Crime Without Punishment

Caper flicks, as the trade calls them invariably involve some lovable folk; who pull off an enormous and improbable heist, only to be foiled in the last reel by a freakish turn of fate. Disaster can come in many forms: a runaway poodle (The Killing), a cremated coffin (Ocean's 11), or a kid with a photographic memory (The League of Gentlemen). At their best, caper movies can be wry little existential parables; at their worst, they are merely two hours of closeups on nervous thieves and unyielding safe dials.

Hot Millions has a bit of the wryness, a lot of closeups--and a welcome touch of humor besides. Peter Ustinov, who co-authored the script with Ira Wallach, plays Marcus Pendleton, a waddling con man with a surefire scheme" to steal millions by zonking a mammoth computer. He opens up storefront offices all over Europe and has the rigged machine send him large monthly checks. After seeding millions away all over the Continent, Marcus settles down to a life of financial bliss with his scatterbrained secretary (Maggie Smith) who imperils the whole operation by accidentally discovering large amounts of foreign currency in her husband's trousers.

By this time, most viewers will easily be able to program the conclusion. Nonetheless, they can console themselves by enjoying a pair of sly performances by Smith and Ustinov, and a witty narrative of crime without punishment that has not quite been folded, spindled or mutilated into familiar formula.

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