Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

bensonmum2 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.

lotsofwordz What a waste of everyone's time this is: a boring story line, terrible dialogue, wooden acting from all the actors (yes, even Rex H.), pedestrian directing (sorry, no offence to pedestrians intended), lifeless cinematography with hardly a single interesting camera angle or lighting in the whole film (and in muddy black and white, too, in 1962! - and the lighting cameraman had obviously never seen a good film noir, or if he did then he must have kept his eyes closed all the time), old-fashioned editing, an awful soundtrack (that irritating whistling tune that keeps repeating ad nauseam, and I do mean ad nauseam, is a top candidate for the worst film score ever) ...The only reason it merits 2 stars instead of 1 is that we get to see Rita H. in her negligee.Good grief, how did the studio have the brass neck to distribute this film instead of burning it and claiming on the insurance?

MartinHafer 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.

Maciste_Brother I don't know why this film is totally forgotten. Maybe because it's a typical United Artist movie: not great enough to be remembered but with an interesting cast that's worthy of a little more attention.It's not the greatest film ever made and it certainly has its fair share of problems but the story is interesting, and the whole scene when they switch the real painting for the fake one is fun and suspenseful. The location filming in Spain is excellent, thanks mainly to the beautiful B&W cinematography.But if there's one reason to check out THE HAPPY THIEVES, it's simply for watching Rex Harrison and Rita Hayworth act together. They make an interesting duo. In fact, I have to say that they make one of the sexiest screen couples ever. I can't put my finger on why but those two together seems to be a match made in heaven.