There's a movie out there for everyone - romantic comedies, action, drama, you name it. But, one film genre has dominated box offices since the Golden Age of Hollywood, and that's caper film. Merriam-Webster defines caper as "an illegal or questionable act or escapade" or "an amusing movie or story about such an act or escapade."
Caper film is a cousin of the heist movie. Some of the most popular include The Sting and Ocean's Eleven, but what happened before them? There's a long list of great caper movies from the 1940s forward, and some are among the best crime movies ever made.
10 'Criss Cross' (1949)
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Criss Cross stars Burt Lancaster and Yvonne De Carlo, and it's many things. Classified as a film noir, Criss Cross is also an exception caper crime movie about a truck driver who reconnects with his ex-wife, hatching a plan to appeal to a local gangster. Things go south, as such stories normally do, and the protagonist is left to his own devices.
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The biggest praise for Criss Cross includes the magnificent cinematography, but the cast gets a lot of love, too. Lancaster is classically charming, while De Carlo stunningly brings the femme fatale to life. For lovers of classic crime movies and capers, Criss Cross is a great movie to add to the watchlist.
9 'Odds Against Tomorrow' (1959)
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Before he sang Jump in the Line, Harry Belafonte starred in one of the greatest classic capers. Odds Against Tomorrow sees Belafonte as Ingram, a nightclub entertainer, and Robert Ryan as Slater, an ex-convict looking for an opportunity to make money. Ingram and Slater are hired to do a heist together, despite an obvious dislike they have for each other.
The movie cleverly follows their relationship while also portraying their differences in character and style. Harry Belafonte is one of the first black protagonists in a noir film and was the perfect choice to play Ingram in Odds Against Tomorrow. A piece from the British Film Institute says this about Belafonte: "His energy and style has an ease that sticks out among the deep shadows."
8 'The Lavender Hill Mob' (1951)
IMDb Rating: 7.5
While most modern audiences know Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first Star Wars Trilogy, Guinness was a versatile actor, excelling in various genres. The Lavender Hill Mob introduces his fans to another side of Guinness - his comedic skills and timing are impeccable in one of the greatest ensemble casts of the 20th century.
The Lavender Hill Mob is about Holland (Guinness) devising a plan with a group of criminals to rob a bank. But, Holland and the gang aren't planning to rob just any bank, but the one he works at. Their idea is to steal the bank's gold supply and melt it into souvenirs. It's essentially the Money Heist of the 1950s, infused with hilarious comedy and excellent plot points.
7 'High Sierra' (1941)
IMDb Rating: 7.5
Humphrey Bogart is normally seen in heroic roles, so while his lead in High Sierra isn't unexpected, it's surprising. Still, his reputation until 1941 was much more based on playing the bad guy. High Sierra defined him as an ambiguous but heroic character, and his performance within the ensemble and alone is stellar.
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High Sierra follows Roy (Bogart) getting broken out of prison by a former boss who needs a favor. Roy must help a group of thieves organize a smooth and faultless robbery while hiding in the Sierra Nevadas. The movie isn't action-packed but holds the attention from start to finish; one of the fan-favorite protagonists is Roy's dog companion, Pard.
6 'How to Steal a Million' (1966)
IMDb Rating: 7.5
If anyone ever thought Audrey Hepburn and caper crime movies might be a good fit, they're in for a treat - How to Steal a Million is a charming crime comedy where she stars alongside Peter O'Toole. The pair plays Nicole and Simon, a daughter of an art forger and a professional burglar.
Nicole's father lends one of his forged works to a famous Parisian museum, and in fear of him getting caught, she plans to steal it. She contacts Simon, the one person she believes can help her. Though it's a story like most caper movies, it's all the better because of Hepburn. Her radiant presence and style make How to Steal a Million a feature for the books.
5 'Bob the Gambler' ('Bob Le Flambeur', 1956)
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Bob the Gambler, also known by its original French title Bob Le Flambeur is a hyper-stylish caper by Jean-Pierre Melville. Roger Duchesne plays a hardcore gangster and gambler whose money supply is running dry. Bob devises a plan to rob a casino he frequents, but he doesn't plan to do it alone - he needs to assemble a team.
An obvious inspiration to numerous modern capers, Bob the Gambler was filmed for over two years. In one part, due to a tight budget, and in another, because of Melville's control of every production aspect; his cinematographer helped make the movie feel ahead of its time. This was also the feature that inspired the French New Wave, as mentioned by Ebert in his analysis.
4 'The Ladykillers' (1955)
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Another Alec Guinness feature on the list, The Ladykillers is quite similar to The Lavender Hill Mob, but it beats the latter for several reasons - a larger ensemble cast (with Peter Sellers, among many), more direct and punching societal criticism, and bouts of dark comedy that could make anyone laugh-cry.
This 1955 feature inspired crime and ensemble comedies and provided the freedom for British dark humor to blossom. It may have been what inspired The Italian Job with Michael Caine a decade and a half later, and what pushed a group of comedians like TheMonty Python to start their careers.
3 'The Taking of Pelham One Two Three' (1974)
IMDb Rating: 7.6
The Hollywood legend Walter Matthau stars in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, a movie often lauded as the greatest caper crime movie of all time. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three follows four burglars - Mr. Grey, Mr. Green, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Blue - as they hijack the 1:23 train to Pelham. Their demand is $1 million in ransom within an hour.
Matthau plays Lt. Garber, a transit police officer working to discourage the men from continuing the heist. The film follows his side of the story and the commotion among the four burglars led by Robert Shaw. Despite being made in 1974, outside what's generally considered classic Hollywood, it falls under one of the best classic capers because it's gripping from start to finish.
2 'Second Wind' ('Le Deuxième Souffle', 1966)
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Second Wind, also known by its original French title Le Deuxième Souffle, is another brilliantly devised caper by the unique and inspirational Jean-Pierre Melville. This time, Melville introduces Lino Ventura as Gu, an escaped convict/gangster who wishes to continue his reign over the Parisian underground crime scene.
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Gu plots with a group of friends to steal a hefty sum of money, without awareness that Detective Blot is on his tail at all times. While Bob the Gambler helped begin the New Wave, Second Wind established Melville as the essential French noir-crime director; Melville's directing methods were potentially unorthodox, but they always did the trick.
1 'The Killing' (1956)
IMDb Rating: 7.9
While most people attach Stanley Kubrick to The Shining and 2001: A Space Odyssey, most don't know that the movie that earned him praise and stardom was his first caper, The Killing. The movie follows Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden), an ex-convict who, like most protagonists on this list, assembles a group of men to perform a heist with.
The target of the heist is a racetrack that has, by Clay's estimates, around $2 million in loot. The movie is often considered inspirational to modern, non-linear stories like Pulp Fiction. Kubrick's intent was to create a non-linear feature that, in just under 90 minutes, delivers the thrills and anticipation better than most stories of the genre could - and it worked.
