Jewel thief Elizabeth teams with her ex-lover and mentor Walter, a meticulous master thief, to aim for the priceless emerald dagger at the tightly secured Topkapi Museum in Istanbul. Walter enlists acrobat Guilio, holder Hans, and gadgetry aficionado Cedric. Then he hires Arthur, a petty shyster who sells trash "artefacts" to touists near the Turkish border in Greece, for one simple task; to deliver a Lincoln across the border to the Istanbul Hilton. But customs officials search the car, discover guns and smoke grenades, and arrest the hapless Arthur on suspicion of smuggling arms into Turkey for terrorism. They give him a chance to prove his innocence by spying on Walter's gang for them.
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The unsuspecting theives are forced by a legal technicality to keep Arthur as their driver. Reluctantly, they let him settle into their seaside villa as they fine-tune their plan. He spies dilligently, but - aside from the drunk cook's delusion that they are Russian spies, and other such useless/misleading snippets - he learns very little. Soon, the theives deduce what he is up to, and lure him to their side. Again, the plan must alter. The weapons will not be used now, but Arthur will, in a key role replacing the injured Hans as Guilio's holder. Elizabeth will distract the searchlight guard with a game of Tavoli, while Cedric slows the light's revolution. And they will strike tonight.
Pre-heist, the gang attends an outdoor wrestling match at the carnival near the museum. They come and go from the stands so many times that the security men watching them cease to worry about it. Then each begins to leave for real in separate taxis, leaving their Lincoln as false evidence that they are still around. Guilio, Walter and Arthur enter the museum as it closes, and cross its cluster of roofs to a window over the display case. Guilio is painstakingly lowered over the touch-sensitive alarmed floor, toward the dagger. All goes well until one little unforeseen detail threatens everything.
The review of this Movie prepared by vjm
