Note: The views and opinions expressed in "Guest Starring" movie commentary are not necessarily the views of 3BlackChicks Enterprises™; commentary presented in original form as submitted by "Guest Star" commentator, except where noted otherwise; copyright belongs to respective authors.
To Catch A Thief (1955): Hitchcock's Holiday
Review Copyright Roger Zotti, 2002
Alfred Hitchcock drove to Cary Grant's Palm Springs home, early in 1955, with the intention of convincing the actor to return to the big screen. He was carrying a copy of John Michael Hayes' screenplay of To Catch A Thief.
Grant had retired from movie-making because he believed he was too old to be a leading man; too, he felt his kind of acting was no longer in style. On both counts he was wrong. After reading Hayes' treatment, and being assured that Hitchcock would direct and Grace Kelly co-star, he agreed to do the film.
The setting is the French Riviera. Wealthy, spoiled American Frances Stevens (Kelly) meets, flirts, and falls in love with John Robie (Grant), a reformed jewel thief. At first, though, she's positive he is up to his old tricks when a series of jewel thefts take place. Her mother (Jessie Royce Landis) disagrees and tells her, "What's bothering you is Robie is the first man who wouldn't fall down and roll over for you."
Robie has paid his debt to society. During the Nazi occupation of France, he joined the Resistance and performed numerous heroic feats. To clear his name, he sets out to catch the thief.
An example of Hayes' snappy dialogue occurs when Stevens, acting the snob, tells Grant that she doesn't like cold jewelry on her skin. He responds by saying that she should try inventing hot jewelry.
A revealing scene takes place when Robie escorts Mrs. Stevens and Frances to their rooms. Robie unlocks the door for Frances. Once inside, she turns, looks at him, and kisses him. Then she smiles, and shuts the door. Robie is surprised and delighted. Of that scene Graham McCann, in Cary Grant: A Class Apart, wrote: "[It] was, in a way, a sly reprise of countless moments from earlier Cary Grant movies, with the handsome man, his mind on other things, taken unawares by the beautiful woman, leaving him momentarily disoriented."
To Catch A Thief is a change of pace for Hitchcock. It's lightweight fare, relaxed, humorous, and sophisticated. Donald Spoto, in The Art of Alfred Hitchcock, called it "the work of a man on holiday."
And the holiday extended to the cast. Everyone has a grand time: Grant looks directly at the camera several times, as if to remind the audience it's watching him in a movie; Kelly's character flirts with Robie and with Grant himself; Landis, standing back from the action and making an occasional wise remark, is thoroughly enjoying the goings-on; and Hitchcock, of course, makes an appearance, early on, seated on a bus beside an amused Robie.
Can't get enough of those golden oldies? Open the "Video Vault" for more flicks from yesteryear!
So, what do you think of this flick, or of the above commentary on it? Fill out the information below to let us know...