FIlm review: How to Steal a Million (William Wyler, 1966). Frivolous& irresistible

Some critics labeled it as a film about frivolous things. Well, if this is a frivolous film, then it is irresistibly frivolous: Givenchy outfits, a sport red car, fakes of the first hand, a spoiled and chic Parisian lady who reads Hitchcock before going to bed, a specialist in fake paintings who tricks a system by handling/ maneuvering a boomerang… For its irresistible character we have to ‘blame’ the Peter O’Toole& Audrey Hepburn couple. A mixture of childishness, chic elegance and playfulness, this is Audrey’s look and style which we also recognize in Breakfast at Tiffany’s or Roman Holiday. Audrey& O’Toole exhibit a luxury of witty lines and charming glances. With such a frivolous arsenal (also remember Audrey in nightgown and boots) the characters become disarmingly charming.

How to Steal a Million can also be interpreted as a parody of serious/ un-frivolous heist movies, like Jules Dassin’s Rififi si Topkapi. One first clue would be the Hitchcock Nicole is reading before discovering the intruder Simon Dermott. The suspense in the book sets the atmosphere for the circumstances in which the two characters make acquaintance with each other: Simon appears to be a burglar. But the suspense a la Hitchcock doesn’t belong to Wyler’s funny film; here, the meeting of the two is not guided by mystery or danger, but by funny accidents, eccentric behaviour and witty lines.

The parody-like character of the film also emerges from the apparitions of the night guard at the museum, embodied by the French actor Moustache: a round, lazy man, who manages to trick the system himself by taking a gulp of wine during the working hours.

The night theft inside the museum is also a parody of the heist movies known for their intricate plots. How to Steal a Million is almost hard to believe many times: a creator of fake paintings who looks like a fake faker himself, a boomerang playing tricks on a sophisticated security system, a specialist in fraud quickly re-orienting himself towards a faked statue’s theft (the Cellini Venus).

The music (composed by Johnny Williams) plays a catchy role in the film: the sparkling of the engagement ring is suggested by the sound of a Glockenspiel; the flight of the boomerang by a whirling piano sound and many times the light& witty atmosphere of the film is supported by a sound effect suggestive of cartoons.

Simon: “Why must it be this particular work of art?”
Nicole: “You don't think I'd steal something that didn't belong to me, do you?”
Simon: “Excuse me, I spoke without thinking.”

How to steal a million? But how to steal somebody’s heart? Simon and Nicole are artists of aristocratic theft. Nicole comes up with the provocative idea and with a style and smile hard to resist. When it comes to Peter O’Toole character, it is charm, ingeniosity, blue eyes, lord-like allure, (“Well, it was pitch dark and there he was. Tall, blue eyes, slim, quite good-looking... in a brutal, mean way, Papa. A terrible man!”), irony, “a knock-out car” and a restrictive closet in which to unfold/ exhibit one’s talent that turn the theft (of both statue and woman) into a success.
And Nicole’s melting glance towards her lover leaves room for no more comments: “You’re a genius…” We love the cinema, this frivolous art that creates characters you fall in love with.