To Catch a Thief (1955)

A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

John Michael Hayes (screenplay), David Dodge (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cary Grant	...	John Robie
Grace Kelly	...	Frances Stevens
Jessie Royce Landis	...	Jessie Stevens
John Williams	...	H.H. Hughson
Charles Vanel	...	Bertani
Brigitte Auber	...	Danielle Foussard
Jean Martinelli	...	Foussard
Georgette Anys	...	Germaine

Storyline

American expatriate John Robie, living in high style on the Riviera, is a retired cat burglar. He must find out who a copycat is to keep a new wave of jewel thefts from being pinned on him. High on the list of prime victims is Jessie Stevens, in Europe to help daughter Frances find a suitable husband. The Lloyds of London insurance agent is using a thief to catch a thief. Take an especially close look at scene where Robie gets Jessie's attention, dropping an expensive casino chip down the décolletage of a French roulette player.

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | southern france | thief | burglar | french riviera | 

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Taglines:

For a moment he forgets he's a thief--and she forgets she's a lady!

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Genres:

Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some action violence, mild suggestive material and smoking

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

5 August 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief

Filming Locations:

335 Route de Saint-Jeannet, St Jeannet, France

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When everyone is reading the newspaper and Mrs. Stevens says, "Everyone in Philadelphia reads the Bulletin", it's a reference to a long-running ad campaign for that newspaper. The ads were cartoons that showed something extraordinary going on, in a light-hearted vein, but no one sees it because they are all holding the newspaper in front of them. There is always one person who is not reading the Bulletin and trying frantically to get the attention of all the other people. The caption was always the same, "Nearly everyone in Philadelphia reads the Bulletin."

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Goofs

When our heroes watch the fireworks display from a hotel room, no light from the fireworks is reflected on any of the surfaces in the actual hotel room, despite the fact that it is a massive light display and they are watching it in the dark (because it's just a rear projection).

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Quotes

H. H. Hughson: How many did you kill?
John Robie: 72. But, I know something that'll please you: none of them were insured.

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Crazy Credits

The opening title sequence shows the window of a travel agent, with the text of the titles superimposed. The bottom of the window is not quite horizontal because the window is seen from a slight angle to perpendicular. The text of the titles is given slight parallelogram distortion so the bottom line of text is parallel to the window-sill, and therefore it is not horizontal and parallel with the film frame.

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Connections

Referenced in Memories of Me (1988)

User Reviews

Good stuff all around

A bit of a departure for Alfred Hitchcock, somewhat lighter and with less of the trademark suspense. Thoroughly enjoyable, though. Cary Grant was playing Cary Grant by this time, and no one could do it better. And Grace Kelly, what eye-candy! The snappy dialog with the sexual innuendo was done perfectly. And huge kudos to Brigitte Auber, who was gorgeous and very good. An interesting aside was that Grant's character, while pretending to be someone else, claimed to have been an American circus acrobat, which Grant sort of was early in life (albeit English, not American.) Grant (with his accent) could really never be mistaken for an American, even though he usually played one. Also it was a little eerie to see Grace Kelly driving so fast on those French Riviera cliffside roads, in light of what happened to her later. (Of course, she obviously wasn't doing so, they were using back-projection) Anyway, this film is a must for fans of Hitchcock, Kelly or Grant. Grade: A