MovieChat Forums > How to Steal a Million (1966) Discussion > Why isn't this movie better known?

Why isn't this movie better known?

posted 19 years ago by trpdean
11 replies | jump to latest

I see movies like, say, Charade on television all the time - yet this is just a better movie - funnier, more charming, a much tighter plot. This movie is absolutely charming and terribly terribly witty.

Is it that Audrey was older (though looks GREAT)? Is it that O'Toole isn't as popular as Cary Grant? Is it that movies changed so shortly afterward (this film could have come out in the 1950s - and doesn't seem like a movie that was released not long before Bonnie & Clyde, The Graduate, and Easy Rider)? I'm curious what people think. This is a gem.

[–] krajackex 19 years ago

How to Steal a Million and Charade are some of my all-time favorite movies, and I've often wondered the same thing--why aren't they better known? It's sort of annoying that so many Audrey "fans" just like Breakfast at Tiffany's, and never see anything else. I don't consider those people real fans. Does anyone else get what I'm talking about? I don't know. And I really like Peter O'Toole a lot, and even though he's won an Oscar not that many people know about him--at least, not as many people as those who know about Cary Grant. O'Toole is a better actor even, in my opinion. I love Cary Grant, but until the 40's he couldn't really act, and then afterwards, though he's a good actor, he always did seem a bit stiff. But in a classy way so he pulls it off... I sorta got sidetracked there... So I don't really know why these aren't better known films, but I really do think they deserve some recognition.

[–] xhisgirlfriday 19 years ago

Exactly! Although B@T is definitely my favorite of her films, it is closely followed by Charade and HTSAM. I have seen almost all of her films (except for her very early and late works), and HTSAM is the tops. It's so perfect and witty and charming, and Peter O'Toole was SO good-looking.

Actually, my least-favorite Audrey film may be Roman Holiday (!). I do enjoy it, and Audrey was a revelation, but...I don't know. Just something about it is kind of "eh" to me.

[–] Martin_Sloan 19 years ago

I know, it's a shame it's not as well known as it should be. My fear is that there'll be a remake soon with Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom.
Hope I'm wrong!

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] SusanJL 16 years ago

I agree - this movie should be better known, and the era in which it was made probably did make a huge diference. Audrey, though lovely, looks a bit too thin and I don't care for her short hairstyle. I'm usually not a huge Peter O'Toole fan - except I loved him in Lawrence of Arabia. But he was perfect in this movie - so witty, so charming, VERY romantic & crazy handsome. Loved him in this film!

Although Cary Grant is my all-time favorite movie star, Charade isn't one of his I enjoy. Maybe it was the script.

[–] justaudrey 15 years ago

Audrey, though lovely, looks a bit too thin and I don't care for her short hairstyle.
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I agree. Despite that, however, she still manages to be quite charming. (I do have a hard time getting past that hair style, though. Ugh.)

[–] justaudrey 15 years ago

I liked Charade better. The plot was much more riveting and unpredictable. But, I guess to each is own.

[–] SusanJL 15 years ago

I suppose what I disliked about Charade was I wasn't buying the Grant/Hepburn romance. Even Grant seemed to think it was ridiculous in the film. They were always pairing Audrey up with way too older men - Gary Cooper, Fred Astaire, etc. They should have picked an older actress, or a younger leading man.

[–] justaudrey 15 years ago

They seemed to do that a lot with starlets of that era. Grace Kelly comes to mind as another prime example of this. Often she seemed very ill-suited to her on screen romantic pairings.

[–] RazzberryBeret 14 years ago

I didn't know this film was that unknown. It's been greatly enjoyed and admired by everyone I know. It's always out at my DVD library even though they have 8 copies. Peter O'Toole should have done a couple of more films like this. He beats Cary Grant hollow at this kind of charming rogue game...and that's saying something. O'Toole not as well known as Cary Grant? My head's reeling!

[–] HoneyBakedHam 14 years ago

I preferred Charade over How to Steal a Million, but I found How to Steal a Million had some funnier scenes. I loved Audrey Hepburn in both anyway.
Her hairstyle might have been similar throughout How To Steal A Million but her clothing range was great. Particularly the white outfit she wears at the start. Theres nothing wrong with her figure I think.
I also like Peter O Toole the more times I see him, and I prefer him over Cary Grant. I think he would have made a great James Bond watching this. (Despite being Irish) Im not as much of a fan of Cary Grant as others but can still watch his movies.

Oh and if the OP lives in Australia like me, it was on channel 7 a couple of hours ago. I watched it again and recorded it, but to my surprise it was only in 4:3 as opposed to my DVD which is in 16:9. Odd