Once a Thief could refer to:
Once a Thief is a remake of a 1991 film of the same name. Both films were directed by John Woo. The movie was also made into a 1997 television series also of the same name.
The film is about two orphans - Mac Ramsey (Ivan Sergei) and Li Ann Tsei (Sandrine Holt) who have spent their life living with the Tang family - a ruthless Chinese organised crime syndicate. Mac and Li Ann were taken in by the Tang Godfather (Robert Ito) and have formed a close friendship with his son Michael (Michael Wong).
When they grow up, Li Ann is betrothed to Michael, but falls in love with Mac so the two scheme to steal money from the Tang family and run off to start a new life. During the heist, Mac is arrested and Li Ann flees to Canada. 18 months later, Mac is released into the charge of a menacing woman known only as the Director (Jennifer Dale) who takes him to Canada to work for her crime-fighting team. He soon realises he will be working with Li Ann and her former cop boyfriend Victor (Nicholas Lea).
The spin-off series ran for one season.
Once a Thief (also billed as John Woo's Once a Thief) was a 1997 television show inspired by the 1996 film of the same name.
Set in Hong Kong and Vancouver, the story follows Mac Ramsey (Ivan Sergei) and Li Ann Tsei (Sandine Holt), lovers and professional thieves who are separated while fleeing the powerful Hong Kong underworld crime lord (Robert Ito) who raised and trained them. After being imprisoned in Hong Kong, Mac is forcefully recruited into a clandestine international crime-fighting unit by a hard-nosed, menacing Director (Jennifer Dale). He is teamed in Vancouver with Li Ann, who thought Mac was dead, and her new fiance Victor Mansfield (Nicholas Lea), an ex-cop who is attracted to the unorthodox methods of the agency. Conflict flares between Mac and Victor as the trio take on their assignment. They soon learn that their principal target is their foster brother Michael Tang (Michael Wong), who had been given Li Ann as his future wife and who has vowed to hunt down the pair for their disloyalty to the "family". Written by
A down-on-her-luck San Francisco woman, turning in desperation to jewel robbery, barely escapes getting nabbed in a heist and moves to Los Angeles where she gets an honest job as a waitress. Her troubles start again, however, when she falls madly in love, blind to the fact that her boyfriend is a four-flushing, small-time con man. Written by Doug Sederberg
Eddie Pedak, a convicted criminal, has a steady job, a wife and daughter and he puts a down payment on a boat. He also has a police detective and brother after him, the first believes Eddie shot him, the second wants him for one last heist. Written by Jonathan
