Review of To Catch a Thief (1955) by Nick B — 03 Feb 2010

80/100. Another great Hitchcock movie. This movie is not set in one place or one room, so it was refreshing to see a different style. To Catch A Thief is a light-hearted and fun movie. The two leads, Carey Grant and Grace Kelly, had good chemistry and were fun to watch. Aside from the good acting and fun witty script, the scenery is top notch- as this took place in the French Riviera on the Mediterranean. Lots of homes and winding roads right on the edge of a cliff.

Carey Grant is kinda old looking- I remember seeing him in "Operation Petticoat" and he played a very light-hearted role in that movie too. He has the kind of "cool" aura around him- sort of like a George Clooney has today. He would have made a great James Bond. Grace Kelly is gorgeous as usual. She wears a variety of nice outfits and you can't take your eyes off of her when she's on screen. I even noticed the Insurance guy in this movie was the same actor who played the lead detective in "Dial M For Murder". Hitchcock likes to keep many of the same actors around (can't believe I'm referencing this in a Hitchcock review, but Rob Schneider and the gang are in most of Adam Sandler movies... kinda like that).

The basic premise, which isn't really a spoiler, is that someone is going around stealing expensive jewelry without a trace. The same style that Carey Grant's character used to do years back. Carey Grant swears it's not him doing the robberies and since the police are focused solely on him, he tries to stay one step ahead of the new "cat" burgler to catch the thief himself. I won't tell you if he is the real burgler or not, but I did love the begining sequences showing the jewelry being stolen- you see a black cat walking on the rooftops towards a window- human hands placing the jewelry into a bag- and then the black cat walking away. Carey Grant's character had a nickname- The Cat- for being a great cat burgler.

Another great Hitchcock movie that I highly recommend. Movies from this time are done in such a different manner than I'm used to seeing - everyone is very polite in these films, there is no cursing, they can't show more than mild kissing- but the change of pace in movie styles is refreshing. What I look forward to in these Hitchcock movies is finding him in the movie. He shows up somewhere in each of his movies and it gives you a smirk on your face when you notice him.