Gambit is a 1966 American heist comedy film directed by Ronald Neame from a screenplay by Jack Davies and Alvin Sargent from the original story of Sidney Carroll.

The film follows a thief (Caine) who enlists a chorus girl (MacLaine) in an elaborate plot to steal a priceless antique bust owned by multi-millionaire Mr. Shahbandar (Lom).

Aspiring Cockney cat burglar Harry Tristan Dean and his sculptor friend Emile Fournier discover exotic Eurasian showgirl Nicole Chang in a crowded Hong Kong nightclub.

Nicole bears an uncanny resemblance both to the late wife of the world's richest man, an Arab named Ahmad Shahbandar, as well as to a priceless bust statue of an ancient Chinese Empress, Li Su, owned by the tycoon in tribute to his dead bride.

Harry's explanation to Emile of the caper is supposedly "flawless"—played out onscreen with Nicole meekly obeying instructions without saying a single word.

Inviting them to lunch, he grants Nicole's wish to see his fabulous private quarters, giving Harry the opportunity to case the premises and learn that the statue is guarded by a sophisticated electronic device.

Admitting that his soft spot for Nicole enticed him to play along, underestimate Harry's plot, and lose the game he enabled, Shahbandar is inclined to give them a break.

Immediately afterwards, Emile receives a telephone call from a buyer and takes from his closet one of three additional secret replicas of Li Su.