An English cat burglar needs a Eurasian dancer's help to pull off the perfect heist, but even the most foolproof schemes have a way of backfiring.
Cockney cat burglar Harry Dean needs Hong Kong dancer Nicole Chang's help to pull off the perfect heist. With a simple makeover and a new wardrobe, Nicole's resemblance to wealthy recluse Mr. Shahbandar's deceased wife is uncanny. While Shahbandar is distracted by the mesmerizing Nicole, Harry takes steps to swipe a priceless artifact from under the tycoon's nose. But even the most intricate schemes have a way of unraveling.—L. Hamre
In Hong Kong, Eurasian exotic dancer Nicole Chang catches the attention of British high stakes cat burglar Harry Dean, who wants to use her in his latest scheme which also includes his partner, art expert Emile Fournier. The end goal is to steal the priceless statue of the Chinese Empress Li Soo from Ahmed Shahbandar, the richest man in the world who lives in the Middle Eastern country of Dammuz. Harry chose Nicole as his accomplice since she resembles Shahbandar's long deceased wife, who was the only love of his life, and Empress Li Soo herself. The plot involves Harry and Nicole traveling to Dammuz masquerading as Sir Harold and Lady Dean. There, news of Nicole being Shahbandar's wife and Li Soo's look-a-like will make its way back to Shahbandar. He in turn will invite Harry and Nicole to his apartment, where Harry will scope out the situation to steal the statue. While Nicole keeps Shahbandar occupied for the evening, Harry will steal the statue. Nicole will excuse herself temporarily from Shahbandar's company, in reality making her way to the airport, where she will meet Harry who will give her her passport, plane ticket back to Hong Kong and her five thousand U.S. dollar cut, the two never to see each other again. Harry will tell her only as much as she needs to know to carry out the plan. Harry's thoughts for the scheme don't come off quite as he anticipates, primarily because of Nicole and Shahbandar not reacting the way he anticipates. Nicole is difficult to convince, and she isn't the demure and refined Asian he had pictured, but rather a strong willed and chatterbox of a woman, who has a mind of her own and who says what she wants. And Shahbandar believes that Nicole looking exactly like his deceased wife, down to the hair and clothes, is just a little too coincidental for his comfort, he who has his eyes on the collective movements of "Sir Harold and Lady Dean", which he is certain are aliases. But these two wrongs may result in a right end goal for Harry. However, there is one other factor which Harry does not count on, namely what happens between him and Nicole.—Huggo
A cat burglar will need all the help and training that he can get to pull off the perfect heist. However, he does not expect what happens when someone decides to train him. He begins to doubt their trust. Will he be able to pull off the perfect heist?—RECB3
Cockney cat burglar Harry Tristan Dean (Michael Caine) and his sculptor friend Emile Fournier (John Abbott) discover exotic Eurasian showgirl Nicole Chang (Shirley MacLaine) in a crowded Hong Kong restaurant. She bears an incredible resemblance both to the late wife of the world's richest man, an Arab named Ahmad Shahbandar (Herbert Lom), as well as to a priceless ancient Chinese statuette that he owns; Harry and Emile want to use her in a scheme to rob Shahbandar of it. Harry's mere explanation to Emile of the caper-in which Nicole meekly obeys instructions without even a single expression-is flawless.
Harry, Nicole (who initially resisted the offer), and Emile arrive in the Middle Eastern city of Dammuz; the former two assume the identities of Sir Harold Dean and Lady Nicole Dean and check into Shahbandar's hotel where Shahbandar himself lives in the penthouse. Harry's plot does not at all follow his imagined scenario; Shahbandar himself discovers Harry's deceitfulness, and only plays along with Harry and Nicole to see what they are plotting. She is aghast when she learns what Harry wants to steal, but goes along because she is falling in love with him.
Shahbandar invites them to dinner; Harry refuses but persuades Nicole to accept, so she will occupy Shahbandar while he will steal the statuette. Nicole, however, realizes that Shahbandar suspects them, and slips away to warn Harry. Working together, they steal the statuette without triggering the alarm; but a misplaced impulse afterwards causes Nicole to accidentally trigger the alarm anyway. At Harry's insistence, Nicole flees to the airport to return separately to Hong Kong, while he hides from the guards; he watches as they also check a secret compartment in the wall of the room, where the real statuette is hidden: the one in Harry's hands is a copy.
Shahbandar then rechecks the secret compartment, finds the fake, and has Nicole arrested at the airport. At breakfast, he tells her that his agents have found Harry in Hong Kong; he too will be arrested unless the real statuette is returned. She is free to go with a dossier of Harry if she takes that message to him.
At Emile's workshop in Hong Kong, Harry reveals that he actually hid the statuette inside a Buddha statue Emile had sold Shahbandar, and left the hotel a telegraph of this while she was traveling. In the least, Harry only wanted to give the appearance that it had been stolen, as no one yet knows when Shahbandar will reverse that credibility. Emile, in fact, made an exact replica of the statuette as well as the decoy that Shahbandar had on display; and with three prospective buyers already waiting, Harry and Emile must now sell the replica as the real thing.
Nicole proves unhappy at Harry's criminal lifestyle, so Harry smashes the replica to prove she is more important to him than his life of crime. She and Harry leave Emile supposedly disconsolate-until he receives a telephone call afterwards, happily starts making arrangements with a buyer, and takes one of more replicas of the statuette.
