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Safecracking

 Safecracking
type
FeatureClass
 Safecracking
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Safecracking
 Safecracking
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Safecracking
 Safecracking
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A safe is a heavy armored box designed to house valuable items, protected with a sophisticated lock to prevent unauthorized access to the contents. In the pre-digital world, people tended to use wall safes protected by combination locks with money, important documents, and jewelry. (They did in popular media, anyway.)
Naturally, other people would sometimes want the fabulous loot hidden away in someone's seemingly impregnable safe. These people won't be given the combination to the safe's lock, as they're usually enemies of the owner. They may not be able to steal the combination. Breaking into the safe with sledgehammers, drilling the locks, welding torches or just stealing it outright isn't advisable since the safe is probably too heavy to move and it is usually in an enemy's mansion, protected by armed guards.
Our criminal or spy isn't out of luck, though. Combination locks were driven by a mechanism that involved tumblers, devices that would spin into place as the combination lock's dial was turned. Someone with very, very good ears (or a doctor's stethoscope) could hear the tumblers spinning and know by sound when they had fallen into place. At least, that's what Hollywood claims - in truth, most quality combination locks nowadays have safety precautions built in specifically to prevent safecracking techniques like this, specifically because Hollywood has let everyone know that such techniques are theoretically possible.
It's a Dead Horse Trope now - but survives due to the Grandfather Clause in older material, and is used for comedy occasionally but never straight. In modern settings it's been largely replaced by Password Slot Machine that digitally cracks the password.
In a digital world, valuable information is rarely stored in physical formats - well, except backups of printed materials like magazines etc. - digital publishing, despite the name, also produces physical magazines. Other valuables are likely to be protected by safes using electronic locks, buried deep in highly inaccessible vaults. Even when a safe does have a combination lock... well, modern combination locks are much better thanks to new materials and manufacturing methods. While it is possible to break your average safe open with the right tools, it'll usually take hours and will involve cutting open the safe (with a risk of damaging whatever's inside).
Typically this trope is only played straight in older media (and sometimes parodies, homages, or remakes of said older media). Otherwise, the Safecracker's role is most likely to be played by a main character equipped with cool gadgets or a computer hacker who needs to work inscrutable tech magic on an electronic lock.
Not to be confused with The Cracker, a type of thief who steals using computers.
 Safecracking
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2024-02-13T12:17:01Z
 Safecracking
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2024-02-13T12:17:02Z
 Safecracking
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Dropped link to BeastieBoys: Not an Item - IGNORE
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TheManFromUNCLE
 Safecracking
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DBTropes
 Safecracking / int_11edb6d4
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_11edb6d4
comment
In No Deposit, No Return Duke is a safe cracker he and his partner are held hostage by two rich kids that are faking their own kidnapping. At the climax of the film Duke has to crack a safe to save the children who have been locked inside - in front of the police detective that has been hunting him down
 Safecracking / int_11edb6d4
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 Safecracking / int_1543f8a
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_1543f8a
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Zero Time Dilemma has safecracking as part of a puzzle in the infirmary. Since this was supposed to be solvable puzzle (in-universe, not just as game mechanic), and safe was meant to be unlocked this way, trope is Justified.
 Safecracking / int_1543f8a
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Safecracking / int_1543f8a
 Safecracking / int_17024c6d
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_17024c6d
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An episode of The Pretender dealt with Jarod overhearing a conversation between an ex-con trying to go straight and his former boss, who wants him to pull One Last Job with him. The boss mentions the last member of the team is a one-armed safecracker, due to arrive by bus that day. Jarod intercepts the safecracker at the bus station, tells him the police are onto him, takes his tools, gives him a wad of cash and a new target (The Centre), then takes his place on the job.
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Safecracking / int_17024c6d
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In Grand Slam, the Caper Crew successfully enters the safe using a pneumatic trestle to bypass the photocell beams by crawling over them, accesses to the safe room with the Mary Ann's key stolen by Jean-Paul, move the safe to the corridor using shaving cream to dampen their sounds, and finally open the safe with specific nitroglycerin charges.
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_1aa9d9f4
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The 1960s Batman (1966) had the Riddler used a different method: he obtained a supply of a rare wax that becomes powerfully corrosive when exposed to flame to eat through locks and simply poke them clear of the door itself to open it.
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Safecracking / int_1aa9d9f4
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Safecracking
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Ranma ½: Genma, who invented two martial arts styles based on theft, is shown to be a safecracker.
 Safecracking / int_1b386512
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Safecracking / int_1b386512
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_27b0262b
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The listen-to-the-tumblers version was tested and busted on MythBusters; Adam Savage, even with a specially boosted stethoscope, could not use that technique to unlock the safe. A technique using a borescope to see the tumblers and piano wire to move them (after prying off the combination dial) proved more successful. It took a total 45 minutes (presumably ~20 minutes used on the stethoscope method, and ~25 on the borescope method) to open a safe rated for 5 minutes, though given that techniques used to rate a safe are far from quiet, and that it was their first attempt at it, it wasn't too shabby.
 Safecracking / int_27b0262b
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 MythBusters
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Safecracking / int_27b0262b
 Safecracking / int_2a590d91
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_2a590d91
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In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Mr. E.H. Harriman's newest safe defeats Butch's cracker. So they use dynamite. A LOT of dynamite. It winds up destroying the whole train car as well as the safe and sending the money flying everywhere.
 Safecracking / int_2a590d91
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 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
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Safecracking / int_2a590d91
 Safecracking / int_30940081
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_30940081
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Grand Theft Auto V has a variant of this involving a drill in the finale of the first heist you can play in GTA Online; in this case, you're not actually cracking the combination, you're literally drilling through the lock, and have to listen carefully to make sure the drill is going through the pins without jamming or overheating. In a later mission, you get to play this trope straight, by cracking the safe that belongs to the Lost M.C.'s LS Chapter.
 Safecracking / int_30940081
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 Grand Theft Auto V (Video Game)
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Safecracking / int_30940081
 Safecracking / int_3282ebf4
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_3282ebf4
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In the short-lived Richard Dean Anderson series Legend, Legend has to break into a bank's safe to get at the record books that prove that the owner of the bank was embezzling (And from there, that he had committed murder to cover up the embezzlement). He uses explosives to open it. Unfortunately, his friend Janos gave him a nitroglycerine based bomb that was much stronger than dynamite, and rather than opening the safe, the safe goes through the roof and lands in the stable next door.
 Safecracking / int_3282ebf4
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Safecracking / int_3282ebf4
 Safecracking / int_34a70b48
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_34a70b48
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In Batman Forever Batman uses this to break out of a safe that is being filled with boiling acid. He borrows a security guard's hearing aid to listen to the tumblers and crack it open.
 Safecracking / int_34a70b48
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1.0
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Safecracking / int_34a70b48
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Safecracking
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Eternal Darkness had the lead character Alex unlock an old safe through the use of a 200-year-old Stethoscope.
 Safecracking / int_3583b777
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 Eternal Darkness (Video Game)
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Safecracking / int_3583b777
 Safecracking / int_3d776ce3
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_3d776ce3
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Alpha Protocol has you picking safes (and anything else with a lock on it for that matter) with a mini-game where you have to line up the tumblers; with harder locks having more tumblers. Oddly these locks could be disabled with EMP grenades and would trigger an alarm if you didn't unlock the door in time.
 Safecracking / int_3d776ce3
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Moonraker. Bond uses an X-ray device to break into a safe in Drax's headquarters.
 Safecracking / int_3f20192e
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 Moonraker
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Safecracking / int_3f20192e
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 Safecracking / int_4737c653
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On Elementary Sherlock is hired to figure out how a thief broke into a state-of-the-art bank vault protected by an electronic lock. The lock's combination constantly changes based on an algorithm and the single decoding device was confirmed to be on another continent at the time of the robbery. He is so frustrated by his inability to figure out the trick that he takes a fire axe and goes Axe-Crazy on the locking mechanism. In the end it turns out that the mastermind hacked the computers of the company who made the vault and replaced the algorithm for the lock with one that looked like it was generating random numbers but was simply giving out portions of the number PI. With that knowledge he could calculate what the combination was at any given time.
 Safecracking / int_4737c653
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Safecracking / int_4737c653
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 Safecracking / int_52855c7
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Safe Cracker places the protagonist in the headquarters of a prestigious safe-manufacturing firm known as Crabb & Sons, as part of a job interview - crack all the safes and open the final vault in the span of 12 hours, and you're hired. The safes vary from cleverly hidden that need special keys, to novelty boxes that can be opened by completing a puzzle, and none of them rely on the traditional methods of safecracking. (Except for the tried and true "figure out where they wrote down the combination" gambit.)
A spiritual successor under the same name puts you in the shoes of an expert safecracker, hired to find the will of Duncan W. Adams , oil conglomerate CEO who had a serious passion for designing safes just as strange as Crabb & Sons'. The person who hired you is a greedy descendant, whom you find later isn't to be trusted.
 Safecracking / int_52855c7
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 Safe Cracker / Videogame
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Safecracking / int_52855c7
 Safecracking / int_56261447
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Safecracking
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In Army of the Dead, this is the job and lifelong of quirky German mercenary/thief Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer). A prequel, Army of Thieves, is centered around him, his debuts in the Bank Robbery business and his previous heist team.
 Safecracking / int_56261447
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In Underworld U.S.A., Tolly is an expert safecracker. When he infiltrates the mob, they initially put him to work as a numbers runner, but after he proves himself, they send him to break into the federal prosecutor's safe to find out what evidence he has against them.
 Safecracking / int_58edb22f
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 Safecracking / int_5a0093
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_5a0093
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Safecrackers is one of the games played on The Price Is Right. A big prize is locked behind a vault and contestants have to use 3 numbers on the vault by guessing the price of a small item. (Ironically, one contestant who the game in the 80s was a locksmith and another was a police officer.)
 Safecracking / int_5a0093
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 The Price Is Right
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Safecracking / int_5a0093
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James Bond:
You Only Live Twice. A safe is revealed while Bond is brawling with a Giant Mook in an office of Osato Chemicals. After he's subdued, Bond breaks into the safe using a small gadget that signals when each combination number is reached. Unfortunately, an alarm goes off the moment Bond opens the safe door, so he just has time to grab some papers and run.
On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Bond uses a trunk-sized device that directly manipulates the dial automatically to open it, and has a photocopier function so Bond can put back the documents he wants so as to eliminate evidence of his break in. The cold bastard then steals a Playboy centerfold from the safe!
Moonraker. Bond uses an X-ray device to break into a safe in Drax's headquarters.
 Safecracking / int_5ada53ed
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Safecracking / int_5ada53ed
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_5ead0201
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In the opening scene of Gotham Girls, Poison Ivy is going the "listen to the tumblers" version, only to be repeatedly distracted by the sounds that Harley Quinn is making. She finally gets Harley to shut up so she can work; unfortunately Harley interprets this as not warning her that the police are closing in to arrest them.
 Safecracking / int_5ead0201
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Safecracking / int_5ead0201
 Safecracking / int_6007bcf4
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_6007bcf4
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In Sleeping Dogs (2012), you unlock safes and lockboxes with the help of a program on your phone that listens for the "click" of the tumblers aligning. Hong Kong police have some pretty nifty tools, apparently.
 Safecracking / int_6007bcf4
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 Sleeping Dogs (2012) (Video Game)
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Safecracking / int_6007bcf4
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_607f6b7
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Inspector Gadget does this in the opening sequence and finds Da Chief (with a message for him) inside it.
 Safecracking / int_607f6b7
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1.0
 Safecracking / int_607f6b7
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 Inspector Gadget
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Safecracking / int_607f6b7
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_6e17a0d1
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Die Hard has Hans Gruber and his gang deal with a super secure vault. Here Gruber's tech expert, Theo, notes that he can break through 6 of the seven locks, but the final electromagnetic lock is beyond him. However, Gruber's Evil Plan is set up to deal with this via making the FBI cut off the power to the tower in their belief they're dealing with Western Terrorists, thus opening the final lock for them.
 Safecracking / int_6e17a0d1
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 Die Hard
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Safecracking / int_6e17a0d1
 Safecracking / int_6f04b075
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Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_6f04b075
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In The Italian Job (2003), this is Stella's role, inherited from her father after he was shot on the last job they pulled.
 Safecracking / int_6f04b075
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1.0
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 The Italian Job (2003)
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Safecracking / int_6f04b075
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Safecracking
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In a subtle nod to Simon Templar's position at the top of his field, "The Man From St. Louis" has him open and empty Tex Goldman's safe offscreen.
 Safecracking / int_73a3e773
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 The Saint (Franchise)
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Safecracking / int_73a3e773
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On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, this is Nog's role in the holodeck caper in "Badda Bing, Badda Bang", presumably because of his excellent hearing.
It's definitely a Ferengi thing; before that, one of the first signs that Rom, Nog's otherwise bumbling father, has some Hidden Depths in terms of amazing engineering skills is when he offers to pick a combination lock for his brother Quark during a burglary, pointing out he can do it in a fraction of the time Quark would need. At first Quark is incredulous of the claim and then very angry when Rom explains he's had a lot of practice on the same kind of lock because it's the one Quark has on his storeroom.
 Safecracking / int_73d7930f
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 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
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Safecracking / int_73d7930f
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In Zork Zero, you crack a safe with a magic glove that allows you to feel the tumblers turning.
 Safecracking / int_7870fd09
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Safecracking / int_7870fd09
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Safecracking
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An episode of The Red Green Show had Mike Hammer asking for assistance in using Duct Tape for Everything to repair a stethoscope, which he used to keep track of his own health while jogging away from things. Red Green asked him if he knew that it could be used to crack a safe, which Mike claimed that he didn't know that earlier. But given Mike's lack of knowledge on the location of his own heart...
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On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Bond uses a trunk-sized device that directly manipulates the dial automatically to open it, and has a photocopier function so Bond can put back the documents he wants so as to eliminate evidence of his break in. The cold bastard then steals a Playboy centerfold from the safe!
 Safecracking / int_7d52225f
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The Sly Cooper series regularly involves safecracking - for the first two games, you simply receive the combination codes once you pick up all the level's collectible "clue bottles", but in the third game you have to crack them yourself, rotating the dial (via the analogue stick) until it clicks.
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This was Newkirk's specialty on Hogan's Heroes.
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NCIS: A suspect named Scoletti hires a guy to break into NCIS' evidence locker and switch his gun. He uses this method.
 Safecracking / int_8d81bb26
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Safecracking / int_8d81bb26
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Safecracking
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The Pink Panther cartoon "Dial P For Pink" shows this trope with Amusing Injuries quite obviously Played for Laughs, including Stock Costume Traits too.
 Safecracking / int_8f6d81a3
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 The Pink Panther
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This is possible in the sequel via a perk in the ghost tree. It's time-consuming, but quicker and quieter than drilling, assuming that the player isn't interrupted.
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 PAYDAY 2 (Video Game)
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The movie (also French) Rififi is more concerned with breaking in, but cracking the safe involves drilling into it from the back.
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Case Closed: Kaitou Kid is asked by Jirokichi Suzuki to crack his safe the Iron Tanuki.
 Safecracking / int_9a67b688
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 Case Closed (Manga)
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Safecracking / int_9a67b688
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In the Polish crime comedy Vabank Henryk Kwinto is a legendary safecracker who plans to retire after getting out of prison. Having discovered, though, that Kramer, his old partner, now a Morally Bankrupt Banker, caused one of Kwinto's friends' death. Seeking revenge, he plans out a complicated heist: breaking into Kramer's allegedly heist-proof bank vault, and putting him in jail for it.
In the sequel Vabank 2, Kramer locks a little girl in a safe and then Kwinto has to crack the safe before she runs out of air. He opens the safe without any tools or prer in just 4 minutes and 27 seconds, impressing everyone present but Kramer, who calls the time one of the lousiests in Kwinto's career.
 Safecracking / int_9db19f61
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Safecracking
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In The Score this is Robert De Niro's role. However when it is time to break the main safe of the movie, he uses more expedient measures.
 Safecracking / int_9ea4ee1b
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 The Score
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Safecracking / int_9ea4ee1b
 Safecracking / int_a6c04a1a
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_a6c04a1a
comment
In Burgle Bros. all the characters can crack safes, although safecracking is The Peterman's specialty and he is better at it. All the safes must be cracked before the players can win.
 Safecracking / int_a6c04a1a
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1.0
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1.0
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Safecracking / int_a6c04a1a
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type
Safecracking
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comment
The titular Papillon, aka Henri Charrière, was a safecracker and member of Paris's criminal underworld before being framed for murder and shipped to the French Guiana Penal Colony.
 Safecracking / int_a870b316
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1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
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Safecracking / int_a870b316
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type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_ac64e9dc
comment
The Last of Us Part II has safes scattered throughout the game. Although a clue to the combination can usually be found by searching the vicinity, the option to brute-force your way through is available by listening for the slightly louder clicks when turning the dial.
 Safecracking / int_ac64e9dc
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
Safecracking / int_ac64e9dc
 Safecracking / int_b389ac77
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_b389ac77
comment
Cryptonomicon has Lawrence cracking a safe using a microphone macgyvered from a pencil lead, two razor blades, wax, wire and a battery. Justified since this part of the story takes place during WWII, Lawrence is cryptography and lock enthusiast and he is under no real deadline or pressure to open the safe (he is doing so out of curiosity and as an intellectual exercise). He tried to crack the safe earlier while in complete darkness in a wrecked submarine being pitched around by waves and half-submerged in sewage. He probably would have been successful too, had the wrecked submarine not been hit with torpedoes.
 Safecracking / int_b389ac77
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
Safecracking / int_b389ac77
 Safecracking / int_b5ab36eb
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_b5ab36eb
comment
You Only Live Twice. A safe is revealed while Bond is brawling with a Giant Mook in an office of Osato Chemicals. After he's subdued, Bond breaks into the safe using a small gadget that signals when each combination number is reached. Unfortunately, an alarm goes off the moment Bond opens the safe door, so he just has time to grab some papers and run.
 Safecracking / int_b5ab36eb
featureApplicability
1.0
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1.0
 You Only Live Twice
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Safecracking / int_b5ab36eb
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type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_b712435c
comment
Leverage: Parker's specialty, seeing as how she is The Thief of the team.
 Safecracking / int_b712435c
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
Safecracking / int_b712435c
 Safecracking / int_b94ad826
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_b94ad826
comment
In For a Few Dollars More, Colonel Mortimer forces open a safe stolen by Indio. He uses a drill to bore a hole to the locking mechanism, then pours acid into the hole to destroy the tumblers.
 Safecracking / int_b94ad826
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
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Safecracking / int_b94ad826
 Safecracking / int_bbcdaddc
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_bbcdaddc
comment
Maria no Danzai: Kowase, the first of Maria's victims gets chained inside a tank with a combination lock on his hand tying him down. Maria tells him that in order to escape he has to own up and input the number representing "his greatest sin". Kowase thinks that she is talking about the anniversary of Kiritaka's death and attempt's to input the date onto the lock, only to realize with horror that he doesn't remember when it happened. After Kowase drowns, Maria uses Kowase's own birthday to unlock his chain. It turns out his "greatest sin" was "being born".
 Safecracking / int_bbcdaddc
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_bbcdaddc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Maria no Danzai (Manga)
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_bbcdaddc
 Safecracking / int_c43df4d8
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_c43df4d8
comment
Doctor Who. In "The Sunmakers", the Doctor tries the listening-to-the-tumblers method, but quickly gives up and uses his ever-handy sonic screwdriver instead.
 Safecracking / int_c43df4d8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_c43df4d8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Doctor Who
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_c43df4d8
 Safecracking / int_c4a5dbe1
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_c4a5dbe1
comment
In Our Man Flint the buttons on Flint's vest convert into two earphones and a stethoscope-like device that our hero uses to crack the company safe at Exotica Beauty. Unfortunately it's a trap; the villains lock Flint inside and cart him (safe and all) off to their Island Base. However Flint's cigarette lighter is also an acetylene torch, so as he no longer has to remain covert, he cuts through the locking mechanism on the inside of the safe to escape.
 Safecracking / int_c4a5dbe1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_c4a5dbe1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Our Man Flint
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Safecracking / int_c4a5dbe1
 Safecracking / int_c636205d
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_c636205d
comment
In The Thieves, Pepsee and Julie are both expert safecrackers. Pepsee favours the drills and other gadgets, while Julie likes to feel the tumblers with her fingers.
 Safecracking / int_c636205d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_c636205d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Thieves
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_c636205d
 Safecracking / int_c6f7e804
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_c6f7e804
comment
This was Vila's specialty in Blake's 7, with various high-tech tools instead of a stethoscope, though he usually only got to use his talents on locked doors to Terran Federation military installations.
 Safecracking / int_c6f7e804
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_c6f7e804
featureConfidence
1.0
 Blake's 7
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Safecracking / int_c6f7e804
 Safecracking / int_c75d67d
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_c75d67d
comment
In a season two episode of Person of Interest, the person Reese has to protect is a retired safecracker who gets blackmailed by his old gang into cracking one last safe. Finch mentions that cracking a safe by the sound of the tumblers is a lost art. He doesn't mention the fact that this is because modern safes are designed so that thieves can't do that anymore (Which, given that the safecracker succeeds in opening the safe, proves that either he's really good or the safe was obsolete).
 Safecracking / int_c75d67d
featureApplicability
1.0
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1.0
 Person of Interest
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_c75d67d
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type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_cb6c417f
comment
Tormented Souls: One puzzle is to crack a safe. To solve it, you have to spot the connection between the numbers in a diary page found in the safe room, and the pictures on the TV in the next room (e.g. tricycle has 3 wheels, spider has 8 legs).
 Safecracking / int_cb6c417f
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
 Tormented Souls (Video Game)
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_cb6c417f
 Safecracking / int_d54405eb
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_d54405eb
comment
Jason King: a pair of safecrackers use a technique they learn from one of King's books; one brand of safe has a design flaw which means that all they have to do to open the safe is hit the centre of the dial with a hammer, causing all the tumblers to fall into place.
 Safecracking / int_d54405eb
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
Safecracking / int_d54405eb
 Safecracking / int_d658b2f2
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_d658b2f2
comment
Karate Bears krack safes
 Safecracking / int_d658b2f2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_d658b2f2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Karate Bears (Webcomic)
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Safecracking / int_d658b2f2
 Safecracking / int_d7480fc6
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_d7480fc6
comment
Covert Action has the safecracking kit as one of things Player Character can take on break-ins. Not exactly necessary, but safes, of course, tend to lend more valuable clues than less secured documents and evidence allowing to blackmail enemy agents into turning may be found only in floor safes.
 Safecracking / int_d7480fc6
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
Safecracking / int_d7480fc6
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type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_d86adcc6
comment
A Man Called Sledge: The gold is held in a safe in a cell, but only the warden knew the combination. Sledge locks the old man up in his former cell, adjoining the cell with the safe, which he heard being opened for years. By sound, the old man guides Bice through opening the safe.
 Safecracking / int_d86adcc6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_d86adcc6
featureConfidence
1.0
 A Man Called Sledge
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_d86adcc6
 Safecracking / int_d8a21105
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_d8a21105
comment
Red Steel 2 has you unlocking safes using this method with you listening to the speaker in the actual wiimote. Shame then the effect is ruined by the big flashing A if you find the correct number.
 Safecracking / int_d8a21105
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_d8a21105
featureConfidence
1.0
 Red Steel 2 (Video Game)
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_d8a21105
 Safecracking / int_db9f04ba
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_db9f04ba
comment
This is the specialty of legendary Western outlaw Hannibal Heyes in Alias Smith and Jones, although one of the reasons he and his partner decide to get out of the outlaw business is that the safes are getting ever harder to crack.
 Safecracking / int_db9f04ba
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_db9f04ba
featureConfidence
1.0
 Alias Smith and Jones
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_db9f04ba
 Safecracking / int_e58a9c23
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_e58a9c23
comment
In the Danish series of movies Olsen-banden, there are, usually, at least one scene of a safe being cracked. In a Running Gag, it is always the same type of safe, from the fictional "Franz Jäger of Berlin". Except in one movie, where it is from "Francis Hunter", and another one from "Francois Chasseur". In one movie the safe is deemed uncrackable but the gang's leader had obtained the combination ahead of time so all they have to do is get around the other security measures.
 Safecracking / int_e58a9c23
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_e58a9c23
featureConfidence
1.0
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Safecracking / int_e58a9c23
 Safecracking / int_e8fb844e
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_e8fb844e
comment
Daredevil has the titular hero entering his rooftop hideout by dragging his hand across 3 combination locks, and stopping them at the correct moments, thanks to his super-hearing.
 Safecracking / int_e8fb844e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_e8fb844e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Daredevil
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_e8fb844e
 Safecracking / int_ef215943
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_ef215943
comment
Averted in PAYDAY: The Heist. Rather than trying to crack the codes in the fortified vaults and rooms, the crew brute force the way around it. For the bank they rob, the crew use thermite in the room above the vault to bypass the door and have direct access to the money. In another mission where the crew attempt to rob some junkies, rather than trying to crack the code to the panic room (where the money is), they decide to detach the panic room from the floor, blow a hole to the roof, and have a helicopter airlift the room away, money and all.
This is possible in the sequel via a perk in the ghost tree. It's time-consuming, but quicker and quieter than drilling, assuming that the player isn't interrupted.
 Safecracking / int_ef215943
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Safecracking / int_ef215943
featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
Safecracking / int_ef215943
 Safecracking / int_ef2a98d0
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_ef2a98d0
comment
In Bank Shot, Ballentine steals the bank because they don't have time to rack the safe on site. Hermann then sets to work cracking it. He cuts it, drills it and finally blasts into with nitroglycerin before it opens.
 Safecracking / int_ef2a98d0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_ef2a98d0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bank Shot
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_ef2a98d0
 Safecracking / int_f2cd7ac8
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_f2cd7ac8
comment
Made fun of in Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs. After delivering a number of tools to the Master Thief, he demonstrates his skills as he opens the safe that holds the Heart of his Realm. He starts out by listening to the safe with a stethoscope while turning the dial, but then transitions to using a hammer and a crowbar, and then finally just blows the safe up. Made even sillier than it seems by the fact that since it's his safe to begin with, the Master Thief should have known the combination.
 Safecracking / int_f2cd7ac8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_f2cd7ac8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs (Video Game)
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_f2cd7ac8
 Safecracking / int_f3ef0f86
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_f3ef0f86
comment
Mulch in the first Artemis Fowl does this; he has more developed hearing that usual and he's had so much experience stealing things that he breaks into the extremely new and top-of-the-line safe Artemis keeps his copy of the Book in by listening to the dials.
 Safecracking / int_f3ef0f86
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_f3ef0f86
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1.0
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hasFeature
Safecracking / int_f3ef0f86
 Safecracking / int_f4e799ee
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_f4e799ee
comment
Done numerous times in Burn Notice, as breaking into a safe is a standard requirement both for Michael's life as a spy and also in many of the cons and crimes he gets involved with day to day. Though the more serious safes do require the complicated skills and training you'll see elsewhere on this page, Michael has also been known to cut out the bottom of a cup and use that to listen to the tumblers falling into place in a cheaper model. On one case he realized that the safe was so cheap that he didn't even need to crack the combination, he just needed to bring a hammer to knock off the combination wheel. For the more sophisticated events he is seen practicing on similar safes before actually cracking the real thing. When he can't break into a safe (usually because he doesn't have the time), he takes another route and steals the safe, since just having it (or depriving his target of it) is sufficient for his purposes.
 Safecracking / int_f4e799ee
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_f4e799ee
featureConfidence
1.0
 Burn Notice
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_f4e799ee
 Safecracking / int_f53fe2fa
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_f53fe2fa
comment
In numerous episodes of Mission: Impossible, the team has to break into a safe or vault in order to steal or plant something, starting with the first episode. The methods they use are rather varied.
 Safecracking / int_f53fe2fa
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_f53fe2fa
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mission: Impossible
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_f53fe2fa
 Safecracking / int_f84c42c0
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_f84c42c0
comment
Lupin III: Not used often, Lupin prefers Social Engineering to open the safe, but he has proven the ability to do so several times in the franchise. The board game just assumes that if a character enters the building with the loot, they can automatically open it. They're just that good.
 Safecracking / int_f84c42c0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_f84c42c0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Lupin III (Franchise)
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_f84c42c0
 Safecracking / int_f858a2c5
type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_f858a2c5
comment
Bookhunter has the detective investigating a thief who apparently cracked a safe without leaving any physical evidence of safecracking, since the theft wasn't discovered until weeks after the fact. The eventual solution: The thief drilled through the safe door, noted its old combination, then disassembled the safe with a torch. Then they replaced it with another safe of the same model, and set it to the same combination as the old one.
 Safecracking / int_f858a2c5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_f858a2c5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Bookhunter (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Safecracking / int_f858a2c5
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type
Safecracking
 Safecracking / int_fff2d31b
comment
In the Grendel graphic novel, Devil by the Deed, the adoptive daughter of Hunter "Grendel" Rose discovers that her father has a safe hidden away. Furthermore, the book makes it clear it's of vintage design as a matter of aesthetics for Rose, so the girl is able to read up about classic safecracking methods she can use to get it open.
 Safecracking / int_fff2d31b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Safecracking / int_fff2d31b
featureConfidence
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 Grendel (Comic Book)
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Safecracking / int_fff2d31b

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Safecracking
processingCategory2
Crime and Punishment Tropes
 Safecracking
processingCategory2
Insecurity System
 Safecracking
processingCategory2
Steal This Index
 Lupin III: The First / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Skyhold Academy Yearbook (Fanfic) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 A Man Called Sledge / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Ant-Man / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Ant-Man / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Army of the Dead / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Army of Thieves / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Batman Forever / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Die Hard / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Fast Five / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 For a Few Dollars More / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Grand Slam / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Logan Lucky / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Moonraker / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 On Her Majesty's Secret Service / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Our Man Flint / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Papillon (1973) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Rififi / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 The Thieves / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Vabank / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Violent Night / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 You Only Live Twice / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Sly Cooper (Franchise) / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Doctrine of Labyrinths / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 March Violets / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Prussian Blue / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 The Saint / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Jallen
seeAlso
Safecracking
 Olsen-Banden
seeAlso
Safecracking
 SafeCracking
sameAs
Safecracking
 TropesExaminedByTheMythBusters
seeAlso
Safecracking
 Maria no Danzai (Manga) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Moriarty the Patriot (Manga) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Arsène Lupin (1971) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Banshee / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 From Dusk Till Dawn / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Hogan's Heroes / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Kaleidoscope (2023) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Mission: Impossible / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Outrageous Fortune / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 The City Hunter / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Burgle Bros. (Tabletop Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Breach: Archangel Series (Video Game) / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Crime Boss: Rockay City (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Eternal Darkness (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 LEGO City Undercover (Video Game) / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Lifeline (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 1-2-Switch (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 PAYDAY 2 (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 PAYDAY: The Heist (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Red Steel 2 (Video Game) / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Saints Row (Video Game) / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Splinter Cell (Video Game) / int_91238cfa
type
Safecracking
 Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 The Journey Down (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Tormented Souls (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 High School Story (Visual Novel) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Lock Picking Lawyer (Web Video) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Sundae Comics (Webcomic) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Bob Le Flambeur / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Lupin III (Franchise) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking
 Dark Sun (Video Game) / int_8d4928da
type
Safecracking