Penelope (1966)

The wife (Natalie Wood) of a prominent Manhattan banker (Ian Bannen) has a problem. She's a kleptomaniac. But when she disguises herself as an old woman and robs her husband's bank of $60, 000, she discovers that she just might have gone too far this time. Especially when a police detective (Peter Falk) gets suspicious and keeps his eye on her. Based on the novel by E.V. Cunningham and directed by Arthur Hiller (THE OUT OF TOWNERS). This slight (and that might be an understatement) comedy caper suffers from unnecessary padding in the form of flashbacks which add very little to the film's storyline other than to fill out the 98 minute running time. Natalie Wood is adorable and looks smashing in her Edith Head wardrobe but although she tries hard, she barely manages to keep the movie afloat. Lila Kedrova and Lou Jacobi as a couple of con artists provide some needed comedic flair. I'm a huge Natalie Wood fan so I suppose I'm more tolerant of this kind of fluff. There's a breezy score by a pre-JAWS John Williams. With Dick Shawn, Norma Crane, Jerome Cowan, Arlene Golonka, Edith Evanson and Jonathan Winters, who despite his prominent billing is barely in the movie.