A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 5 nominations total
George Adrian
- Detective
- (uncredited)
John Alderson
- Detective at the Costume Ball
- (uncredited)
Martha Bamattre
- Kitchen Helper
- (uncredited)
René Blancard
- Commissaire Lepic
- (uncredited)
Eugene Borden
- French Waiter
- (uncredited)
Nina Borget
- Frenchwoman
- (uncredited)
George Boyce
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
John Breen
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Margaret Brewster
- Cold-cream Woman
- (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks
- Casino Patron
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- John Michael Hayes
- David Dodge
- Alec Coppel(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaCary 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 Sir Charles Chaplin had been treated by the HUAC. He was lured out of his retirement to make this movie, and thereafter continued acting for a further eleven years.
- GoofsNear the start of the movie when Robie is talking to Bertani in the restaurant, just before he tells him about Hughson, Bertani speaks but his lips don't move.
- Quotes
Frances Stevens: Mother, the book you're reading is upside down!
- Crazy creditsThe opening title sequence shows the window of a travel agent, with the text of the titles superimposed. The bottom of the window is not quite horizontal because the window is seen from a slight angle to perpendicular. The text of the titles is given slight parallelogram distortion so the bottom line of text is parallel to the window-sill, and therefore it is not horizontal and parallel with the film frame.
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Seul le cinéma (1994)
Featured review
The Lighter Hitchcock
When a number of jewel thefts take place on the French Riviera, suspicion falls on John Robie, an American expatriate. Robie was at one time a notorious jewel thief, but escaped from prison during the Second World War and joined the French Resistance. As a result of his bravery, he was paroled, and, although he now claims to be living an honest existence, the recent burglaries have all the hallmarks of his style. Robie has to clear his name of suspicion and expose the real "Cat", as the press have nicknamed the burglar. (The theme of a man unjustly accused or suspected of a crime was a common one with Hitchcock). Along the way, he finds time to flirt with Danielle, the attractive daughter of a local waiter, and to carry on a more serious romance with Frances Stephens, a glamorous American oil heiress.
Hitchcock is not, perhaps, a director whom one would normally associate with visual beauty, but as another reviewer has pointed out, this is perhaps his most visually beautiful film, with plenty of tourist-brochure shots of the Riviera. (The film won an Oscar for "Best Cinematography" and was nominated for two others, "Best Art Direction" and "Best Costume Design"). For the two main roles, he used two of his favourite actors, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. In both cases, it was their third Hitchcock film; Grant would later go on to make a fourth, "North by Northwest". Kelly was one of the most beautiful Hollywood stars of all time, and Hitchcock catches her at her loveliest in this film, her beauty shown to its best advantage by some sumptuous costumes. Her verbal duels with Grant are one of the major features of the film; they sometimes turn into three-way contests when Danielle, played by Brigitte Auber, joins in. (Auber, incidentally, seems miscast. The exchanges between the two women suggest that Danielle is considerably younger than Frances, probably only a teenager. Auber, in fact, was a year older than Kelly).
This is possibly Hitchcock's most light-hearted film, apart from his few ventures into pure comedy such as "Mr and Mrs Smith". If one had to categorise it, it would probably be as a comedy-romance-thriller. Although Hitchcock made a few other films along similar lines, notably "North by Northwest", "To Catch a Thief" contains a greater element of comedy and a lesser element of thrills. There are no great set-piece suspense scenes comparable to the crop-duster and Mount Rushmore sequences in the later movie; indeed, there is very little suspense at all, except in the scene at the end where Robie confronts the "Cat" on the rooftops. The film to which it perhaps bears the greatest resemblance is "Charade", which also starred Cary Grant and an iconic beauty of the screen (in that case Audrey Hepburn) in a French setting. It was, of course, not directed by Hitchcock, but Stanley Donen had clearly absorbed elements of his style. Like "Charade", "To Catch a Thief" is highly enjoyable as a light, glossy romantic comedy, but lacks the tension and psychological depth of Hitchcock's best work. 7/10
Hitchcock is not, perhaps, a director whom one would normally associate with visual beauty, but as another reviewer has pointed out, this is perhaps his most visually beautiful film, with plenty of tourist-brochure shots of the Riviera. (The film won an Oscar for "Best Cinematography" and was nominated for two others, "Best Art Direction" and "Best Costume Design"). For the two main roles, he used two of his favourite actors, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. In both cases, it was their third Hitchcock film; Grant would later go on to make a fourth, "North by Northwest". Kelly was one of the most beautiful Hollywood stars of all time, and Hitchcock catches her at her loveliest in this film, her beauty shown to its best advantage by some sumptuous costumes. Her verbal duels with Grant are one of the major features of the film; they sometimes turn into three-way contests when Danielle, played by Brigitte Auber, joins in. (Auber, incidentally, seems miscast. The exchanges between the two women suggest that Danielle is considerably younger than Frances, probably only a teenager. Auber, in fact, was a year older than Kelly).
This is possibly Hitchcock's most light-hearted film, apart from his few ventures into pure comedy such as "Mr and Mrs Smith". If one had to categorise it, it would probably be as a comedy-romance-thriller. Although Hitchcock made a few other films along similar lines, notably "North by Northwest", "To Catch a Thief" contains a greater element of comedy and a lesser element of thrills. There are no great set-piece suspense scenes comparable to the crop-duster and Mount Rushmore sequences in the later movie; indeed, there is very little suspense at all, except in the scene at the end where Robie confronts the "Cat" on the rooftops. The film to which it perhaps bears the greatest resemblance is "Charade", which also starred Cary Grant and an iconic beauty of the screen (in that case Audrey Hepburn) in a French setting. It was, of course, not directed by Hitchcock, but Stanley Donen had clearly absorbed elements of his style. Like "Charade", "To Catch a Thief" is highly enjoyable as a light, glossy romantic comedy, but lacks the tension and psychological depth of Hitchcock's best work. 7/10
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- JamesHitchcock
- Jan 11, 2007
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief
- Filming locations
- 335 Route de Saint-Jeannet, St Jeannet, France(John Robie's villa)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $6,367
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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