How to Steal a Million

It may not have turned out to be a great movie, but How to Steal a Million is a good example of a film that could use a little bit of trimming around the middle. Namely in the sub-plot with Eli Wallach, which doesn’t seem of much use to the main thrust of the plot despite a last minute surprise reveal, could have been removed and a simple bit of dialog used in place to smooth over the story. Exercising this B story wouldn’t have made Million a masterpiece of the romantic comedy/crime-caper films of the 60s, but it would’ve improved it tremendously.

None of this is to say that Million is a bad film, far from it. It’s an enjoyable light-weight romp with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole. Their presence and gifts for this kind of acting makes it engrossing and highly watchable. I’d hesitate to call it cinematic junk food since that term sounds so damn harsh, it’s more like cinematic chocolate pieces. Bite-sized and sweet, it’s at its best when it allows its story to go on auto-pilot and observes the chemistry and romantic back-and-forth the leads provide. It may not rank up there with Charade, To Catch a Thief or Arabesque, but How to Steal a Million is utterly charming. And, really, who needs a great story when you have Peter O’Toole being elegant and suave, Audrey Hepburn being luminous and wrapped in Givenchy, and a script that does provide for some snappy banter and funny situations (even if it its problematic).