The Burglars

(Dir, Henri Verneuil) (1972)

A nifty cat-and-mouse jewellery heist caper set in Athens, in a time when you could get a decent meal for a fistful of drachmae.  Omar Sharif is very good as the oily and corrupt copper, who is on to Jean-Paul Belmondo and his gang of emerald thieves.  A top car chase, fights, romance, double-dealing and a unique climax in a grain hopper.  A little cheesy but a relief to watch nowadays if you’re sick of Fast and Furious # 43.

Vale Omar Sharif (10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015).  He was not a great or imposing actor by any means, but he did add a measure of class to a number of films.  Though L and P violently disagree about Lawrence of Arabia (1962), his performance was vibrant and appropriately restrained.  Other good work can be savoured in Behold a Pale Horse (1964), Funny Girl (1968), The Last Valley (1971), La Casse (The Burglars) (1972), and, we guess, Doctor Zhivago (1965).