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.
