THE MOVIES OF MY LIFE PROJECT PHASE ONE: How To Steal A Million (1966)

So the other film that tied for my poll to choose a film for me to watch and report on was this ‘romantic thriller’ starring Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole.  When I browsed through my choices for 1966, I was struck by how many of these light-hearted heist/intrigue pictures were made--I almost went with Gambit, but I already celebrated the super-coolness of 1960‘s Michael Caine earlier in this project with my essay on The Ipcress File.  And it occurs to me, as someone who always liked Peter O’Toole, I haven’t seen a lot of him in his heyday...thus my decision to watch this William Wyler production.

Even though it’s two hours plus in length, this film is very lean.  The romantic thriller tropes are all here--there’s a glamorous location (Paris in this case), a female lead who’s independent-but-not-really (Hepburn’s Nicole), two eccentric characters who will propel and complicate the plot (Eli Wallach’s tightly wound art collector and Hugh Griffith’s art forger) and a dashing mystery man of questionable morals for the female lead to be initially repelled by but then enamored of (Peter O’Toole).  Throw in a Macguffin (a forged statue that’s going to be authenticated) and some comically broad stereotypes to provide comic relief and the film sort of writes itself.  It’s not in the least bit grounded in reality (we’re talking a world where almost all the French people speak perfect American English), and it’s not meant to be; it’s glittery escapist fluff.  That’s probably why the romantic thriller genre petered out when the 70‘s rolled around and the zeitgeist got a whole lot darker.

Hepburn feels like she’s going through the motions, and I suppose after you’ve been in one of the defining films of the subgenre (Charade), any future scenarios may seem boring.  Luckily, the elements around her more than perfectly make up for her laziness, especially O’Toole.  I think Peter O’Toole is not appreciated for how much of a Movie Star he is--he plays a certain type, he does it well, and he manages to make those around him better.  He serves as an anchor to the film, keeping it on track even when inappropriate ethnic humor (There’s a Brazilian millionaire with a comedy accent, and a wine-drinking French museum guard played by the improbably named ‘Moustache’) threatens to make things unpleasant.  I do think the script tips its hand on his character’s true nature way too early in a way that makes his behavior toward Hepburn seem a little condescending, but otherwise he’s the best thing in the film.  I also really liked Wallach’s fast-talking, decisive art collector.  Sure, he’s playing a caricature, but does so with vigor and energy that makes his few scenes sing.

I will admit that the caper feels slight when it’s being pulled off...but it doesn’t feel padded, and the gimmicks O’Toole uses to conduct the heist are both simple and clever.  The impressive thing is that the film’s slightness doesn’t make it feel bloated; this thing actually moves at a good clip, keeping the forward momentum going through its running time.  If anything, the wrap up of the plot goes a little too fast.

I will recommend this movie, although I won’t call it Essential Viewing.  It’s a trifle, but a fun trifle.

On to 1967...