Fifty years ago, the National Gallery in London had one theft in its entire history. Now, the story can be told about this art theft in comedic drama The Duke.

The film starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren as the elderly couple, who took the painting in exchange for the British government to pay for television licenses for the poor. With the decline of payment, the art thief turned himself in, but a court trial ensued with the confession. It wasn’t until 2012 that full details of the court trial were released to the public.

Here’s the full synopsis:

In 1961, Kempton Bunton (Jim Broadbent), a 60-year-old taxi driver, stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history.

Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested in care for the elderly—he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television.

What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge—Kempton had spun a web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage—how and why he used the Duke to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale.

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The rest of cast includes Fionn Whitehead, Anna Maxwell Martin, Matthew Goode, Jake Bandeira, Aimee Kelly, and Charlotte Spencer. Roger Michell directed the film from the script written by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman.

Sony Pictures Classics plan to release The Duke in theaters this fall.

Check out the trailer below. Let us know what you think of it.

Source: Sony Pictures Classics