Lot Essay
In her third picture to be directed by William Wyler, a charming heist comedy set in Paris, Audrey played the straight-laced daughter of an art forger who teams up with suave society burglar Peter O'Toole to steal her father's faux Cellini from a museum before it's discovered to be a fake. Hepburn and O'Toole had a lot of fun on set, teasing and making each other laugh, particularly through an intimate eleven day shoot in a janitor's closet. Wyler grumbled They react on each other like laughing gas, and the trouble is they're in almost every scene together. Audrey remembered O'Toole fondly My friend! He was very dear and very funny. Givenchy clothed Audrey in sixties perfection throughout, from her all white ensemble with preposterous chapeau to her divinely delicate all black lace two-piece with matching half mask. Some critics found the movie out of touch, but the frivolous glamour and witty dialogue gave audiences a welcome respite from the Vietnam war and it was a success at the box office.