To Catch a Thief (1955)

Director Alfred Hitchcock probably intended "To Catch a Thief" to be a change of pace. Hitchcock was deservedly called 'The Master of Suspense', but there's little to be had in this lesser outing. The emphasis instead is on cinematography and romance. While it succeeds in the former, it falls short in the latter.

"To Catch a Thief" is a good-looking film. It can be argued that any film starring lovely Grace Kelly will be visually attractive, but the Vista Vision sweeps of the French Riviera are clinchers. Robert Burks won the Academy Award for Best Color Cinematography. It was the only Oscar for the film, although the sets and costumes were also nominated.

Too bad the production values did not extend to the story. Cary Grant plays former jewel thief John Robie, who implausibly is both an American and a former French Resistance leader. He is chief suspect in a new series of jewel robberies among the Riviera's well-to-do. As would only happen in a film, Robie decides to prove his innocence by catching the real thief in the act. Jessie Royce Landis plays Kelly's jaded mother, while John Williams plays a circumspect British insurance agent.

Along the way, two beautiful women (Grace Kelly and Brigitte Auber) take turns throwing themselves at Grant, who usually pretends that he has little interest in them. Kelly and Auber are both a quarter century younger than Grant. Kelly's character is supposed to be about ten years older than Auber's, but in fact Auber is a year older. The discrepancies between script and fact lead to some curious dialogue, especially Auber's catty remarks to Grant about how old Kelly is.

The most famous romantic scene has Grant and Kelly making out before a spectacular fireworks display. Hitchcock's inference is obvious. Another famous scene has Landis stubbing out a cigarette in an untouched plate of fried eggs. Blink and you'll miss it, but some Hitchcock fans derive no end of pleasure from this fleeting culinary insult.

There are two scenes with some tension. In the first, Grace Kelly drives recklessly on dangerously winding cliffside roads (ironically, she met her death in 1982 on a similar road). In the film's climax, Cary Grant scampers on a rooftop, trying to catch the thief and avoid getting shot. In some ways, these scenes are similar to those in other Hitchcock films. Grant has a reckless driving scene in "North by Northwest" and "Suspicion". Grant tries to save the villain from a fatal fall, risking his own life to try to pull her to safety. This is almost identical to the climax in "Saboteur", while "Vertigo" and "North by Northwest" have similar scenes of people hanging on ledges for their lives. Perhaps Hitchcock had a fear of heights!

This was the third time in two years that Hitchcock had used the ravishing Grace Kelly as his leading lady. The year before, she had been in "Rear Window" with James Stewart and "Dial M For Murder" with Ray Milland. Grant made four films with Hitchcock; the other three ("Suspicion", "Notorious", "North by Northwest") are much superior. (41/100)