TO CATCH A THIEF

(August 1955, U.S.)

Happy New Year to all of my readers! I said I'd be back, and here I am...and what better way to return than with the all-mighty Alfred Hitchcock. But while TO CATCH AT THIEF is a great film, it's not necessarily a great Alfred Hitchcock film. As the "Master of Suspense", Hitchcock will be forever known as the genius behind great thrillers like PSYCHO, THE BIRDS, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST and NOTORIOUS, just to name some. But we have to remember that every once in a while, Hitchcock told stories that often concentrated more on romance and intrigue rather than hardcore suspense. While TO CATCH A THIEF may play up on the traditional cat-and-mouse tactics of who-did-what-and-how, it's surely the on-screen chemistry between Cary Grant and Grace Kelly against the cinematic backdrop of the French Riviera that captures our attention and our hearts.

As cat burglar John Robie (also known as "the Cat"), Grant is retired and looking to save his reformed reputation by tracking down and catching an imposter burglar who's been victimizing the wealthy tourists of the Riviera. An ongoing pattern of jewel robberies leads the French police to believe that Robie has come out of his alleged retirement of growing flowers and grapes to resume his life of crime. When they try to arrest him, Robie gives them the slip and looks to clear his name by consulting his former gang (now restaurant workers) who were paroled for their efforts in the French Resistance during World War II. They're the first to suspect Robie of the recent crimes, and it's the restaurant's owner's daughter Danielle (played by Brigitte Auber) who gets him to safety due to the fact that she has a crush on him.

Determined to catch the thief, Robie works with insurance man H.H. Hughson (played by John Williams), who provides him with a list of the most expensive jewelry owners currently vacationing on the Riviera. A rich widow and her daughter Frances (Kelly), are the ones that top the list. Robie befriends them, and is immediately attracted to Frances (because who wouldn't be attracted to Grace Kelly?), while her reaction to him is modest, at best. Robie maintains his facade as a wealthy American tourist, despite Danielle's jealousy of the new relationship between him and Frances. Frances is no fool, however, and easily sees through Robie's cover, playfully confronting him about his true identity, even teasing him with her priceless jewels, and offering up herself as a partner who can share in his life of crime. This moment ends with an unforgettable visual scene of distant fireworks in the night sky as they kiss for the first time (this is also a moment when we should remember that Hitchcock could be a master or romance, as well as suspense). The next morning, the jewels belonging to Frances's mother are gone, and Frances wastes no time in accusing Robie, demanding he give them back to her, and accusing him of using her as a romantic distraction so he could steal the jewelry.

Again, Robie disappears before the police can catch him, and proceeds to stake out a targeted estate. He struggles with an attacker (Danielle's father) who ends up dying in the fight. The police are satisfied they have their man as the accused jewel thief, but Robie is not convinced, citing that the attacker had a wooden leg and couldn't have possibly climbed all those rooftops to steal the jewels. As the love develops between Robie and Frances, the investigating to the thief's true identity draws closer. When the film climaxes on yet another rooftop, we learn that Danielle is the true thief (truth be told, it's not to hard to figure that out while you're watching the film) when she's forced to confess loudly to the police below while she dangles from the rooftop ledge. The thief is caught, love prevails, and the French Riviera continues to shine brightly on the screen before us...

As is often the case, a film shot on location in such a vivid and colorful manner often entices its viewer to fantasize of its reality. I'm no exception - I've wanted to visit the French Riviera ever since I first saw TO CATCH A THIEF, and I'm still awaiting the opportunity to go there. Beyond that inspiration for luxurious world travel, the film may be regarded with mixed reactions, at best, in the grand scheme of Hitchcock's impressive career. The film certainly lacks the true suspense that one comes to expect from Hitchcock, so it becomes necessary to embrace the film on a different level, mainly its visual setting and romantic intrigue between its two major stars. Cary Grant and Grace Kelly express a sly and grand seduction toward each other, and their performances strongly support that seduction. In the daring cat-and-mouse process in which Grant seeks to clear his name, we concentrate on his tight and fast-paced technique against the backdrop of dramatic developments. These developments are not particularly exciting or suspenseful, but again, when we're so delighted and seduced by a locale that provides wealth, romance and intrigue, perhaps it's one of those moments when we give our traditional expectations of Hitchcock a break, and embrace the alternate possibilities of what defines suspense. Whether it works or not depends our our ability to open our minds and hearts to a filmmaker who had so much to tell us, in so many different ways and places. Perhaps that's what made Hitchcock so special.

Favorite line or dialogue:

John Robie: "Say something nice to her, Danielle."
Danielle Foussard: "She looks a lot older up close."
Frances Stevens: "To a mere child, anything over twenty might seem old."