People are voting emotionally.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The Happy Thieves gets off to a good start. Art thief Jimmy Bourne (Rex Harrison) steals a painting from a Spanish villa. He hands it over to Eve Lewis (Rita Hayworth) for transport to Paris. Once she arrives, Eve is shocked to discover the painting is missing. They have no idea how the stolen painting could have been stolen. To make matters worse, they are contacted by a man who has photographic proof they stole the painting. His silence comes with a heavy price tag. Jimmy and Eve must steal a gigantic, heavily guarded Goya from a Paris museum. Can they pull it off?On paper, The Happy Thieves looks like a real winner. It's got a lot o things that usually appeal to me. Rex Harrison is an actor I usually enjoy. His work in My Fair Lady, for example, is fantastic. Likewise, I usually really enjoy Rita Hayworth. Gilda is one of my all time favorite films. The Happy Thieves is billed as a Euro- heist/comedy - a "genre" that appeals greatly to me. Finally, there's some nice cinematography, interesting locations, and strong actors in supporting roles. It all should have worked. Unfortunately, The Happy Thieves is no where near as good as it should have been. The problem - it's as dull a movie as I've seen recently. Harrison, Hayworth, the heist/comedy elements - none of it can completely save this dud. The Happy Thieves is a chore to get through without falling asleep. It's about as dull as a kitchen knife at a beach house rental - and that's dull. Call it a missed opportunity. A generous 4/10 is the best I can rate the movie.

What a waste of everyone's time this is: a boring story line, terrible dialogue, wooden acting from all the actors (yes, even Rex H.), pedestrian directing (sorry, no offence to pedestrians intended), lifeless cinematography with hardly a single interesting camera angle or lighting in the whole film (and in muddy black and white, too, in 1962! - and the lighting cameraman had obviously never seen a good film noir, or if he did then he must have kept his eyes closed all the time), old-fashioned editing, an awful soundtrack (that irritating whistling tune that keeps repeating ad nauseam, and I do mean ad nauseam, is a top candidate for the worst film score ever) ...The only reason it merits 2 stars instead of 1 is that we get to see Rita H. in her negligee.Good grief, how did the studio have the brass neck to distribute this film instead of burning it and claiming on the insurance?

With Rex Harrison and Rita Hayworth, you might tend to think you'll see a pretty good film but unfortunately the film only barely manages to earn a 5 and most of this is due to these actors. Try as they might, the film is just an amazingly listless film. Plus throughout the film I kept expecting a payoff to make my time investment worth while. Sadly, when the film was over, my first thought was "is that all there is to it?!". No magic, no chemistry...just a rather bland caper about stolen masterpieces. If you are looking for a good crime film or some of the excitement of GILDA, keep looking. This film features second-rate writing and barely enough energy to keep your interest. It isn't that the film is bad, but it certainly wasn't good either.

NB - the "spoiler" in this comment is more for the Thomas Crown Affair.Well, this movie may not be as grippingly suspenseful as the Thomas Crown Affair (either version), or as funny as the Pink Panther, but as a little-known B&W sleeper it's a gem of comedy suspense in its own right.The final substitution of the paintings is far more believable than in The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) -- and funnier. It is the smooth combination of comedy and suspense that makes this film work; although it is American directed and produced, it has the engaging quality of those British crime-comedies of the fifties and early sixties.Rita Hayworth, making the difficult transition around this time from sex-symbol to character actor, delivers a fine performance, while Rex Harrison is in his suavest form as the master-criminal always ready with a quip.This is an engaging, funny and delightful movie - rent it if you can find it, or watch for its next TV appearance - you won't be disappointed.