Sept. 2, 1964 - Opening today is “Topkapi,” a Technicolor heist film produced and directed by the émigré American film director Jules Dassin. The film is based on Eric Ambler’s novel “The Light of Day” (1962).
“Topkapi” stars Melina Mercouri (right), Peter Ustinov (left), Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, and Akim Tamiroff.
According to Jules Dassin, he originally planned to cast Peter Sellers as small-time hustler Simpson, but Sellers refused to work with Maximilian Schell, whom he claimed had a reputation for being difficult. Dassin was not prepared to dispense with Schell, and so cast Ustinov in place of Sellers.
In the film’s story, a group of thieves hatch a plot to rob an Istanbul museum and steal a jeweled dagger.
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