Safecracker, The

Colley Dawson (Ray Milland) leads a daring double life. On weekdays, he's an expert -- and entirely law-abiding -- locksmith with unequaled skills at designing impregnable safes and lives in a drab London flat with his mother. Come the weekends, collaborating with a shady antiques dealer (Barry Jones) who gives him information on potential victims, he's a thrillseeking -- and devilishly criminal -- cat burglar whose string of safecracking heists fuels the high life of a suave alternate identity. His spending sprees eventually catch the attention of the law, but for the sardonic thief and now-jailbird Dawson, the nefarious activities to date have just been a warm-up for the most dangerous caper of his life: a crucial World War II mission to infiltrate a German-held chateau in occupied Belgium and crack a safe housing valuable information -- all without leaving a trace. Academy Award winner* Milland also directs this canny combination of dapper crime thriller and suspenseful wartime actioner with the steady hand and light touch of a second-story man.

• crime
• drama
• war