To Catch a Thief

Enjoyable and riveting comedy-thriller by master of suspense , the great Alfred Hitchcock .On the French Riviera a retired jewel thief nicknamed ¨The Cat¨ (Gary Grant) falling for a gorgeous American girl (Grace Kelly), a high society woman accompanied by her mother (Jessie Royce Landis) , she suspects he's up to his old jobs when a rash of jewel thefts happen. While newspapers publicize ¨The Cat prowls again¨. Then the reformed thief attempting to chase his impersonator .

This elegant film contains suspense , emotion , mystery , and a wonderful love story . And of course full of distinctive Hitchcockian touches with red-herrings , dead-end trails and some typical jokes. Based on the novel by David Dodge , being well adapted by John Michael Hayes who writes a snappy dialog . Marvelous performances from main cast as Gary Grant as smooth and likable thief who returns his old tricks and wonderful , icely effective Grace Kelly whose coldness is gradually melted . Grace Kelly met husband Prince Rainero of Monaco during a photo shop while she was attending the Cannes Film Festival . Both of whom form a sensational couple with sparkling chemical . Furthermore , good secondary cast as the young girl Brigitte Auber and the veterans Jessie Royce Landis and Charles Vanel and of course John Williams who appears nicely dressed in black and posing as servant of two glamorous ladies in a bizarre , fancy costume ball with policeman awkwardly masquerading . There's a magnificent car pursuit throughout the Grand Corniche located on a Riviera hilltop road and shot from a helicopter. Deservedly Oscar-winning cinematography by Robert Buks , Hitch's usual, as he photographed ¨Strangers in a train¨ , ¨The Birds¨ and ¨Marnie¨ . Luxurious Oscar-nominating costumes by Edith Head and splendidly created for Grace Kelly . Spectacular and colorful scenarios with excellent production design by Hal Pereira also nominated to Academy Award , and outdoors filmed in French Riviera , Monaco , Cannes ,and Grand Corniche . Lively and jolly musical score by Lyn Murray. The motion picture is colorfully and stunningly directed by the genius Hitch . Rating : Above average , this Hitchcock effort proved to be as successful as his former popular movies.

This Hitchcock movie is not about suspense. It is about Grace Kelly, Cary Grant and the French Riviera. If you don't worry about the plot and just watch THEM, you will enjoy it immensely. Hitchcock went through what I call his "travelogue phase" which consisted of Dial M for Murder (London), Vertigo (San Francisco), North by Northwest (Mount Rushmore), and, here, The French Riviera. I consider this phase the time of his masterworks (before he became fixated on the macabre) and although this particular movie is the most insipid of the lot, it is his finest travelogue. For Americans of this period, the mention of Europe must have invoked black and white images of war. Not here!! One really wishes he could take a time machine back to this gloriously beautiful time and place. A movie that can enjoyably be watched time and again. However, I do agree with others that Grant was somewhat miscast as a thief -- even a high-class one.

The best thing about this film is the chemistry between leads Grant and Kelly. Grant is as debonair as usual and Kelly was never more glamorous. The costumes she wears are very flattering to her and she is to the clothes. The dialogue between them sparkles throughout and is a pleasure to watch even if the course of their relationship is predictable. Grant's self-deprecating in-jokes are another nice touch. Further pleasantly adding to the fantasy ambience is the spectacular photography of the French riviera. John Williams is also great as the insurance investigator, the type of character he played in Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (also with Kelly) and in the Doris Day-Rex Harrison film, Midnight Lace. This film is not one of the most psychologically involving in Hitchcock's pantheon but it is not designed to be. It is enjoyed best as what it was produced to be: glossy high production value escapist fare. 8/10.

This is probably Hitchcock's most beautiful movie. Grace Kelly is well (but of course decorously) displayed in delicate and perfectly fitted summer dresses and evening gowns (designed by Edith Head) that show off her exquisite arms and shoulders while accentuating her elegant neck and jaw line--and, as she turns for the camera, the graceful line of her back. Opposite her is one of Hollywood's most dashing leading men, the incomparable Cary Grant.

The cinematography by long-time Hitchcock collaborator Robert Burks was shot on location in the French Riviera. The style is daylight clear and sparkling, bright as the dream of a princess to be, always focused without a hint of darkness anywhere. Even the scenes shot at night on the rooftops seem to glow. The houses on the hills overlooking Princess Grace's future home and the narrow cobble stone roads with the low-lying stone walls suggest a refined and elegant lifestyle to come. Even though she drives too fast, one is not worried that she might crash...

Cary Grant is John Robie who fought with the French resistance during WWII and then became a jewel thief, dubbed "The Cat" for his ability to slink quietly in the night over roof tops and to steal into the bedrooms of the rich and take their jewels without waking them. As the movie opens he is retired from his life of crime and living comfortably in a villa in the hills above Nice. The complications begin immediately as the police arrive at his villa to question him about some recent cat-like jewel robberies. Robie is innocent of course (we are led to believe) and to prove his innocence he is motivated to find the real thief.

Grace Kelly plays Frances Stevens, the slightly naughty nouveau riche daughter of the widow of a Texas-style oil millionaire. She is used to having men fall all over themselves trying to court her, but Robie seems uninterested, and this excites her fancy and she goes after him. It is interesting to note that by this time Cary Grant (51 when the film was released) had become such a heart throb that directors liked to have the women (who were always noticeably younger; Kelly was 26) chase after him. Audrey Hepburn does as much in Charade (1963). One notes that here, as in Charade, the women kiss Cary Grant first, not the other way around. Here it is nicely done as the previously demure Frances takes a surprising initiative at the door of her hotel suite.

The story itself is rather bland and predictable, reminding me of a James Bond flick from, say, the sixties as though toned down for an audience of old maids. Notable in supporting roles are Brigitte Auber as the athletic Danielle Foussard, John Williams as the British insurance agent, and Jessie Royce Landis as Frances Stevens' mother. Hitch makes his de rigueur appearance as a passenger on the mini-bus that Robie takes to get away from the gendarmes early in the film.

See this for Grace Kelly whose cool and playful demeanor and statuesque beauty form the heart of this somewhat languid romantic thriller.

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Alfred Hitchcock is really having fun here, and so are Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. The Mediterranean coast is a stunning backdrop for their gorgeous outdoor scenes, and the great director leads us around the mystery at the heart of this story by alternating between tense chases, high-toned sexual innuendo, and moments of levity. Not to be missed.