A European Rope

Topkapi is a 1964 American heist comedy film produced and directed by Jules Dassin from a screenplay by Monja Danischewsky, based on the 1962 novel The Light of Day by Eric Ambler. Produced by Filmways and distributed by United Artists, the film stars Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, and Akim Tamiroff. The plot follows a small-time con artist who gets roped into helping a gang of international art thieves steal an emerald-encrusted dagger from Istanbul's Topkapı Palace, while he is simultaneously forced to spy on them for the Turkish police. The music score was by Manos Hadjidakis, the cinematography by Henri Alekan, and the costume design by Denny Vachlioti. For his performance, Ustinov won his second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.