What’s not to love about William Wyler’s 1966 crime caper? A sharp script, evenly matched female and male leads, and more Givenchy than you could shake a designer stick at – all in a delightfully stylised vision of 1960s Paris! Audrey Hepburn plays Nicole, the doting daughter of Charles Bonnet (Hugh Griffith), a man mostly known as an art collector and least known for his actual “profession” – that of master art forger. When the imminent inspection of a million-dollar statue threatens to expose her father, Nicole enlists the help of gentleman thief Simon Dermott (Peter O’Toole) to steal it back.

The wonderful thing about a film like this is that, nothing is quite what it seems. For one thing, our society burglar is in fact an investigator sent to look into Bonnet. For another, the object being stolen belonged to the thief all along – “Well you didn’t think I would steal something that didn’t belong to me, did you?” remarks Hepburn in her trademark innocent tone. Every element of this film is either flipped on its head or overly dramatised, all set against an almost-gaudy aesthetic. Hepburn’s costume changes, while fabulous in the extreme, break the bounds of believability as far as everyday wardrobes go. And yet, when it comes down to it, the entire caper is planned and executed without a plot-hole, contrivance or deus-ex-machina to be seen. Just as Bonnet sprinkles “genuine Van Gogh dirt” on his painting to add an incontrovertible touch of authenticity, so this film dares us to challenge its veracity.

Our leading pair have great chemistry and cracking dialogue, which help to keep the film moving at a good pace. There is also a wonderful appearance by Eli Wallach, as the obsessed art collector desperate to get his hands on the statue.