If there are no paragraph separations in the article, please double click on the title.
Heist: an individual (or group) plans and executes the theft of items of value.
Why do we enjoy hearing about a clever heist? What keeps us glued to the page or screen?
“Portrait of a Thief,” Grace D. Li’s terrific debut novel, is an art heist book dealing wonderfully with Chinese influences and national art crimes. It was nominated for multiple awards, and explored revealing character studies of the participants who were in it only for the thrills, as well as those having a higher goal.
Israeli top spy/art restorer, Gabriel Allon, would rather be working on a major art restoration in Italy, but a blackmailing member of the Italian Art Squad is able to persuade him to do otherwise. In “The Heist,” a corrupt British spy who had been selling stolen artwork to an anonymous art collector winds up dead and a famous painting is missing. In order to get an art dealer friend cleared of suspicion for dealing in stolen goods, Gabriel must agree to a heist.
These are entertaining, but nevertheless fictional accounts of plans for heists. Why did the characters do it? Money, blackmail, thrills, matching wits with law enforcement art squads, are a few of the motivations for crimes that could put the participants in jail for a very long time.
Elements of a good heist movie or book: Heist films have a classic plot and follow the planning, execution, and aftermath of a big robbery. Millions of dollars are at stake, whether in cash, art, or jewels. Typically, banks, museums, private homes, and art galleries are the stages upon which the dramas are played out.
The best ones have twists and turns, surprises throughout, the bad guys/girls plot and scheme for weeks or months, and the audience is led along for the ride as the thieves train for the big day. With loads of money at stake, and criminals involved, there may be violence to keep wayward players in line, but mostly, the emphasis is placed on the double-crosses and the tricky parts of the scheme. There is a usually a race against time, because if there are several heists in short succession, law enforcement may be onto them and evasion from capture is key.
Heist/Caper Films: Here are five of the more popular heist movies:
- “The Lavender Hill Mob”
- “The Usual Suspects”
- “The Italian Job”
- “Thomas Crown Affair”
- “Point Break”
Here’s the thing… Watching a heist unfold on the screen or in a book, we tend to fantasize in big ‘what if…’ moments. ‘We could plan it better, execute it faster if given the chance. We could escape detection more effectively and get away to that island…’ In fact, in real life, many have tried. Some have succeeded. BIG time.
Real Life Heists Law Enforcement may not always have time to deal with local bank branch robberies, but when millions in cash or goods is involved, the federal agencies all over the world take part in the investigations. When the thieves try to move the stolen items, that’s the point at which arrests are most likely to be made, if ever. Here are a few of the biggest in history.
The Gardner Heist (1990) Perhaps the world’s most famous unsolved art theft. On March 18, 1990, two men dressed as Boston cops broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and stole 13 masterpieces including five Degas, three Rembrandts, and a Vermeer. The Gardner family felt that the spots where the stolen paintings had been hung should remain empty in perpetuity. I’ve visited the museum and the bare spaces are a haunting reminder of the brazen theft. Books and movies have been based on the theft. The real life search has never ceased, but there are theories, close calls in investigations, and ultimately, nobody in jail for it.
The Central Bank of Iraq Robbery (2003) In 2003, the bank in Baghdad was robbed of approximately $920 million of Iraqi cash, by Saddam Hussein himself, seeking to keep the money out of the hands of the enemy. The money was found and taken by the U.S., but stolen again by individual soldiers who kept it for themselves. 35 people were caught and held accountable, but not all the money was recovered.
The Northern Bank Robbery (2004) Robbers dressed as cops, held the families of two bank managers in Northern Ireland hostage and forced the men to steal 26.5 million British pounds (and more). It was the biggest bank robbery in Irish history and only one person has been arrested.
The Banco Central Burglary (2005) 15 men drilled a tunnel into the Brazilian bank’s vault and stole $71.6 million in cash and valuables. The authorities arrested several of the thieves and the mastermind got 20 years in prison.
Check out the entertaining TV series “Leverage” and the sequel “Leverage-Redemption” in reruns. Every episode features a heist. Underpinning the crimes is a wish to help people outside the law, when the law itself doesn’t work. There are some dicey moments, but nobody is using shovels or drilling tunnels while carrying out the heists. Lots of deception, but no shovels.
Patti–Thanks for this post. Heist novels and movies feature the best of action, challenges, twists and turns, and even betrayal, The best keep readers and viewers on the edges of their seats, often rooting for the criminal element to achieve success. What the most exciting stories have in common, however, is they’re great fun to read or watch.
Very cool to find another fan of the sub-genre. I have to count them for accuracy, but I might have more books on the shelf dealing with heists than any other crime. Now, to find somebody who can crack a safe…. 😉