History Main / HollywoodGlassCutter

* Averted in one episode of ''Series/WhiteCollar'' in which Elle [[escapes captivity by using her diamond ring to repeatedly scratch an X across a window to weaken it and then hits it with a chair.]]

* ''Film/MissionImpossible''

* ''Film/NoTimeToDie''. A SPECTRE commando team rappels down the side of a skyscraper to the floor containing a secret [=MI6=] laboratory, then place a couple of automated laser cutters on two corners of the floor-to-ceiling window, neatly cutting it open.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' used this one a bit. Catwoman does this with her claws twice in her introductory episode; the first time, she cuts a small hole for her cat, Isis, to climb through. Batman does this with one of his batarangs. And in "Harley and Ivy", Harley Quinn starts to use a circle cutter on a glass case in a museum -- but Poison Ivy accidentally triggers a different alarm in the same museum, so Harley [[SoMuchForStealth just smashes the case]].

If the person breaking in is prepared, they will have a device specifically designed for this purpose. It's a suction cup with an attached lever, with a cutting element -- such as a diamond or laser - on the end of the lever. The suction cup is applied to the glass, then the lever is moved around in a circular motion, cutting a circular area out of the glass.

If a character doesn't have such a device, they will improvise by using the sharp point of a diamond ring instead. Another common variation is the use of [[AbsurdlySharpClaws sharp claws]], in which case the circle is cut freehand.

A PhantomThief or spy might use this method during [[TheCaper a heist]]. The character need not be a professional (or amateur) burglar, but their intent is stealth-based.

* OlderThanTelevision: Main/SherlockHolmes does this in Creator/ArthurConanDoyle's short story "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", 1904. In the words of Dr. Watson: "The place was locked, but Holmes removed a circle of glass and turned the key from the inside."

* ''Film/HudsonHawk''. While breaking into the auction house, Eddie uses a suction cup device to cut out a hole in a glass door. It's large enough that he and Tommy Five-Tone can slip inside.

* In the 1960's ''Series/Batman1966'' episode "The Purr-Fect Crime", Catwoman uses her glove/claws to carve a hole through a museum display case.

* When ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' go to a [[Main/CriminalConvention HeistCon]] convention, they discover this method is the only way to get in. Rick is less than amused.

* Averted in the ''Manga/GunsmithCats'' manga, where a criminal is able to break into Bean Bandit's car by cutting a jagged, uneven scratch on the bulletproof window with a glass cutter and firing her gun repeatedly on it, until it cracks off the edges of the scratch.

* In ''Anime/PonyoOnTheCliffByTheSea'', the title character tries to escape from her dad's house by using magic to cut a hole in one of the house windows. But because the house is underwater, this leads to loads of water coming through the window and Ponyo gets caught in the flow of water instead.

* Funny moment in the Italian comedy ''Bingo Bongo'' when the titular character used his sharp nails to cut through the glass window of a restaurant in order to snatch food from a table inside. Watch the scene [[https://youtu.be/tW9hQhSmxVo?t=94 here]].

* In the climax of ''[[Film/TheAssignment1997 The Assignment]]'' (1997), a KGB commando team is assaulting the safehouse of Carlos the Jackal. In this instance the cut is made by a fast burning fuse around the rim of the sucker clamp.

* In ''Literature/TheMadKing'' by Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs, the hero cuts a circular hole in a window using a diamond ring borrowed from the heroine.
* ''Literature/RedDragon''. The forensic investigators establish that the SerialKiller used one of these to enter a glass door because, rather than a perfect circle, it forms an egg-shaped cut because the string shortens as it winds around the handle of the suction cup. The fact that he brought such a burglary tool in the first place [[ChekhovsGun turns out to be an important clue]].

* In one ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' episode, Parker cuts a glass pane on a bomb they're trying to disarm using [[ChekhovsGun a diamond she kept from their last heist]].

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts'': A laser-powered item called the Glass Cutter appears exclusively for the level "Federation Day," where it is used to break in through the building's windows.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' used this one a bit. Catwoman does this with her claws twice in her introductory episode; the first time, she cuts a small hole for her cat, Isis, to climb through. Batman does this with one of his batarangs. And in "Harley and Ivy", Harley Quinn starts to use a circle cutter on a glass case in a museum -- but Poison Ivy accidentally triggers a different alarm in the same museum, so Harley [[SoMuchForStealth just smashes the case]].

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendship'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS9E4SparklesSeven Sparkle's Seven]]", Spike cuts a round hole through a stained glass window in the Canterlot Castle throne room with his claw so he and Fluttershy can sneak in.

In real life, this is not possible. ''Series/MythBusters'' tested and busted it during one of the "Crimes and [=MythDemeanors=]" episodes. To cut out a circle, a glass cutter puts an even scratch (or score) on the glass. In order to get a controlled break along the score, force needs to be applied on both sides of the glass. If a burglar could reach the other side, they wouldn't need to cut a hole.

* A variation in ''Disney/TheGreatMouseDetective''. Basil and Dawson trail Fidget to a toy shop he broke into. Basil sees a hole drilled into the window--a small hole, the size of a single finger--and immediately realizes that's how Fidget got in. Dawson wonders how anyone could fit through such a tiny hole. Basil demonstrates by popping Dawson's finger into the hole, then using that finger to pull the window open on its hinge.

If the person breaking in is prepared, they will have a device specifically designed for this purpose. It's a suction cup with an attached lever, with a cutting element -- such as a diamond or laser - -on the end of the lever. The suction cup is applied to the glass, then the lever is moved around in a circular motion, cutting a circular area out of the glass.

* When ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' go to a HeistCon convention, they discover this method is the only way to get in.

* In the 1960's ''Series/{{Batman}}'' episode "The Purr-Fect Crime", Catwoman uses her glove/claws to carve a hole through a museum display case.

If the person breaking in is prepared, they will have a device specifically designed for this purpose. It's a suction cup with an attached lever, with a cutting element--such as a diamond or laser--on the end of the lever. The suction cup is applied to the glass, then the lever is moved around in a circular motion, cutting a circular area out of the glass.

* WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes: "Beanstalk Bunny" sees Bugs and Daffy trapped inside a transparent tureen. Just when it looks as though Daffy's efforts to get through to Bugs have failed, upon which he resigns himself to the same pose to await his fate, Bugs produces a pocket glass-cutting device and leaves two character-shaped holes for Elmer the giant to view in his dinner preparations.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' used this one a bit. Catwoman does this with her claws twice in her introductory episode; the first time, she cuts a small hole for her cat, Isis, to climb through. Batman does this with one of his batarangs. And in "Harley and Ivy", Harley Quinn starts to use a circle cutter on a glass case in a museum--but Poison Ivy accidentally triggers a different alarm in the same museum, so Harley [[SoMuchForStealth just smashes the case]].