Topkapi

I love caper movies, where a group set out to pull off an impossible robbery, and this one by Jules Dassin is the granddaddy of them all. (I’m going to term Rififi—also by Dassin—as the great-granddaddy.) The heist is built up to step-by-step, and it is ingenious. More recent films may be more intricate and done with more technical wizardry, but they all drew their inspiration from these two, and none can match the style and flair of them. Peter Ustinov won Best Supporting Actor for this one, and deserved it, though to call his role “supporting” is ludicrous, as he has as much screen time as anyone, and more than most.