To Catch a Thief (1955)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
A Film by Alfred Hitchcock
DVD9 | VIDEO_TS | NTSC 16:9 | Cover + DVD Scan | 01:46:21 | 7,77 Gb
Audio: English, French - AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps (each) | Subtitles: English
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Romance
A Film by Alfred Hitchcock
DVD9 | VIDEO_TS | NTSC 16:9 | Cover + DVD Scan | 01:46:21 | 7,77 Gb
Audio: English, French - AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps (each) | Subtitles: English
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Romance
American expatriate John Robie living in high style on the Riviera is a retired cat burglar. He must find out who a copy cat is to keep a new wave of jewel thefts from being pinned on him. High on list of prime victims is Jessie Stevens, in Europe to help daughter Frances find a suitable husband. Lloyds of London insurance agent is using a thief to catch a thief. Take an especially close look at scene where Robie gets Jessie's attention, dropping an expensive casino chip down decolletage of French roulette player.
IMDB - Won Oscar
To Catch a Thief has never been one of Hitchcock’s greatest films. Described by Donald Spoto in The Art of Alfred Hitchcock as “a creampuff of a movie with a little suspense at the end” and by Hitchcock himself as “a lightweight story,” it was one of Hitch’s thriller-comedies, although it is more romantic than suspenseful, better known for its clever double entendres (both verbal and visual) than its hair-raising moments.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
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In the third of his four collaborations with Hitchcock, the reliably dapper Cary Grant stars as John Robie, a former master jewel thief who fought in the French Resistance during World War II and is now enjoying a comfortably secluded and private existence in France (he’s obviously spent a great deal of time in the sun as he is tanned to a deep, almost unnatural bronze). However, when a rash of high-profile jewel thefts begin ravaging the Côte d’Azur, the police focus in on him because the robberies fit his M.O. Robie insists that he is innocent (although Hitchcock slyly keeps the idea open that it might be him all along) and becomes determined to nail the jewel thief himself in order to clear his name.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
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Thus, the film fits neatly into Hitchcock’s two favorite scenarios: the innocent man wrongly accused and the double-chase, in which the wrongly accused hero is pursued by both the real villain and the police (Grant would find himself in a similar position a few years later in Hitchcock’s superior North by Northwest). Yet, unlike most of Hitchcock’s films, in which the villain is usually obvious from the start, To Catch a Thief is a genuine whodunit, and the narrative is built around unmasking the real jewel thief at the end.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
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However, in many ways, the entire jewel thievery plot is nothing more than Hitchcock’s favorite cinematic device, the macguffin, that thing you think is so important but is ultimately irrelevant to the film’s real goal. In To Catch a Thief, the real story is not about crime, but about the growing romance between Robie and Francie Stevens (Grace Kelly, in her third and final appearance in a Hitchcock film), a spoiled American heiress on vacation in the south of France who sets her sights on Robie mostly because he doesn’t roll over for her as so many men have in the past. Francie is fascinated by Robie’s rouge charm, and the fact that he was (or maybe still is) a master thief thrills her to no end. Thus, the film’s title takes on a double meaning, as Robie is trying to catch the jewel thief while Francie tries to catch him.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
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While not a great film, To Catch a Thief has plenty to recommend about it. The Oscar-winning cinematography by Robert Burks (who shot 12 of Hitch’s films, including The Birds and Marnie) is absolutely gorgeous in all its Technicolor glory, giving the posh hotels and French blue skies just the right hint of decadence. Unlike so many of Hitchcock’s films, at least half of To Catch a Thief was actually shot on location, so you get a real sense of the spacious glamour of the south of France.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
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Speaking of glamour, any film that pairs Cary Grant and Grace Kelly is worth seeing at least once, and the infamous seduction scene in Francie’s darkened hotel room is one of Hitchcock’s cleverest and sexiest moments, unsubtle though it is. With fireworks exploding in the background, Francie entices Robie with the diamond necklace around her neck, although every line she says can be read in relation to her body, which is the real jewel (“Hold them,” she says at one point, and most red-blooded males will likely think of her breasts long before considering the possibility that she’s referring to the diamonds). It’s all done in a knowing, cheeky fashion, which was done as much to placate the overzealous Production Code Administration as it was to remind the audience that, in the end, this is all in fun.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
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And that’s the word that best sums up To Catch a Thief—“fun.” It’s not deep or socially relevant in the way some of Hitch’s films are, and it certainly didn’t break any new ground cinematically. It does make for a diverting good time, though, and one can’t entirely fault Hitchcock for wanting to rest on his laurels every once in a while.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Special Features:
- "Writing and Casting To Catch A Thief" featurette (9:02)
- "The Making Of To Catch A Thief" featurette (16:53)
- "Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch A Thief: An Appreciation" featurette (7:31)
- Photo and Poster gallery (7:03)
- "Edith Head - The Paramount Years" featurette (13:43)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:09)
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