Topkapi

An attempt by Dassin to top his own hit Rififi: a glossy international heist movie, using a hammy multi-cultural cast and a screenplay by ex-Ealing stalwart Monja Danischewsky (based on Eric Ambler's novel The Light of Day) to chart a hit on an Istanbul museum. As a caper, its convolutions of comedy and suspense are par for the course, and at least it's free of the pretensions that usually scuttle Dassin's efforts in Europe (especially in tandem with his wife Mercouri); but it's a far cry from his classic American thrillers or his brilliant British noir, Night and the City.