Paris, 1966...Monsieur Charles Bonnet (Hugh Griffin), the current head of the Bonnet family, custodian of the family's legendary collection of fine art, and a noted collector in his own right, is offering one of his prized paintings at auction. A Cezanne, it sells for a fabulous $515,000, the high point of the auction. When Bonnet's daughter, Nicole (Audrey Hepburn), hears the news on her car radio on her way home from work, she is shocked...and dismayed. The moment she arrives at their elegant old chateau, she runs upstairs calling her father. In his bedroom on the second floor, she opens the door to an antique wardrobe and steps inside, opens a false panel at the back of the wardrobe and climbs a hidden spiral staircase to her father's secret studio in the attic.Bonnet, it turns out, is a forger of fine art...cheerful and charming, but an unrepentant scoundrel. He is putting the finishing touches on his latest project, a flawless rendition of a famous lost Van Gogh. He has even found another painting from the same period, by an unknown artist, and has brushed dirt from the back of that canvas to transfer to his forgery. "I doubt if even Van Gogh himself would have gone to such pains with his work," he boasts. "He didn't have to, Papa," Nicole retorts, "he WAS Van Gogh!" She tells him in a tired voice (for what must surely be the thousandth time) that it's a crime to sell fake masterpieces. He replies that he only sells them to wealthy, private buyers, who get an undeniably fine painting in return.A noise in the driveway sends them both to the window: An armored car, a police van, a black limousine and half a dozen motorcycles have arrived and parked in front of the house. Nicole is terrified that the authorities have at last discovered Bonnet's hobby, but Bonnet explains that he has simply agreed to let the Claver-Lafayette Museum display their exquisite statuette of Venus, purportedly carved by 16th Century sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, in their latest exhibit. Nicole is not reassured: Their Cellini Venus is also a forgery...carved at the end of the 19th century by Bonnet's father, using Bonnet's mother as a model. Unlike paintings, she tells her father, it's an easy matter to detect forged sculptures. Bonnet brushes aside her concerns: since he's merely lending the statue, not selling it, there will be no reason to test its authenticity.He runs downstairs (followed closely by Nicole) to greet Monsieur Grammont (Ferdinand Gravey), the museum director, who is here with his assistants and an armed escort to transport the Venus. Bonnet shows him into the library, where the Venus stands in solitary splendor in its own special niche. Grammont is moved almost to tears by the sight of it...he congratulates Bonnet for keeping this fine piece in France, though he must have had many lucrative offers to buy it. Bonnet smiles modestly, and says, "Well, after all, one is still a Frenchman." The Venus is handed over, secured in a heavily padded case, Grammont thanks Bonnet effusively and leaves. Bonnet is jubilant, but Nicole is still worried. He waves off her concern, saying that her basic trouble is that she's honest...."but I don't tell you that to hurt your feelings," he adds kindly. "I get dizzy spells when we have these conversations, Papa," she complains. He invites her to attend the gala opening at the museum that night...she firmly declines.The Cellini Venus is the star of the exhibit, and Bonnet the most celebrated guest at the gala. Davis Leland (Eli Wallach), a wealthy American industrialist, is also present. He has recently taken up art collecting, and is pursuing it as obssessively as he pursued the acquisition of his millions. He is so taken with the Venus that he determines to find out all about Bonnet and his family...with the goal of somehow acquiring the Venus.The Bonnet chateau
Output: Who was the daughter of Charles Bonnet?