One particular line, said by Nicole Bonnet (Audrey Hepburn) in a stupefied voice, accurately sums up my overall feelings: "Marvelous."The comedy! When it comes to the jokes, screenwriter George Bradshaw is a sharpshooter. And of course, with any comedy that works, a portion of the applause should be directed towards the pair of lead actors and their chemistry. EVERY SECOND that Hepburn and O'Toole shared the screen, my smile, which seemed to always be there, widened. My love for Audrey has long since been established, but here is where I fell for Peter, who I'd dare say stole the movie; he was SO damn good, and SO damn charming. It's this couple's likability that contributes to the nervous excitement of the heist suggested in the title.And that heist! That entire playful sequence, from the planning to the finale, was a blast. Wyler seamlessly wove scenes that filled me with anxiousness with those that had me grinning at the delightful comedy and romance. It was so creative and so much fun to sit through.I wish I had more words to praise this picture, but a first viewing and a lack of an imagination restrict me. To wrap this up: this being my first Wyler unfairly sets the bar at a dizzying height for the second.

Why would anyone want to steal a priceless statue, the Cellini Venus, from a Paris art museum IF you had been the one to loan it to the museum in the first place? Therein lies the riddle that makes up the story of this movie. When you first look at the cast of this William Wyler movie, it looks like there are three—maybe four--Oscar winners. Well, that is true and not true: Audrey Hepburn and Hugh Griffith won performance Oscars, but Peter O'Toole and Charles Boyer—while receiving several nominations each —ended up with only Honorary Oscars. Once you have seen a few art heist movies, you know what pains that a museum or bank goes through to protect the priceless objet d'art in their possession. There all sorts of bells and whistles, secret codes, and infrared sensors around the art, not to mention the 24/7 personnel used to respond to this plethora of mechanical-electrical gimmicks.The fun of the movie is watching O'Toole help Hepburn try to steal the statue. This is a bit like watching an episode of the old Mission Impossible TV show.

not a comedy. not an brilliant example of ironic view about art market. or seductive love story with few memorable scenes. but a charming story about tricks, meetings, suspense and Audrey Hepburn in a fantastic role. and, maybe, useful revelation for discover Peter O 'Toole as great comedian. a film who challenges the viewer in many ways. this is the basic source of its charm. and the explanation for its success. because all is lovely, acid and touching. emotions, the statue, Hugh Griffith 's performance. and the clash between revelations and the tension of the work of impeccable fake thief are pieces for recreate the nostalgia. for a period, for a manner to make romantic films, for a lost form of innocent, wise, bitter and full of impressive sparkles movies.

Romantic comedy about a woman (Audrey Hepburn) who must steal a statue from a Paris museum to help conceal her father (Hugh Griffith)'s art forgeries, and the man (Peter O'Toole) who helps her.At this point in his career, William Wyler was a legend and had made many successful films and critical hits. This is a man who had been working for decades in a variety of genres. And yet, after all those years, this may be one of his most entertaining.We start with the fun idea of paintings being forged, with the incredible character actor Hugh Griffith. I wish Griffith had done more films, because he seems to have taken anything people would give him, ending up in a few AIP films. And then we have a comedy for the next two hours. The description says "romantic comedy", but I think that does not really do the film justice. It is not the modern idea of what we call a "rom com".