Genre: Crime, Thriller, Adventure, Comedy, Thieves, Suspense, Capers, Prison, Deception, Femme Fatale
Tagline: Come on--your cut in on the theft of the century!
Plot: Five years after directing the heist classic RIFIFI, Jules Dassin returns to robbery with TOPKAPI. Again there is a long and daring break-in, as his heroes attempt to steal the priceless Emerald Dagger from the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, but in contrast to the bleak RIFIFI, the mood in TOPKAPI is one of comedy. Dassin focuses on the bumbling Arthur Simpson (Peter Ustinov), who barely makes a living conning tourists. Arthur thinks he's struck it rich when Elizabeth Lipp (Melina Mercouri) and her lover Walter (Maximilian Schell) respond to his pitch--not realizing they picked him. They persuade Arthur to drive across the Greek-Turkish border. When the Turkish police find arms in the car, they believe they have uncovered a terrorist plot. They only release Arthur after he agrees to spy for them. Elizabeth and Walter plan their robbery, while Arthur is drawn ever further out of his depth, as he looks for evidence of terrorism. Mercouri and Schell handle the planning; Ustinov, Robert Morley as the eccentric Cedric, and Akim Tamiroff as a dipsomaniac cook, handle the comedy; the Turkish scenery is beautiful, and Manos Hadjidakis contributes a sprightly score--the result is a light and airy comedy.
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| Directed by |
Jules Dassin
The Naked City, Brute Force, The Canterville Ghost |
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| Written by |
Eric Ambler
A Night to Remember, The Cruel Sea, Journey Into Fear | |
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| Cast |
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 | | | Robert Morley
The African Queen, Around the World in Eighty Days, The Great Muppet Caper | Jess Hahn
The Trial, What's New, Pussycat, Tegeran-43 | Gilles Ségal
The Madwoman of Chaillot, Sans mobile apparent, En ce temps-là, l'amour... | Akim Tamiroff
Touch of Evil, Ocean's Eleven, Alphaville, a Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution | |
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