Monday, November 29, 2021

Crime Caper Movies Beat Smash & Grab Reality

The recent rash of “smash and grab” robberies made me think of a delightfully charming 80-year-old heist flick starring William Powell and Kay Francis. “Jewel Robbery” had breezy dialogue, no violence and the type of escapism the masses in the midst of the Depression needed to make their lives a little less gray.


For good measure, view another 1932 gem, “Trouble in Paradise,” with Kay Francis as a rich businesswoman preyed upon by tandem swindlers Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins.


Here is my list of crime capers to enjoy:


Jewel Robbery


Trouble in Paradise


Topkapi


How to Steal a Million


Charade (the Cary Grant-Audrey Hepburn version)


The Sting


The Lookout


The Asphalt Jungle


They Live by Night


Larceny, Inc.


Double Indemnity


Oceans 11 (all versions)


Raising Arizona


Fargo