Topkapi (film)

They engage Cedric Page (Robert Morley), master of all things mechanical; Giulio, "The Human Fly" (Gilles Ségal), a mute acrobat; and the burly Hans (Jess Hahn), who will provide the muscle needed for the job.Harper and Lipp then hire small-time hustler Arthur Simon Simpson (Peter Ustinov) to drive a car into Turkey to transport hidden explosives and firearms for use in the burglary.Hans' hands are injured in a scuffle with the drunken cook, Gerven (Akim Tamiroff), and Simpson is engaged as a substitute, prompting him to confess that the police are watching them.Knowing they face arrest if they try to escape Turkey, or use their equipment, Harper improvises a new plan in which they will give the still-oblivious police the slip, and steal the dagger without using their weapons.When word of the Topkapı alarm reaches the police, Major Tufan confronts the thieves, displaying Simpson's last note, which has just enough information to link all of them to the theft.Appearing in supporting roles were Gilles Ségal as the “human fly" and Joe Dassin as Joseph, who runs the traveling fair display that is supposed to smuggle the dagger out of Turkey.[5] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times applauded the film as well acted, "adroitly plotted," and abounding in brilliant Technicolor that Dassin exploits "like a child with a new paint box," but he saved his greatest praise for Ustinov:[I]t is his misadventures and confusions and frights that truly make this picture something more than melodrama with a farcical edge.
The real dagger of Mahmud I.
Jules DassinMonja DanischewskyThe Light of DayEric AmblerMelina MercouriPeter UstinovMaximilian SchellRobert MorleyHenri AlekanRoger DwyreManos HadjidakisFilmwaysUnited ArtistsTechnicolorheist filmAkim TamiroffTheoni V. AldredgeBest Supporting ActorIstanbulTopkapı Palaceemerald-encrusted daggerSultanMahmud IGilles SégalJess HahnTurkish wrestlingJoe DassinRussian Imperial Crown JewelsKremlinTitos VandisAhmet Danyal TopatanDespo DiamantidouCahit IrgatYılmaz GüneyHulusi KentmenPeter SellersAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorSpartacusTurkeyKavalaGreeceBoulogne-Billancourttheatrical rentalsBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesGolden HornEthan HuntTom CruiseList of American films of 1964Crowther, BosleyAndrews, JulieEdwards, BlakePlayboyLawrence LindermanVarietyTCM Movie DatabaseAFI Catalog of Feature FilmsThe Tell-Tale HeartNazi AgentThe Affairs of MarthaReunion in FranceYoung IdeasThe Canterville GhostA Letter for EvieTwo Smart PeopleBrute ForceThe Naked CityThieves' HighwayNight and the CityRififiHe Who Must DieThe LawNever on SundayPhaedraHamilchama al hashalomUptightPromise at DawnThe RehearsalA Dream of PassionCircle of Two