Film Review
Jules Dassin was on something of a roll when he made
Topkapi. Several critical and
commercial successes in Europe had made him an internationally renowned
film director and he was no longer regarded as an American living in
exile following his Hollywood blacklisting in the early 1950s.
Ironically, Dassin's return to the United States in the mid 1960s would
mark the beginning of his decline as a filmmaker.
Topkapi, considered his most
entertaining film, would be his last success.
Based on Eric Ambler's novel,
Topkapi
is a comedy caper film that feels like a parody of Dassin's 1955 crime
classic
Du rififi chez les hommes
(1955). It shares the meticulously staged heist set-piece of that
earlier film but is much lighter in tone, with far more laughs than
thrills. Mélina Mercouri, Dassin's wife, heads an
international cast that includes such stars as Peter Ustinov and
Maximilian Schell. The film earned Ustinov the Oscar for the Best
Supporting Actor in 1965, in spite of the fact that he was playing one
of the leads in the film. Buoyed up by its talented cast,
inspired direction and sumptuous location,
Topkapi is stylish, sensual and fun.
© James Travers 2008
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Jules Dassin film:
Young Ideas (1943)
Film Synopsis
Elizabeth Lipp and her lover Walter Harper plan to steal a priceless
emerald-encrusted dagger from the Topkapi museum in
Istabul. To that end, Walter assembles a team which
includes: Cedric Page, an expert in all things mechanical and
electrical; Giulio, an acrobat; and Hans, a man of exceptional
strength. Arthur Simpson, a small-time British crook, is hired to
drive a car containing the hardware for the heist to Istanbul. At
the Greek-Turkish border, Simpson is arrested when police find weaponry
concealed in the car. Believing that Simpson is working for
terrorists, the police let him go on condition that he acts as their
agent, reporting on the activities of his employers. This
creates a conflict of interest when Walter offers Simpson a huge sum of
money if he will participate in the robbery...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.