Art thieves and such on the big screen
I’m sometimes asked if Hollywood has ever approached me to do a movie based on my Sharpe & Donovan series about my FBI agents, Irish priest and whiskey expert, their families and friends and one elusive English art thief. Wouldn’t that be fun?
Jewel thieves and art thieves are a perennial source of entertainment on the big screen. They’re usually suave and good-looking, and they often do the right thing in the end. Most of the time they even see that it’s right! Here are few favorites:
The one-and-only Grace Kelly, in To Catch a Thief
To Catch A Thief (1955). Cary Grant plays reformed cat burglar opposite Grace Kelly in this classic romantic thriller.
Topkapi (1964) stars Maximillian Schell, Peter Ustinov and Melina Mercouri in this heist movie featuring a dagger stolen from the opulent Topkapi Palace, former Istanbul home to Ottoman sultans.
Entrapment (1999). The inimitable Sean Connery is a professional art thief going up against investigator Catherine Zeta-Jones.
The Thomas Crown Affair has two versions. In 1968 with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway and in 1999 with Pierce Brosnan and Renee Russo. Both are great fun but which is cooler?
Gambit also has two versions. The original in 1966 is with Michael Caine and Shirley McClaine. Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz star in the 2012 version. Alan Rickman, one of my favorites, also appears.
The Art of the Steal (2013) features Kurt Russell as Crunch Calhoun, an art thief who pulls the old gang together for one last heist. I had to include it for the thief’s name alone!
Enjoy!
Carla
