. Thus his beautiful daughter Nicole (Audrey Hepburn) must hire master bugler Simon Dermott, (Peter O'Toole) to steal it from the heavily guarded museum. At the same time, she is being pursued by Davis Leland (Eli Wallach) an American millionaire who wants to marry her. What neither Nicole, nor her father suspect is that Mr. Dermott is more than a shy bugler, he too is interested in the painter's secret hobby and his daughter. Excellent film for the family. ****

HOW TO STEAL A MILLION is a romantic crime drama film which, through an illusion of fiction, merges art and fraud. A clumsy fraud, mixed with a pleasant romance, can quickly enter in our hearts.

Charles Bonnet is well-known as an art collector, but actually he copies famous works of art. His daughter Nicole disapproves his "work" and is also afraid that he may get caught. His replica of a famed Cellini sculpture is inadvertently displayed in an art museum, and he begins to worry that he'll lose his reputation once the experts evaluate the statuette. Nicole decides to steal sculpture from the museum with the help of a mysterious burglar. However, her assistant is actually a well-known private detective who investigates frauds of her father...

A simple story with lot flaws is enriched with a very thrilling twist. The film is full of fictional tricks, through which it develops a delicious romance. Mr. Wyler has managed to create a frivolous version of double deception. He has, through a healthy dose of humor, emphasized Mrs. Hepburn style. A scene with a key is probably one of the most memorable. I think that a key has a double meaning in this case. This is a key to the heart and the truth.

Audrey Hepburn as Nicole Bonnet is, as always, a magic woman, this time in the role of a romantic rich girl and morally sensitive daughter at the same time. Peter O'Toole as Simon Dermott is a calm seducer, between an eccentric detective and inexperienced burglar. All for love. There's good chemistry between the two of them.

Hugh Griffith as Charles Bonnet is funny an art counterfeiter. Eli Wallach as Davis Leland is crazed collector, who effectively shows the characteristics of a sexual perversion.

Every art is a kind of deception!? Each theft is a form of art!? However, it is very difficult to mislead or steal one's heart.

A charming adventure comedy. It revolves around good-hearted art forgery and the need to set thing right. The basic plot is rather implausible, but it hardly matters. There is a great chemistry between the primary characters and the story is pleasantly devoid of attributes that would prevent the film from being enjoyed by anybody from 10 years-old and up. The blend of mild suspense, gentle comedy and a bit of romance is not too intellectually provocative, but it makes for great fun. It's a film I can sit down an watch with my teenage daughter, my younger son, my wife and my mother, and everybody has a good time and comes away feeling better than when they sat down.

Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole are two of the most charismatic actors of all time. Complement their talent with a charming script and harmless direction from Hepburn regular, William Wyler, and you get a fun 2 hour ride.

Hepburn plays the daughter of an art forger who comes up the brilliant idea of stealing the very piece of art forged by her father, worth 1 million dollars, which is sitting in a 'highly' guarded museum. Of course, her reason for stealing the sculpture is so that her father isn't caught, but you're better off suspending disbelief for this plot point and every other one in this crime- comedy.

Hepburn and O'Toole have magnetic chemistry and share several laugh out loud moments in the heist. I think the problem is that it just takes a little bit too long to get going. With that and it's over the top nature, I can see why people wouldn't be keen on considering it one of Hepburn's best, it's not. With that said, it's hard not to become invested in O'Toole and Hepburn's budding romance throughout and the film's undeniably funny moments. The tone is very much in the same vein as the Wyler classic, Roman Holiday, also starring Hepburn. Once you get past the ridiculousness of the plot, I think you can enjoy the picture.

The film never reaches the heights of similar films like, To Catch a Thief, but I'm not sure it was intended to. Although, Hepburn can be seen holding an Alfred Hitchcock magazine at one point, possibly paying tribute to the crime classic which was released 10 years prior. At the very least, it got me thinking about how great a Hepburn-Hitchcock collaboration could have been. Overall, 'How to Steal a Million' deals with a simple plot and ridiculously over-the- top museum guards among other things, but it's a fun time. And that's all I can really ask from a 60's comedy.

+Hepburn & O'Toole's chemistry

+Undeniably funny

-Ridiculous plot

-Slow start and a little too long

7.5/10

William Wyler crafts a delightfully frothy caper backed up by wonderful on screen chemistry between Peter O'Toole & Audrey Hepburn. It seems to me that Hepburn always managed to bond with her Male co-stars, and here the interplay between O'Toole and herself is wonderful. Check out a long sequence of events involving the pair hiding out in a closet, it's gold dusted cinema.

The film's central plot involves Hepburn & O'Toole planning a daring robbery from a Paris museum to keep her art forger Father (a delightful Hugh Griffith) out of trouble, at first the couple are purely business partners with no love lost for each other, but as the story plays out the pair are forced to get along and etc.

The burglary itself is dramatic, attention grabbing entertainment, and it's also the film's highest point, but overall the film as a whole is simply good romantic fun. Also helps that it features a very tidy shift for the finale to further reward the audience for their time spent with the movie. Throw in dapper turns from Charles Boyer & Eli Wallach too, and it's all good really.

Open the wine, sit back and relax with Pete & Audrey. 8/10

The daughter (Audrey Hepburn) of an art forger (Hugh Griffith) who is also a privileged member of French society works with what she believes is a cat burglar (Peter O'Toole), but is actually a private detective to steal back her priceless sculpture from a Paris museum belonging to the family for personal reasons.

Stylish and glamorous is what you expect from a Hepburn film and that is exactly what is delivered and the viewer will not be short changed. Hepburn and O'Toole are a delightful pairing, but there are some dull stretches in the film, particularly in those scenes with Eli Wallach. The theft itself is well done and well executed though.

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.

How to Steal a Million (1966)

Well, Old Hollywood is on its last year here, and this is characteristic of its entertainment fodder at its best. That's complicated sounded because it is, in fact, a complicated picture behind the scenes. But first, this is a really fun movie. It's well directed (the incomparable William Wyler is why) and it stars the incomparable Audrey Hepburn--a dubious talent as an actress at times, but she just plays herself, and there is no one like her. Even the plot here is clever, a twist on the heist romance film that includes "To Catch a Thief."

Oh yes, mannequin-face Peter O'Toole with the stolen jewel blue eyes is here, funny and quirky as always. He and Hepburn do not have chemistry, but they make it fun and perky. And warm, in the end.

You almost have to look at these late Hollywood movies separate from the rising tide of serious alternative films with both content and energetic new style. The best example might be the first film by Mike Nichols, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" from the same year. This was New Hollywood on the verge--both films were based on plays, and the Nichols film won best picture. And then there is Nichols's second, "The Graduate," the next year, where the slick style of the old school melds with comic and social intensity of the new.

"How to Steal a Million" is pure fluff. It's well made, well film, well paced, well written fluff, but fluff. It means you can watch it once but not really enjoy the second round. And there are so many films like this from this period you have to wonder where people's tastes were. (The short answer is television.) You don't know quite what might happen but you are merely amused when it does. Even when our stars fall in love little by little. That gives nothing away, which say everything.

With a cast that features Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Eli Wallach, Charles Boyer and Hugh Griffith, you'd think this movie would be more interesting. The problem was that at slightly over two hours, it had too many parts that lagged. It took over an hour just to set up the heist. By then, a lot of viewers - at least in the theater where I saw this - were getting antsy. I couldn't blame them.

It's a heist movie but it's mainly a comedy. I liked the subtle humor in here but there wasn't enough of it to sustain interest. Eli Wallach also looked out of place. I guess I was used to seeing him as a Mexican bandit, not in a role like this! Hepburn's accent can be very annoying at times, too, unless you are a big fan of her's. As for O'Toole: he should have stayed in the desert.

Somehow Audrey Hepburn made fluffy romantic caper movies look

like high art. Take this adorable trifle directed by William Wyler

with Audrey looking glorious in her trademark Givenchy clothing.

Audrey could have phone in a performance, but she's totally

enchanting as always, making us overlook the seams in the script.

She's beautifully supported by Peter O'Toole, who never looked

handsomer or more Cary Grant-ish in his life as Simon, the art

expert who gets talked into stealing Audrey's father's statue of the

Cellini Venus back from the museum when it is learned the statue

has to be authenticated for insurance purposes.

Hugh Griffith, as Audrey's father, is a delightful rogue of an art

forger and Charles Boyer and Eli Wallach just add to the fun. The

actual theft of the statue is quite ingenious, if a little too drawn out.

Still, here's two hours of pure enchantment. That Ferrari still looks

good nearly forty years later, and if Audrey was walking down Fifth

Avenue, dressed in Givenchy's stunning creations today, she'd

cause a riot. Check out that lace cocktail dress with the matching

lace mask at the bar of the Ritz in Paris! It doesn't get any chicer

than this.

In her third and final film with William Wyler, Audrey Hepburn did a most stylish caper comedy in How To Steal A Million. Despite the title being a complete misnomer because it's not about currency, francs, pounds, or dollars, the film is a delightful romp from start to finish.

Things are about to come crashing down around the family business of art forgery that Hugh Griffith and daughter Audrey have been carrying on. A statue of Venus that Cellini supposedly did, but is a forgery that Griffith's father did some years ago is about to undergo some routine tests that were not available years ago. They will certainly disclose that the statue is a fake and while Griffith's business is forging paintings instead of sculpture the authorities might start looking him over as well.

In fact when Hepburn catches gentleman cat burglar Peter O'Toole trying to steal a Van Gogh, she actually lets him go lest the Van Gogh be investigated. Later on she looks him up when she hits upon a plan to steal the 'Cellini' statue from the museum and might have need of O'Toole's skills in such matters.

The caper part of How To Steal A Million is the most fun and I won't say a word about it except that O'Toole hits on a really good idea involving the use of a toy boomerang. The whole caper nearly boomerangs as well as Hepburn and O'Toole have to spend some considerable time in a museum broom closet where they get better acquainted.

That part of the film also calls for Hepburn to get rid of the Givenchy gowns she was known for and wear the simple dress of a museum cleaning lady. Audrey still looks good in that.

Hepburn and O'Toole have some really nice chemistry, a pity they didn't do more films together. Hugh Griffith is a favorite character actor of mine, he has the wildest and most expressive eyes of any player in history. Griffith can do more with one upturned brow than Olivier can with a page of dialog. Audrey and Hugh both appeared in William Wyler films before and received Oscars for their performances, Audrey in Roman Holiday and Hugh in Ben-Hur. Audrey also did The Children's Hour with William Wyler as well.

And looming over all is the city of light, Paris which should have received some billing as well. Then again, that city never gives a bad performance on film.

When people speak of Audrey Hepburn movies or Peter O'Toole movies or even William Wyler movies this is the one they never mention. You'd think, then, it might be a dog of a picture but it isn't. As you would expect from Wyler it's beautifully mounted, (it looks a million and more), and Hepburn and O'Toole are deft light comedians and the supporting cast, (Charles Boyer, Eli Wallach and the great Hugh Griffith), rise to the occasion.

Griffith is the art forger and Hepburn is his daughter and they are about to be rumbled by O'Toole and Boyer but as happens in sophisticated rom-coms of this sort Hepburn and O'Toole fall in love. The plot, which involves a staged robbery planned by Hepburn, though quite ingeniously staged, is as light as air, (this isn't a great heist movie), and the script by Harry Kurnitz is hardly full of scintillating dialogue but Wyler was one of, if not the, greatest of all actor's directors and here he had a top-notch cast who were obviously enjoying themselves. The Paris locations are nice, too.

This film is a superb mix of farce, comedy, suspense and charm.

About he last one, lots of charm, arranged by Givenchy gowns and Audrey Hepburn herself. With good romantic and ironic dialogs and also surprisingly very good comedian Peter O'Toole all the time. All the time he pretends a serious role, but he is the highest responsible for the farce and the comedy, since the shot she hit him. Together with Hugh Griffith, these three hold the film giving to spectator the best of his time. >From the overture to the end, this film is an unique piece of good taste and the smoked love story is subtly conducted by William Wyler in the way of The Big Country - what proved that a nice love story can be told without the hot appeal of modern movies.

As a comedy "caper" film, "How to Steal a Million" is just about perfect. The premise sets it up: An art forger (Hugh Griffin) allows the prize of his "collection" -- a "Cellini" sculpture (by the forger's father with his mother as the model) -- to be exhibited in a major Paris museum. His daughter (Audrey Hepburn), who resembles the grandmother who modeled the Cellini nude, engages an apparent cat burglar (Peter O'Toole) whom she caught in their house trying to "steal" a newly painted fake Van Gogh, to steal the "Cellini" before it can be examined by experts for insurance purposes and exposed as a fake. The burglar, actually a detective specializing in exposing forged paintings, agrees to undertake the theft, having fallen in love with Ms. Hepburn's character. (That part is easy to understand because Ms. Hepburn is at her peak in this film, gorgeous and sparkling.) The theft is executed ingeniously, using a boomerang to set off the alarm system that protects the sculpture, bringing the museum guards and police from all over Paris to the Museum and disturbing important people who live close to the Museum. The alarm goes off twice, resulting in chaotic but fruitless searches of the Museum, and -- having heard twice from the important personages, the chief of the guards eventually shuts down the alarm, at which point O'Toole's character (also at his handsome peak) purloins the statue, which is then smuggled out of the building by Ms. Hepburn in the bucket she is using as a disguised scrub woman. In between, Hepburn and O'Toole are hidden in a tiny closet, rubbing up against one another, and Hepburn realizes that O'Toole is stealing the statue only because he has fallen in love with her. There's an important subplot: A wealthy and unscrupulous American collector (Eli Wallach) who already owns several of the forged paintings covets the Cellini and romances Ms. Hepburn in order to get close to her father, eventually forcing an engagement ring on her, which she accepts only because she is in a hurry to get to a crucial meeting with O'Toole at the Paris Ritz. Eventually, O'Toole gives the statue to Wallach just as he is leaving France, attaching the engagement ring to a ribbon around the statue's neck. Charles Boyer also appears briefly in the film as an art dealer with whom Wallach had previously worked. This plot, with some changes in detail, might have served as a serious caper film along the lines of "Topkapi" but it is a pure comedy from beginning to end. And Hepburn, O'Toole and Griffin play their roles as if born for this purpose. Wallach and Boyer are good and two of the guards are splendid. William Wyler's direction is impeccable. If you admired Ms. Hepburn and O'Toole at the peak of their physical attractiveness and their acting prowess, this film is a must-see.

Have never seen these 2 leads together before, but they worked very well. Supported by an excellent cast. The story might be a little far fetched, but still enjoyable and entertaining. Audrey Hepburn is the epitome of chic and class. I don't think any actress could touch her. O'Toole plays the "villain" superbly.

I absolutely love Peter O'Toole in this movie. He is the best leading man Audrey had in my opinion. Very playful and lots of fun and especially debonair.

I like how this movie plays out and it's just a lot of fun all around. I think my favorite part is when Audrey (Nicole) meets Peter (Simon) at the Ritz bar for the first time to request his "services". What a shock he got!

This is my absolute favorite movie of Audrey's even though she has plenty of superb performances out there, but none I think are as fun as this one. She is a great performer in everything she does, and it just looked like fun to be in this film.

See it! ;-)

Right from the start where it's light, catchy theme sets in, How To Steal A Million makes no pretensions that it is here to have a bit of fun. And as a small pleasant diversion, Hot To Steal A Million succeeds. It is competent, well directed, and it breezes along agreeably, making quick work of setting things up for the climax(consider the set up that the French presidents and residence and interior ministry neighbours the museum). Of course, it is also a ridiculous film, with outrageous logical loopholes, but for an audience with a desire for entertainment, that shouldn't be a burden. The film also finally stars Audrey Hepburn opposite an age appropriate male lead, the first after her debut in Roman Holiday. She acts her part well, reminding me to a similar comedic performance in Charade, while Peter O Toole is fittingly dashing and self assured as a burglar. The movie is also beautifully shot on location in Paris, with opulent, chic locales and interiors. The dialogue between the two leads is also fairy witty and definitely above average. My complaint with the film has to be that it may be predictable at times, and the film takes too long(around 45 minutes) before the main plot is fully introduced. The pairing of Hepburn and O toole, while competent, may be lacking in energy at times. Overall, How To Steal A Million is engrossing enough to delight a fun seeking audience, and it certainly is a competent heist film with a good amount of lightheartedness and comedy.

This film was disadvantaged from my perspective by virtue of the fact that we watched "Roman Holiday" just before it which seems to have everything this film lacked. Hepburn is lovely as always but the script gives O'Toole the best lines and he works wonders with them however Audrey is left looking ravishing and occasionally ravished. It's a far cry from the breathtaking impact she made in RH where she had a much more nuanced character to play, a better script and a leading man who seems to stand in awe of her blossoming talent. Curiously the older film feels more fresh. HTSAM has so many of those damned cornball rear projection shots, the French don't speak French and Audrey's wardrobe while of its time seems more like a parody of Carnaby Street than chic. All those things conspire to take you out of the picture whereas in RH, the rear projection on the scooter is handled deftly (and briefly), the Italians speak Italian and her wardrobe (by Edith Head) never threatens to upstage the actors. Farce and fable are like apples and oranges of course but it is Hepburn and Wyler together again and the magic just isn't there - for me anyway.