Les Joyeux Voleurs

Jimmy Bourne (Rex Harrison) and Eve Lewis (Rita Hayworth) are thieves. It helps that he's the owner of Hotel Bourne. In Madrid, they and forger Jean Marie Calbert are blackmailed by Victor Muñoz into stealing a famous Goya painting, Second of May, showing in the Prado Museum.

Rex is doing nothing other than being cool. The most problematic is that it's trying to be comedic but there's nothing funny here. Director George Marshall started in the silent age and his best work may be behind him by this time. As a heist movie, this could work if it's treated seriously. It doesn't have a driving narrative. It lacks energy. I don't think the scheme is particularly brilliant. The museum is letting them in to paint for some reason. I don't understand how they got in. The bullfighting is interesting on its own but that's some kind of crazy distraction. They may as well rob all the banks in Madrid. This could still work if it doesn't have that screwball music cue trying to declare it funny. It's not funny.

A triumvirate of art thieves are blackmailed into stealing a famous Goya painting from the Prada museum in Madrid. Jimmy Bourne (Rex Harrison) is the actual thief, Eve Lewis (Rita Hayworth) smuggles the artworks out of the country and Jean-Marie (Joseph Wiseman, soon to be more famous as Dr No, 1962) creates the forgeries that replace the stolen masterpieces. Hayworth is the least reliable of the trio, her drinking (she had a problem in real life) jeopardizes their slick operation. Not only is the painting they have stolen slipped through their hands but the thief Dr Victor Munoz (Gregoire Aslan) has not filmed the theft but is now above a bit of murder on the side Harrison and Hayworth are a delightful pairing. Hayworth has abandoned the sultry in favor of the winsome, Harrison shifted from sarcasm to dry wit. He is always one-step-ahead but never overbearing, and the thefts are carried out with military precision. Even when let down by colleagues, who are inclined to scarper when threatened, he takes it all in his stride, the calm center of any potential storm. And there is genuine chemistry between Harrison and Hayworth though his matter-of-fact attitude tends to undercut the kind of passionate romance that moviegoers came to expect from top-class players thus paired. His proposal, for example, comes by way of dictation, "the new Mrs Bourne." It would have been tempting for Hayworth to act as the ditzy blonde (brunette, actually) but instead she plays it straight, which is more effecting. Bourne is the archetypal gentleman thief ("there is a touch of larceny in all successful men") and Eve does her earnest best to keep up ("I want so much to be a first-class crook for you, I'm trying to be dishonest, honestly I am.") there is never the remotest chance of them being confused with real gangsters. "I thought that stealing was the only honest way Jimmy could live with himself," says Eve. In truth, their characters set the template for better-known later heist pictures like How to Steal a Million (1966), Gambit (1966) and A Fine Pair (1968) - all reviewed here - which couple one determined thief with one less so. Of course, heist pictures rely for much of their success on the actual heist. And Bourne's plan for the Prada is brilliantly simple and carried out, as mentioned, with military precision. The get-out clause, which, of course, is how such films reach their conclusion, is more realistic and human than the other movies I have mentioned. What's more, there are number of excellent sight gags and great throwaway lines, while Jean-Marie and Dr Munoz are well-written, the villain's motivation particularly good. Other incidentals lend weight - their apartment is opposite a prison, the security guards at the Prada are caring rather than the idiots of How to Steal a Million, and sub-plot involving a bullfighter (Virgilio Teixeira, Return of the Seven, 1966) also sheds light on Bourne. There is a jaunty whistling theme tune by Mario Nascimbene (One Million Years B.C., 1966) which maintains levity throughout. The movie does tilt from the gentleman thievery of the initial section into something much darker, but, so too, do the two principals and, unusually, rather than in the usual contrived fashion, Bourne and Eve undergo personal transition by the end. I found the whole exercise highly enjoyable. It's very under-rated. My only quibbles are that it is shot in black-and-white, which seems bizarre when Spain, the location, is such a colorful location. The title, too, is an oddity. This was the only picture produced by Hayworth in partnership with husband James Hill. They split up before the picture was released which might explain its poor initial box office. Hill was an experienced producer, part of Hill-Hecht-Lancaster (The Unforgiven, 1960), but this proved his final film. Hayworth, too, had previously worn the producer's hat for The Loves of Carmen (1948), Affair in Trinidad (1952) and Salome (1953). Hayworth was still a marquee attraction at this point, taking top billing here, and second billing to John Wayne in Circus World/The Magnificent Showman (1963). But this is quite a different performance to her all-out-passionate persona or the slinky deviousness of Gilda (1946).

Having been to the Prado Museum in Madrid I was looking forward to seeing The Happy Thieves which was produced by Rita Hayworth's final husband James Hill and starring Hayworth and Rex Harrison. But this turned out to be a disappointment for me. I expected more from these stars and director George Marshall.

For all the sophisticated dialog that Rex Harrison delivers he's also a guy who countenances murder as a diversion for him to steal a Goya painting from the museum. It didn't quite compute with his character.

After training her in the art of thievery, Rex finds Rita balking at the more disagreeable parts of his profession. So she can never testify against him, he marries her. Apparently that must be a part of the Spanish legal system as well, even under Francisco Franco. Later on she turns the tables on him, but you have to see the film to find out how and why.

Color cinematography might have helped especially since a good deal of this film was done in the Prado Museum and the movie audiences could have gotten a look at some of the great old masters like, Goya, El Greco, and Velasquez.

In the end The Happy Thieves depends on the charm of its leads and they're not up to it. No one would have been.

With Rex Harrison and Rita Hayworth, you might tend to think you'll see a pretty good film but unfortunately the film only barely manages to earn a 5 and most of this is due to these actors. Try as they might, the film is just an amazingly listless film. Plus throughout the film I kept expecting a payoff to make my time investment worth while. Sadly, when the film was over, my first thought was "is that all there is to it?!". No magic, no chemistry...just a rather bland caper about stolen masterpieces. If you are looking for a good crime film or some of the excitement of GILDA, keep looking. This film features second-rate writing and barely enough energy to keep your interest. It isn't that the film is bad, but it certainly wasn't good either.

The Happy Thieves gets off to a good start. Art thief Jimmy Bourne (Rex Harrison) steals a painting from a Spanish villa. He hands it over to Eve Lewis (Rita Hayworth) for transport to Paris. Once she arrives, Eve is shocked to discover the painting is missing. They have no idea how the stolen painting could have been stolen. To make matters worse, they are contacted by a man who has photographic proof they stole the painting. His silence comes with a heavy price tag. Jimmy and Eve must steal a gigantic, heavily guarded Goya from a Paris museum. Can they pull it off?

On paper, The Happy Thieves looks like a real winner. It's got a lot o things that usually appeal to me. Rex Harrison is an actor I usually enjoy. His work in My Fair Lady, for example, is fantastic. Likewise, I usually really enjoy Rita Hayworth. Gilda is one of my all time favorite films. The Happy Thieves is billed as a Euro- heist/comedy - a "genre" that appeals greatly to me. Finally, there's some nice cinematography, interesting locations, and strong actors in supporting roles. It all should have worked.

Unfortunately, The Happy Thieves is no where near as good as it should have been. The problem - it's as dull a movie as I've seen recently. Harrison, Hayworth, the heist/comedy elements - none of it can completely save this dud. The Happy Thieves is a chore to get through without falling asleep. It's about as dull as a kitchen knife at a beach house rental - and that's dull. Call it a missed opportunity. A generous 4/10 is the best I can rate the movie.