To Catch a Thief (1955)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

David Dodge (novel)
John Michael Hayes (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 August 1955 (Brazil)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

WANTED by the police in all the luxury-spots of Europe!... A catch for any woman!

Plot:

When a reformed jewel thief is suspected of returning to his former occupation, he must ferret out the real thief in order to prove his innocence.

Plot Keywords:

Thief | Cat | Riviera | Burglar | Robbery

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 5

10:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Cary Grant	...	John Robie
Grace Kelly	...	Frances Stevens
Jessie Royce Landis	...	Jessie Stevens
John Williams	...	H. H. Hughson
Charles Vanel	...	Bertani
Brigitte Auber	...	Danielle Foussard
Jean Martinelli	...	Foussard
Georgette Anys	...	Germaine

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.50 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Spain:T | Netherlands:6 | Ireland:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #17226) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Canada:G (video rating) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | Norway:12 (1955) | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Alpes-Maritimes, France

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Cary Grant had announced his retirement from acting in February 1953, stating that since the rise of Method actors like Marlon Brando, most people were no longer interested in seeing him. He was also angry at the way Charles Chaplin had been treated by the HUAAC. He was lured out of his retirement to make this film, and thereafter continued acting for a further 11 years.

Goofs:

Continuity: John says he'll leave his clothes with Danielle, but later, when he is at the flower market, he's in the same clothes.

Quotes:

John Robie: You're here in Europe to buy a husband.
Frances Stevens: The man I want doesn't have a price.
John Robie: That eliminates me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sliders: To Catch a Slider (#5.15)" (2000)

Good stuff all around

A bit of a departure for Alfred Hitchcock, somewhat lighter and with less of the trademark suspense. Thoroughly enjoyable, though. Cary Grant was playing Cary Grant by this time, and no one could do it better. And Grace Kelly, what eye-candy! The snappy dialog with the sexual innuendo was done perfectly. And huge kudos to Brigitte Auber, who was gorgeous and very good. An interesting aside was that Grant's character, while pretending to be someone else, claimed to have been an American circus acrobat, which Grant sort of was early in life (albeit English, not American.) Grant (with his accent) could really never be mistaken for an American, even though he usually played one. Also it was a little eerie to see Grace Kelly driving so fast on those French Riviera cliffside roads, in light of what happened to her later. (Of course, she obviously wasn't doing so, they were using back-projection) Anyway, this film is a must for fans of Hitchcock, Kelly or Grant. Grade: A