Topkapi

Melina Mercouri and lover Maximilian Schell, backed by a hand-picked team, find their carefully laid plans to lift an emerald dagger from the impenetrable Topkapi Museum in Istanbul bungled by shambling hanger-on Peter Ustinov—in an Oscar-winning performance—then decide to go ahead anyway! A pioneer of the genre thanks to his caper masterpiece Rififi, Jules Dassin keeps the suspense taut and the decor dazzling in this tongue-in-cheek adaptation from the book by Eric Ambler. A nimble, sparkling delight that basks in Ottoman splendor, Topkapi is not without its moments of technical virtuosity, particularly a forty-minute burglary sequence that one-ups Rififi’s legendary break-in. “As playful and lighthearted as Dassin's Rififi is stark and somber, Topkapi demonstrates that the director could make a heist picture in any manner he chose.”—Time Out New York.
Bing Theater | $5 admission |  Tickets: 323 857-6010 or purchase online.