EDITORIAL REVIEWS:
Director William Wyler went to Paris to shoot this frothy caper comedy. Nicole Bonnet (Audrey Hepburn) lives with her father, Charles (Hugh Griffith). He keeps them in luxury by selling an occasional painting--maybe a Renoir, maybe a van Gogh. A well-known art connoisseur, he has an endless supply of paintings; he paints them himself--like his father before him, he is an expert forger. Persuaded to loan a Cellini sculpture--actually created by his father--for an exhibition, Charles is horrified when the museum decides to insure the sculpture and sends for an expert to authenticate it. Afraid the Bonnets will be exposed, Nicole decides to help. After thwarting an apparent robbery, she becomes attracted to the intruder, Simon Dermott (Peter O'Toole). She contacts Simon again, with a proposition: She wants him to help her steal the Cellini--before it is inspected.
Never for a moment taking itself seriously, this amusing concoction rests in the capable hands of its handsome and witty stars. They both deliver: Audrey is fetching and Peter is dashing. The robbery--an amusing take on the elaborate jewelry heists seen in Jules Dassin's RIFIFI and TOPKAPI--is as intricate and amusing as it is unlikely.
() Theatrical Release: July 13, 1966
HOW TO STEAL A MILLION was made in France--the exteriors were shot on location in Paris, the interiors in the Boulogne studio, also in Paris.
HOW TO STEAL A MILLION had too much action to be shot in a real museum, so art director Alexandre Trauner built one on the Studio Boulogne stage. Wyler wondered how Trauner was going to obtain the artworks for his construction and asked, "Are you going to rent real masterpieces?" When the set was finished it was full of fabulous artwork--by Renoir, Picasso, Degas, Monet, Rembrandt, Tintoretto, da Vinci, and El Greco. They were all fakes, not exact copies. Trauner had recruited several young Parisian artists by paying them handsomely and guaranteeing them anonymity. In response to public interest, Fox arranged a New York gallery exhibit of these "forgeries," complete with catalog, in November 1966.
George C. Scott was originally signed to play the role of Davis Leland in HOW TO STEAL A MILLION. On his first day, Scott was due on set at 12 noon, but he didn't arrive till 5:00. Almost immediately director William Wyler was called away to direct the next set-up. It was complicated, and Wyler did not return till 7.30--by then Scott had left. Wyler fired him on the spot and replaced him with Eli Wallach.
The original title was HOW TO STEAL $1,000,000 AND LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
Screenwriter Harry Kurnitz was also the author of a novel and a Broadway play about an art forger, RECLINING FIGURE.
() A million-dollar art museum heist is the chewy center of this chocolate truffle as the dashing O'Toole and precious Hepburn pair off in an aristocratic romantic comedy. The chemistry of the two leads makes this well worth the watch.
() "...The stars are romantically appealing together..."
USA Today (10/20/1995) "[T]he final robbery sequence is exhilarating, and the repartee consistently witty and droll."
Entertainment Weekly (12/10/2004)
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION NOTES:
Director: William Wyler, Willi Wyler
Producer: Fred Kohlmar
Composer: John Williams, John Towner Williams, Johnny Williams
Director of Photography: Charles Lang, Charles Lang, Charles B. Lang, Charles Bryant Lang
Editor: Robert W. Swink, Robert Swink
Production Designer: Alexandre Trauner, Alexander Trauner
Screenwriter: Harry Kurnitz, Marco Page (aka H. Kurnitz)
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