Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

I have pleasant memories of watching this TV-ish little crime drama way back when. Other than a word or two, maybe a drop of blood or flash of bed, The Thief Who Came to Dinner came to the small screen and snuggled right in. I've seen the movie twice, once on broadcast TV and one more time as a rental, back when most people had to rent the VCR along with the movies. What stands out is my memory of the late, great Warren Oates as an insurance investigator tracking Ryan O'Neal, an urbane computer programmer who goes rogue, burgling some sort of sparkly valuables. Jacqueline Bisset is on hand to walk around in nice outfits and be teddibly urbane herself.But, on a whole, with the harried Oates getting closer and closer to nabbing O'Neal, it's a pleasant flick. I think I liked the type of stay-at-home-and-watch-a-fun-movie movie that TTWCTD is. Kind of like The Hot Rock, a contemporary of the time. One more thing about Bisset. I recently stated that she would have to be really off her game to not screw up a movie. Roger Ebert said that, in Bullitt, whenever she appeared it took five minutes for the movie to recover. I'm wondering if there was a direct correlation between her being anything like naked in a movie and her being just awful. In Bullitt, she has sex with Steve McQueen (bare shoulders and asleep) and she sucks. In The Sweet Ride, her breasts are on display (but about a thousand yards out), and she sucketh verily. The Deep? No acting talent visible, but through that wet tee, yikes!You get my point. The boobs come anywhere near the surface and the deleterious effects on the movie are in full view. I'm tempted to lop out the last couple of paragraphs because it just feels like a cheap shot against what could possibly be a very nice person in real life. Naw. I tried nice. I didn't like it.Besides, there have got to be some more movies with her that her chest is on display. Did she suck pond water in those, too? Wouldn't that be an interesting research paper for a film class?

Although "The Thief Who Came to Dinner" has been branded a comedy, it really isn't - it's more of a drama with some lighter moments. The lighter moments, incidentally, aren't really all that amusing, possibly because they try to be extremely realistic at the same time instead of doing something absurd or satirical. The movie isn't that much more successful in the drama portion. There are some interesting ideas floated around, like the fact that the title character has an interest in being in high society, but these ideas don't really get worked on that much. The performances are okay; Ryan O'Neal does make his thief character somewhat likable (until the climatic museum heist, where he hurts people), and Warren Oates gives another solid performance, though he isn't give that much of substance to do. In the end, the movie is pretty forgettable, so much so that this die hard movie buff hadn't even heard of this movie until it appeared recently on Turner Classic Movie's schedule.

amusing, nice cloth for crazy dreams, fresh and seductive. not a great movie and not part of cinema about thieves elite but very useful for relaxation. because all seems be clever and not very serious. because it is a comedy who use carefully the tension. and Ryan O Neal is really adorable. a film who reminds a lot of others from its period. but who has the science to be original in a nuanced manner. its basic trick - the innocence of a character who discovers in his hobby a form of life exploration. a charming movie. that is all. maybe silly, maybe unrealistic. but useful after a hard work day and as antidote against the blockbusters intoxication.

I saw this movie just last night on the late show (Feb.,00). O'neal did a great job. I never really thought of him as a physical actor, but he did a stellar job. The plot is good and I think it is the earliest performance by Austin Pendelton. I know, it's the earliest for me. I recommend this movie for everyone. Just good clean entertainment.