Topkapi

Plot synopsis:
Professional jewel thief Elizabeth Lipp (Melina Mercouri) reunites with her former lover and partner Walter Harper (Maximilian Schell) for the score of her life - the theft of an exquisite jeweled dagger from the Topkapi museum, located in the former Ottoman imperial palace in Istanbul. Walter recruits the team, which includes alarms expert Cedric Page (Robert Morley), strong man Hans Fisher (Jess Hahn), and circus acrobat Giulio "the Human Fly" (Gilles Ségal). Since the museum's floor is completely pressure-alarmed, it will be necessary to lower Giulio by rope from a rooftop window and raise the the heavy glass cover enclosing the mannequin on which the dagger is displayed. Giulio will then replace the dagger with a copy and leave the scene intact in the hope that the theft will not be discovered until the thieves leave the country. This method will require two strong men, Hans and Walter, holding ropes - one to raise the glass cover and the other to hold Giulio.The plan calls for shooting out a searchlight and exploding smoke grenades to distract the guards when the team leaves the museum. Walter hides a rifle and some smoke grenades inside the door jamb of a convertable limousine. In Greece, he hires a small-time hustler named Arthur Simpson (Peter Ustinov) to drive the car to Istanbul. When Simpson arrives at Turkish customs, he is detained for an expired passport and the officials become suspicious of his disjointed personal history. The car is searched and the contraband discovered. Simpson is now accused of abetting terrorism, a capital offense.Simpson manages to convince Maj. Ali Tufan (Ege Ernart) that he knows nothing of the supposed terrorist plot. He agrees to redeem himself by infiltrating the gang as a spy for Turkish security. Upon arriving in Istanbul, he informs Walter and Elizabeth that, due to a bureaucratic mixup, only the person who brought the car into the country is allowed to drive it. Walter and Elizabeth reluctantly agree to hire Simpson as their chauffeur during their "touristic" visit, so he joins them at their rented villa.Simpson does his best to ferret out information, leaving messages for the police in discarded cigarette packs, but he learns little. One evening, the drunken and obnoxious cook Gerven (Akim Tamiroff) annoys Hans to the point that a melee breaks out. In the confusion, Hans manages to break his hands when a window is slammed shut. With Hans out of commission, the plan cannot go forward without a second rope holder, and Cedric demurs that he is not strong enough.Walter and Elizabeth put Simpson through a test of strength, which he passes, barely. They decide to offer Simpson $10,000 to participate in the robbery. Simpson agrees, but then lets slip that he is working for Turkish security. Walter decides to go through with the robbery anyway, but to move it forward to that same evening.Though the group is being tailed by police, they manage to slip away one by one at a crowded wrestling match. Since they can no longer shoot out lights or use smoke grenades, Elizabeth, with Cedric's help, will distract the guards using her feminine wiles. Walter, Guilo and Simpson enter the museum just before closing time, hide, and eventualy make their way to the roof, where Simpson announces that he has a fear of heights. They manage to get across the roof anyway, and as soon as darkness falls Guilio is slipped in through a high window. The plan almost fails when Simpson lets the rope slip, but he recovers just in time. As planned, Guilio switches the daggers and the three depart the museum.The dagger is brought to the courier who will take it out of the country. It looks like everything has gone according to plan, but of course there is an unexpected twist at the end.

Tags: suspenseful, intrigue

Review:
The film talks a hold-up to Turkish museum carried out by a motley group : Melina Mercouri , Maximiliam Schell , Jess Hahn , Gilles Segal .
Melina Mercouri introduces herself as a thief who doesn't hide the way she feels about the most wonderful emeralds She wants to rob a dagger encrusted with fascinating gemstones One of her potential partners is her former lover Maximilian Schell, a very distinguished crook who fights at his best when he fights in a corner Schell wants to pick his crew from amateurs with no police records, and strike the most protected fortress Peter Ustinov won his first Best Supporting Oscar for his amusing performance as the clever middle-aged 'nobody' who could have gone far but he always plays for small stakes Ustinov is the victim of circumstances, caught at the Turkish border with a riffle and six grenades For that, his mission is to spy on the spies, and report to the Turkish security everything he overhears-no matter how trivial it may seem to him The police gives him a chance to prove that he is not a terrorist He accepts to work with them With a funny toy man who proposes to get into the palace museum without touching the floor; a mute acrobat who talks with his whole body; a mad muscle man who hates a drunken cook; a showman with no problems at the customs border; plus Islamic mosques; ancient streets; colorful bazaars; oiled wrestlers; talented belly dancers; and fable roofs; "Topkapi" overlooks both the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus, offering bright moments with a final suspense sequence in the 'Rififi' manner.
Before "Mission Impossible" made every big heist a challenge for technology, there were movie efforts like "Topkapi" which played the human element in the big scam.A wonderful and truly international cast is assembled here for this 60's effort that showcases Istanbul.
Topkapi is a wonderful caper film that established the genre of the light heist flick.
With beautiful camerawork in Istanbul and Greece and an equally intriguing plot, Jules Dassin brings to the screen a film worthy to be considered alongside his masterpieces "Du rififi chez les hommes" and "Naked City".
Peter Ustinov follows up his Oscar-winning performance in "Spartacus" with a second award for best supporting actor, while playing a "schmo"--a lowly, disgraceful, British rogue living in Greece as the self-proclaimed "un-crowned king of the nightlife": Arthur Simon Simpson.
Getting involved in much more than he bargained for, Simpson enters a ring of double-crosses as an informer for Turkish Intelligence while still hoping to line his pockets with filthy lucre.The show, however, is stolen by the seductive, raspy-voiced Elizabeth Lipp, played by Greek beauty Melina Mercouri (who was also in the starring role of Dassin's "Phaedra" two years earlier--as well as "Pote tin Kyriaki" (1960), "La Legge" (1958), and "Celui qui doit mourir" (1957)--and whom the director would marry two years later).
The curvy enchantress draws in Walter Harper (Maximilian Schell) and Cedric Page (Robert Morley I), offering them their cut on the biggest heist ever--the theft of the sultan's jewel-encrusted dagger from the Istanbul Museum.However, there is a problem.
The eclectic ensemble cast are all very good - Dassin's wife Melina Mercouri, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, and especially a knockout performance from Peter Ustinov, an actor I usually have little time for.
The robbery sequence was "borrowed" thirty years later by Brian De Palma for 'Mission Impossible', but 'Topkapi' is the better of the two movies by far..
This film involves a collection of rogues who set out to steal a fabulous jewel encrusted dagger from an Istanbul museum, protected by an "Indiana Jones" style nest of security features and traps, not knowing they are being watched by Turkish undercover agents mistakenly believing them to be terrorists.Filmed on location in Turkey and Paris, this film is a droll sparkling delight, a skillful blending of humor and suspense, with a touch of the exotic, making, at times, magnificent use of Istanbul for its scenic backdrop.
Unlike the same director's most famous heist film, the legendary Rififi, Topkapi is light hearted in tone, but its big heist sequence is genuinely ingenious and suspenseful.Aside from the film's physical attractiveness with its color photography, much of its appeal lies with its cast of players, headed by Maximilian Schell as the mastermind behind the robbery, Melina Mercouri, Robert Morley, a spectacularly bizarre and slovenly Akim Tamiroff and, above all, Peter Ustinov as a small time hustler who becomes involved in the scheme.
Today, this would probably be considered way too slow, compared to most modern crime movies.Nonetheless, I thought the story of it all was interesting enough to keep one's attention, Peter Ustinov won honors for his performance which, indeed, steals the spotlight from the two others stars of the film, Melina Mercouri and Maximllian Shell.For a "leading lady," and one who is portrayed or at least has the air of a sexy woman, I found Mercouri anything but that.
The character that should have carried the comedy part here is Peter Ustinov, and he just can't do it, first because he's no Peter Sellers, and second because the script has very few punch lines for him, so the comedy part rests solely on circus acts, clown and acrobatic, and that makes the whole thing look rather stupid.Maximilian Schell is the only one who looks half as decent and the casting of Melina Mercouri is the biggest mistake of all.
Jules Dassin's film version of Eric Ambler's book "The Light of Day" seems more like a light-hearted variation of his French heist-drama "Rififi" from 1955.
A glamorous Greek thief and her Swiss lover concoct an ingenious plan to rob an emerald-studded dagger from the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul with help from a disparate group of wily characters.
"Topkapi" is a movie filled with great locations, good acting and a funny story that, although ridiculous at some points is smart and provides a great finale.
Jules Dassin's Topkapi was one of the lavish heist movies, set in touristy locales, that were all the vogue four decades ago.
Finally we get to the rounding up of the gang of amateurs who will pull off the caper: mastermind Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, Gilles Segal (as a deaf-mute gymnast), and Mercouri.The plotting and rehearsing of the crime take up most of the movie, leaving us to be entertained by the characters, none of which is really written.
What little friction exists among the cast members gets played for laughs -- no subversive subplots, no separate agendas are afoot.Dassin made his reputation directing tough, unsentimental films in the noir cycle: Brute Force, Thieves' Highway, Night and the City.
The script is uninteresting, the direction is sloppy, and the acting ranges from good (Ustinov is amusing) to bad (Schell overacts) to terrible (Mercouri is annoying).
Perfect for their plans so they think.Topkapi was responsible for Peter Ustinov getting his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
The strongest aspects of the films are a stellar comic performance by Peter Ustinov, another classic Dassin jewel heist and the glorious use of location.
If I had to think of another heist as good, the first thing that springs to mind is Dassin's Riffifi (a film that has perfect acting and cinematography to go along with its heist).
The time-capsule glimpse at Istanbul in the 1960's is a lot of fun.When Topkapi isn't being a good film, it's at least weirdly bad..
Although I much preferred Dassins' earlier heist film, 'Rififi', 'Topkapi' was a lot of fun, and once again used silence to create a great suspense sequence during the heist.
A group of sundry crooks plan to steal a jewelled dagger from the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, but where "Rififi" showed the tragedy that occurs when there is dishonor amongst thieves "Topkapi" plays it for laughs.Dassin's wife, Melina Mercouri, is the glamorous thief who organizes the heist and Peter Ustinov won his second Oscar for playing 'the schmo' roped in on the scheme.
This part is uneven, but it does contain some humor.Finally, we get to the actual caper, a Mission Impossible-like, daring heist that plays out in real time, which I appreciate.
The ending of the film feels unimportant.The best thing about this movie, besides the heist, is it seems like the cast is having fun.
Peter Ustinov plays Arthur Simpson, a hapless con artist "schmo" who gets suckered into the scheme.The planning and execution of the heist is the main plot line.
Maximilian Schell makes a real good con/gang leader, and those two pros Robert Morley and Peter Ustinov are always worth watching, but frankly Ms Mercouri looks haggish (forgive the chauvanism, but she does have the cheesecake role) and the plot drags and has annoying characters (Akim Tamiroff's cook; he is a good performer but the role wasnt much).
Jules Dassin directed this film, starring his wife Melina Mercouri, supported by Peter Ustinov and Maximillian Schell, who were all big names in those days.
This was the perfect bookend to Rififi, even though that was black & white and French while this one was very much colourful and Pan-European, but both were excellent tense Jules Dassin robbery thrillers.Scintillating plot has jewel heist from the Topkapi museum planned minutely by suave Schell in charge of an eccentric happy-go-lucky gang of thieves including sexpot Mercouri, mechanised Morley, and eventually the crown jewel of the film, Carbuncle (On The Behind Of Humanity) Ustinov.
Charmingly acted along with being excellently photographed and edited, ex-patriot noir director Jules Dassin displays the same adept style in outrageous color with the same suspense mastery evidenced in Riffifi over a decade earlier.Elizabeth Lipps (Melina Mercouri ) has an insatiable desire for men, diamonds and adventure.
Aware they are being shadowed by the Turkish police the gang pushes forward with the plan.Topkapi is an excellent blend of comedy and suspense filled with wonderful performances, especially by the comically sympathetic Ustinov.
Dassin keeps the mood light most of the way leading up to the job at which time he grippingly builds the suspense with a heist scene that merits classic status.
Schell's protegees include alarms expert Robert Morley, strongman Jess Hahn and human fly Gilles Segal, while whimpering, half-Egyptian tour guide Peter Ustinov and drunken servant Akim Tamiroff (one of the great character actors of the Golden Age, whose fans included Orson Welles) also buzz around.
In what may be the greatest heist movie of all time, a group of people set out to steal a dagger from an Istanbul museum.
Director Jules Dassin had met Melina Mercouri a few years earlier on the set of "Never on Sunday", and they married shortly thereafter, eventually collaborating again with this supremely cool story.One thing that I have to say about this movie is that the heist itself is truly the highlight; in some movies, I find the events leading up to the heist more interesting than the heist itself, but here the heist is definitely the best part.
Also starring Maximilian Schell, Peter Ustinov (who won a well deserved Oscar), Robert Morley and Akim Tamiroff..
It stars Melina Mercouri, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, Akim Tamiroff and Peter Ustinov in an Oscar-winning performance.
He lines up a crew of people who have no police record and hires a small-time crook, Arthur Simon Simpson (Ustinov) to drive a car containing explosives needed for the job across the border, figuring that if he's caught, he's dispensable.
Meanwhile, Arthur is throwing empty cigarette packs with notes in them (one claims the thieves are Russian spies) out of windows so they can be picked up by a following car.Mercouri's husband, Jules Dassin, does an excellent job of directing this film, which is based on a novel by Eric Ambler.
Scaling heights despite fear and vertigo, pulling heavy weight despite being a weakling - Ustinov is fabulous, creating a marvelously funny and sympathetic character.Highly recommended to see the comedy caper film that begot movies like Oceans 11, Gambit, The Sting and many others..
Elizabeth Lipp, (Melina Mercouri) plays the role of a craft woman who fell in love with the emeralds and decided to work with her friend, Walter Harper, (Maximilian Schell) who is a professional thief.
Peter Ustinov won an Oscar for his best supporting role in this film and this is a great film which was entirely on location in Greece and Turkey.
If you want to see a REALLY cool 60s, slick, sexy, jewel caper flick, AND with the incomparable and rarely seen on film, Melina Mercouri, see A MAN COULD GET KILLED, http://imdb.com/title/tt0060662/ done just two years later.
My second Jules Dassin's film after NIGHT AND THE CITY (1950, 7/10), and out of my expectation it's an exotic Turkish heist adventurer with a blithe tone and meticulous detail- solidification with regard to the theft action.The film starts with a tawdry but foxy Melina Mercouri (Dassin's muse and future wife) enigmatically introducing her craving to steal the most precious jewelled dagger from Topkapi museum, her kitschy costume and the settings are antiquated enough to divert the film into a burlesque frivolousness, but when her entire team assembles (including the male-counterpart mastermind Maximilian Schell), with an additional interlope, a small-con "schmo" (the Oscar- winning Peter Ustinov), the film regains its vigour and flair in its strongest form to manoeuvre a seamless treasure-replacement theft, benchmarks an exemplar of its genre which haven't been overshadowed since then, the escape strategy during a Turkish old-wrestling (Kırkpınar) pageantry is no less pleasant to watch against the trickery's predictability, and far more thrilling is the actual stunts which thoroughly generate a gravitating magnetism on the screen lest as little as one needle's dropping would scupper the plan.
He won an "Academy Award" as "Best Supporting Actor" for the year, but both the end credits and screen time agree Mr. Ustinov is the film's leading actor.
The robbery - starring Ustinov, Maximilian Schell (as William Walter) and "human fly" gymnast Gilles Ségal (as Giulio) - is excellent.******** Topkapi (9/2/64) Jules Dassin ~ Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell, Gilles Segal.
"Topkapi" is a very good film, but I noticed that a reviewer thought this film was better than director Dassin's earlier brilliant caper film, "Rififi".
Great - Locations Music Editing Photography & Peter Ustinov 10/10.Quite a feat for the sixties and the bold attempt with robbery as the focus fantastic.Scenes from this movie copied all over but not with the same result.The cook also performed well,albeit a bit over acted in some parts.All characters well chosen and screenplay and dialogues top class.The editor is the real winner here because of the tension that s generated in the final scenes.Definite watch for all who like a solid performance with lot of location and humour..
While watching "Topkapi",one can surely notice that there are too many nice views of Turkey.It is not known whether it was all intentionally relevant or director Jules Dassin wanted to achieve a kind of exotic nirvana in order to find spiritual enlightenment in Istanbul.It is due to these reasons that there are moments in this film where it appears as if it is nothing but a glamorous propaganda film made for Turkish government with a sole objective of giving a boost to local tourism industry.It is only for 20 minutes of its heist sequence that "Topkapi" is able to cement interest in viewers' minds.Alas,by that time viewers must surely have made up their mind to stop paying any attention to what is happening with the film..
While watching "Topkapi",one can surely notice that there are too many nice views of Turkey.It is not known whether it was all intentionally relevant or director Jules Dassin wanted to achieve a kind of exotic nirvana in order to find spiritual enlightenment in Istanbul.It is due to these reasons that there are moments in this film where it appears as if it is nothing but a glamorous propaganda film made for Turkish government with a sole objective of giving a boost to local tourism industry.It is only for 20 minutes of its heist sequence that "Topkapi" is able to cement interest in viewers' minds.Alas,by that time viewers must surely have made up their mind to stop paying any attention to what is happening with the film..
Instead of concentrating a plot dealing with the political realities of Europe or the Far East, "The Light Of Day" was a first person narrative of one Arthur Simpson (played in the film by Peter Ustinov).
The movie also showed the success of the robbery collapse when the thieves fall out over personal matters.After his marriage to Melina Mercouri, Daissin moved to Greece, and would make his two masterpiece comedies "Topkapi" and "Never On Sunday" (again he starred as Homer, opposite Mercouri in that film).
It was a role that won Ustinov his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar.I notice there is a lament that, despite the ending, there was never any sequel film.
It takes the border guards what, 10 seconds to find the stuff?It's almost worth waiting for the scene in the museum, except every time I got involved in it I would think, They're doing all this for a stupid dagger that she just feels like having?One nice Dassin touch is how things keep going wrong, and they have to come up with plans B and C.
Also, my husband came up with a much better ending than the one here.So...nice scenery, including a ridiculously good-looking Max Schell, but Ms. Mercouri nearly ruined this movie.
As Arthur, Ustinov won his second and final Best Supporting Actor Oscar, the first being for "Spartacus", but really it should have been the Best Actor Oscar since he is the male lead.A major and almost fatal flaw in the film is the casting of the horrendous actress Melina Mercouri as Elizabeth Lipp, a brilliant career criminal / nymphomaniac and the mastermind behind the heist.
Naturally, later filmmakers would imitate it.Larcenous Elizabeth Lipp (Melina Mercouri of "Never On Sunday") must steal a priceless sultan's jewel-encrusted dagger from the Topkapi Palace museum in Istanbul.