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Wikipedia

How to Steal a Million

January 07, 2023

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.

How to Steal a Million
Theatrical release poster by Robert McGinnis
Directed byWilliam Wyler
Screenplay byHarry Kurnitz
Based on"Venus Rising"
1962 story in Practise to Deceive
by George Bradshaw
Produced byFred Kohlmar
Starring
CinematographyCharles Lang
Edited byRobert Swink
Music byJohnny Williams
Production
company
World Wide Productions
Distributed by20th 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]

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 agrees to help Nicole, though he initially believes that it is impossible to steal the Venus in any case.

American tycoon Davis Leland, an avid art collector, becomes obsessed with owning the Venus. He meets Nicole solely to purchase the statue, but instantly falls in love with her. At their second meeting, he proposes marriage, but Nicole must rush off to the museum for the "heist", so she accepts his ring.

Nicole and Simon hide in a utility closet until closing time. After observing the guards' routine, Simon repeatedly sets off the security alarm 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. 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. Simon secretly adds Nicole's engagement ring to the package.

Nicole meets Simon to celebrate their success. Simon says the Cellini Venus was his first heist too, reveals his true occupation of exposing forgeries, and declares his love for Nicole. 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 elope, 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.

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]

Popular culture

  • A verbal exchange between Nicole and her father during the film ("Papa!" "Nicole") was borrowed and adapted in a successful series of commercials for the Renault Clio.[7]
  • The robbery scenes in the film were copied for the Hindi film Loafer (1973) and the Tamil film Lingaa (2014).[8][9][10]
  • The robbery scenes are copied in the Argentine film Heroic Losers (2019). In that film, the characters are inspired by How to Steal a Million to commit their crimes.

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). . 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

External links

January 07, 2023
steal, million, 1966, american, heist, comedy, film, directed, william, wyler, starring, audrey, hepburn, peter, toole, wallach, hugh, griffith, charles, boyer, film, filmed, paris, though, characters, speak, entirely, english, hepburn, clothes, were, designed. 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 How to Steal a MillionTheatrical release poster by Robert McGinnisDirected byWilliam WylerScreenplay byHarry KurnitzBased on Venus Rising 1962 story in Practise to Deceiveby George BradshawProduced byFred KohlmarStarringAudrey Hepburn Peter O Toole Eli Wallach Hugh Griffith Charles BoyerCinematographyCharles LangEdited byRobert SwinkMusic byJohnny WilliamsProductioncompanyWorld Wide ProductionsDistributed by20th Century FoxRelease dateJuly 13 1966 1966 07 13 United States Running time123 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 6 4 million 1 Box office 4 4 million US rentals 2 3 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Reception 3 1 Box office 4 Popular culture 5 References 5 1 Bibliography 6 External linksPlot EditProminent 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 Kleber 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 agrees to help Nicole though he initially believes that it is impossible to steal the Venus in any case American tycoon Davis Leland an avid art collector becomes obsessed with owning the Venus He meets Nicole solely to purchase the statue but instantly falls in love with her At their second meeting he proposes marriage but Nicole must rush off to the museum for the heist so she accepts his ring Nicole and Simon hide in a utility closet until closing time After observing the guards routine Simon repeatedly sets off the security alarm 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 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 Simon secretly adds Nicole s engagement ring to the package Nicole meets Simon to celebrate their success Simon says the Cellini Venus was his first heist too reveals his true occupation of exposing forgeries and declares his love for Nicole 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 elope 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 Cast EditAudrey Hepburn as Nicole Bonnet the daughter of Charles Bonnet Peter O Toole as Simon Dermott the thief who helps Nicole to steal back the Venus Eli Wallach as Davis Leland Hugh Griffith as Charles Bonnet an art forger and owner of the Venus His father sculpted the Venus after his mother Charles Boyer as DeSolnay Fernand Gravey as Grammont Marcel Dalio as Senor Paravideo Jacques Marin as chief guard Moustache as guard Roger Treville as auctioneer Eddie Malin as insurance clerkReception EditIn 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 Edit 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 Popular culture EditA verbal exchange between Nicole and her father during the film Papa Nicole was borrowed and adapted in a successful series of commercials for the Renault Clio 7 The robbery scenes in the film were copied for the Hindi film Loafer 1973 and the Tamil film Lingaa 2014 8 9 10 The robbery scenes are copied in the Argentine film Heroic Losers 2019 In that film the characters are inspired by How to Steal a Million to commit their crimes References Edit Solomon 1989 p 254 Solomon 1989 p 230 Big Rental Pictures of 1966 Variety January 4 1967 p 8 ISSN 0042 2738 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 How to Steal a Million Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved December 20 2022 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 Holloway Charles February 8 2012 Va va Voom Millnet Archived from the original on October 5 2015 Review of Loafer Shankar s Weekly Vol 25 no 2 1972 Kainthla Ramesh Loafer movie review Planet Bollywood Sen Raja December 12 2014 Review Lingaa is buffoonery at its most old school Rediff com Retrieved January 22 2016 Bibliography Edit Solomon Aubrey 1989 Twentieth Century Fox A Corporate and Financial History The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series Lanham Maryland Scarecrow Press ISBN 978 0 8108 4244 1 External links EditHow to Steal a Million at IMDb How to Steal a Million at AllMovie How to Steal a Million at the American Film Institute Catalog How to Steal a Million at the TCM Movie Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title How to Steal a Million amp oldid 1129870439, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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