10 Things I Love About 'To Catch a Thief’ 1955

 

Golden beauty Grace Kelly and darkly handsome Cary Grant make a
sizzling screen team in Alfred Hitchcock's 1955 hit "To Catch a Thief."

I’ve only seen clips of Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief over the years, until I wrote this post. Released in August 1955, the romance heist film seemed fluffy to me, compared to his other '50s classics. Well, I was right… and wrong. 

Alfred Hitchcock's 1955 hit, "To Catch a Thief," was light comedy and suspense, 

with great style and romance.

Hitch’s To Catch a Thief IS total fluff, but it's also stylish, smart, sexy, and totally FUN fluff. Here’s at least 10 reasons why!

Great director, stars, & scenery made '55's "To Catch a Thief" a picnic to film.

Grace Kelly looks ravishing in her Edith Head gowns, as she seduces Cary Grant, 

in 1955's "To Catch a Thief."

#1: Grace Kelly as Francie Stevens, a game rich girl on holiday, is a pleasure. Kelly pursues Cary Grant’s reformed thief, and she is confident, bright, funny, and coolly sexy while doing so. Tan and very blonde, Kelly looks stunning in her Edith Head costumes. Like another timeless '50s film icon, Audrey Hepburn, Grace followed her own style sense. Aside from classic clothes, Grace's hair and makeup are subtle. No stiff, matronly hairdos or stenciled, overstated makeup, which was so common in post-war Hollywood films, even with young actresses. Grace's golden locks aren't brassy, like the other blonde bombshells. Kelly's gowns are stellar and her '50s casual wear is fun, not frumpy or fugly. In a word, Grace looks magnificent. Kelly is also fun and relaxed, classy but not pretentious, and she and Cary Grant have a great rapport and chemistry.

Cary Grant as suspected jewel burglar John Robie, in Hitchcock's 1955 hit,
 "To Catch a Thief."

 Grace Kelly gowned by Edith Head & Cary Grant looking handsome in a tux.
 Hitchcock's 1955 hit, "To Catch a Thief."

#2: Cary Grant at 50 is at the very peak of his leading man persona in To Catch a Thief, as one-time jewel thief John Robie. Cary's charm was contrasted with his enigmatic side, used well by Hitchcock, especially in darker roles, such as Notorious and North by Northwest. Here, Hitch and Cary play the Grant-type character mostly for light humor. And Cary's gift for physical comedy is on display, like the chase scene through a farmer’s market floral display. Grant is effortlessly bemused and amusing, as the former thief suspected by everyone as up to his old tricks again. Cary's fit, graceful, and super-stylish. Cary looks like a million and has a deep tan that George Hamilton would kill for! Grant had impeccable taste and Hitchcock was fine with him selecting is own wardrobe.

Alfred Hitchcock's 1955 hit, "To Catch a Thief."

#3: In To Catch a Thief, actually filmed the summer of '54, Alfred Hitchcock's storytelling was tight, the mix of exterior and interior filming seamless, the notion that a blonde actress could be sexy and smart was fresh, and escapist romance didn't have to be mindless. Hitchcock was quoted as saying that he didn't make films that were a slice of life, but piece of cake. To Catch a Thief is one tasty slice of cinematic cake.

Cary Grant's suspected thief escapes by bus, only to end up seated next to 

director Alfred Hitchcock,  in 1955's "To Catch a Thief."

I think Alfred Hitchcock was at his very peak in the first half of the 1950s. Films like Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Dial ‘M’ for Murder, and To Catch a Thief were all precise and taut storytelling. Hitch had some big hits after Thief , but they became longer and eventually more repetitive and belabored—Marnie is the perfect example of what torpedoed his film director standing. The notable exception was 1960's Psycho, which was Hitchcock's rebuttal to critics that he could indeed make down and dirty thrillers, with just as much directorial style. Then it was right back to leisurely suspense films, while trying to create a new Hitchcock blonde—all of which was swiftly becoming passé.

Grace looking chic in Edith Head fashions, in Hitchcock's stylish
1955 hit "To Catch a Thief."

#4: Edith Head designs some gorgeous gowns for Grace Kelly, and assembles some classic day looks as well. Head was at her zenith in the 1950s, dressing seemingly every star, but notably three top young actresses: Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Grace Kelly in a gown fit for a future princess and Jessie Royce Landis
as her outspoken mother, in 1955's "To Catch a Thief."

Head gets dinged by some critics as a prolific rather than inspired designer. I think she walked the fine line of pleasing her studios (Paramount and then Universal), directors, and stars very well, while developing an enduring reputation. Head's career lasted 5 decades and won her 8 Oscars, which should speak for itself.  Hitchcock loved Head because she understood what he wanted. Edith liked working with Hitch because he trusted her to do her job. 

Michelle Auber as the French girt with an eye for Cary Grant's "The Cat,"
in 1955's "To Catch a Thief."

#5: The supporting cast is all in great form: Jessie Royce Landis as Kelly’s blunt mother; John Williams as the insurance detective; and Brigitte Auber, who played tomboyish Danielle, is still alive at 101! The international cast mixes well with the American and British stars.

The beautiful scenery and stars were a huge part of Hitchcock's 1955 smash hit, 

"To Catch a Thief."

#6: The French locales, selected from various parts of the southern France coast, are breathtaking. One of the reasons that some of the location shooting was so eye-catching is that To Catch a Thief was one of the first films to use a helicopter for filming. Most of the interiors were shot back on Paramount's lot. The sets are gorgeous and they are seamlessly woven with the location outdoor shots.

"It's true, Cary. Fireworks are '50s film symbolism for sex!"

#7: The cinematography, the score, and all the production values are top notch. Paramount’s color in Vista Vision is lovely and superior to the color films of mid-century MGM and WB. Hitch was now working with some of his favorite people, in front of and behind the camera. And the final results showed onscreen.

#8: Thief’s script by John Michael Hayes is witty and fun. Some risqué lines and the lovers acting like grownups are refreshing to see in a mid-1950s film are refreshing. 

To wake up in this French villa every day with Cary Grant would be heavenly!

 1955's "To Catch a Thief."

#9: The home of Grant's reformed burglar is most impressive, inside and out. I imagined living there while watching To Catch a Thief!

Grace Kelly's rich girl embraces the splendors around her: the Riviera, Cary
 Grant, and her Sunbeam Alpine sports car! From 1955's "To Catch a Thief."

#10: Kelly’s rich girl’s car is a gunmetal blue Sunbeam Alpine that would pair perfectly with John Robie’s villa.

Grace Kelly wet and wonderful here as the rich girl who is after Cary Grant's
 smooth ex-criminal, in 1955's "Too Catch a Thief."

Some things that I didn’t love about To Catch a Thief are minor quibbles: Grant trying to pass himself as a business man from Oregon—seriously! Or Hitch trying to palm Auber off as younger than Kelly. She's 3 years older and looks even more so! Grace’s Francie treated as an old maid and handed off to a stranger 25 years her senior by mother Landis was patently ridiculous—though he WAS played by Cary Grant. And though Kelly herself found older men attractive off-camera—but that's another story! Finally, this gorgeous movie begins with a huge close-up of a frumpy matron in the morning, hairnet and all, shrieking that her jewels are gone, is so repulsive. An example of Hitch's perverse sense of humor?

Cary Grant at 50 was in fine form, in 1955's "To Catch a Thief."

To Catch a Thief may not be the most suspenseful Alfred Hitchcock film, but it's one of his most stylish, a perfect light entertainment. Enjoy!

Grace Kelly gets the last word, but Cary Grant gives the final reaction, 
in 1955's "To Catch a Thief."

North by Northwest 1959

The Alfred Hitchcock catch me if you can classic, North by Northwest, was the film forerunner to the modern summer blockbuster. My take: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/08/north-by-northwest-1959.html

Rear Window 1954

Rear Window remains one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best Technicolor blockbusters. My take:

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2017/06/hitchcocks-rear-window-still-thrills.html