To Catch a Thief (1955)

"...one of Hitchcock's lightest and most purely enjoyable exercises.  Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
"Chic and elegant in every way--and Kelly never looked more ravishing.  Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"Colorful, fun Hitchcock pairing Grant and Kelly.  Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
"...[a] lush, entertaining comedy/thriller...  Tim Dirks, The Greatest Films
"...a change of pace for Hitchcock...a charming comedy/thriller...  VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever

Editor's Note A supposedly reformed cat burglar, out to prove himself innocent of a recent crime spree, tries to capture the thief who's terrifying the French Riviera. Cary Grant is devastatingly elegant as the reformed thief, John Robie, and charming enough to attract the attention of the lovely Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly), a wealthy and spoiled American traveling the Riviera with her widowed mother (Jessie Royce Landis). However, things do not begin on a romantic note. Robie is more interested in clearing his name than in pursuing the beautiful American, but the two will not go their separate ways so easily. When Mrs. Stevens has her jewels stolen, the snubbed Frances puts the police on Robie's trail. Now the dashing Robie will have to win the confidence and assistance of Frances if he is to ever set things right. The stars are radiant together, with an entrancing chemistry that sparkles, especially in the impromptu ad-libbed dialogue of the picnic scene. A series of elaborate set pieces combined with dramatic Riviera scenery make the film an enduring glamorous spectacle, featuring a fireworks kissing scene that is truly a classic.

	Cary Grant
	Brigitte Auber
	Grace Kelly
	Georgette Anys
	Jessie Royce Landis
	Wee Willie Davis
	Charles Vanel
	John Williams
	Alfred Hitchcock - Producer
	Lyn Murray - Composer
	John Michael Hayes - Screenwriter
	Hal Pereira - Art Director
	George Tomasini - Editor
	Robert Burks - Director of Photography
	Joseph MacMillan Johnson - Production Designer
	Alfred Hitchcock - Director

Alfred Hitchcock directed this light, thoroughly entertaining comedy-drama in which a reformed cat burglar, to prove himself innocent, tries to capture the thief who's terrifying the French Riviera. He is assisted by a rich, young American woman, and as they track down the thief, they fall in love with one another.

The film offers many beautifully photographed scenes of the Riviera, including a now-classic fireworks sequence.

USA Today
"...One of the best looking movies ever made..." ??/??/1108 p.8E

New York Times
"[C]lose to perfection as a romantic comedy....One of his silkiest and most sheerly enjoyable." 05/08/2007 p.E4

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "Cary Grant came out of semi-retirement to star....THIEF does give off a warm glow..." 07/01/2007 p.113

Ultimate DVD
5 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n absolute gem of a mix of comedy, drama and romance." 07/01/2007 p.26

Apollo Movie Guide 8 of 10
The idea that a movie is enjoyable because its stars are 'charming' is one that seems a bit dated these days. Not since the 1950s have filmmakers been able to get away with that one consistently, despite the many attempts of filmmakers pumping out romantic comedies by the bucketful...Well, To Catch a Thief is a product of the 1950s, and it's about as charming as you're going to get. Combine the charm of Cary Grant and the breathtaking Grace Kelly with Alfred Hitchock's direction, and you've got a recipe for success. While not as sharp, tense or brow-furrowing as many other Hitchcock films, these weaknesses are more than made up for by the aforementioned charm and the film's style. Not to mention all the 'eye-candy'...Grant is at his debonair best, sidestepping cops, robbers and would-be lovers deftly. Kelly brings a sometimes-frosty but incredibly radiant charm to her role, effectively transforming a spoiled-brat heiress into a strong-willed and assertive woman-taking-charge...Seeing Kelly in her costume ball outfit is the worth the price of admission all on its own. Sadly, this was Kelly's last film with Hitchcock. The supporting cast, especially Jessie Royce Landis as Frances' worldly-wise mother (Hitchcock was to use her again in his great North by Northwest four years later), is also right on the mark...To Catch a Thief is the very best of the sort of movie that can be categorized as 'fluff.' The romantic angle is clearly going to be what's going to leave us smiling at the end, and that's apparent from the moment Robie meets Frances. While there's tension built in to the story, it's simply so good-natured and so nice to look at that it's extremely difficult to get too worried about. You just know with all this charm floating around, that everything is going to turn out just fine in the end. And it's a lot of fun watching to see how that comes about. - Brian Webster

The Onion A.V. Club 9 of 10
In Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch A Thief, Cary Grant plays a former hero of the French resistance who can't quite convince a skeptical world that he's mended his ways and abandoned his glamorous old existence as a diamond thief for a life of simple, legal pleasures. Grant's criminal history works against him in that respect, but it's also quite possible that the film's characters would rather inhabit a world in which Cary Grant is a debonair international jewel thief than one in which he's a mere retiree content to while away lazy afternoons tending his garden. With the possible exception of "secret agent," "continental master thief" seems like the only job worthy of Grant. As befits a movie with a protagonist nicknamed "The Cat," Thief proceeds with feline grace, a blissful light-footedness that looks effortless enough, but could only have been accomplished by a master operating at peak form. If nothing else, Thief is a lesson in charisma courtesy of Grant and Grace Kelly, reluctant lovebirds who find love in larceny and larceny in love...Set in the most lushly photogenic parts of France, the film centers on a string of high-profile burglaries executed in Grant's signature high style...Fireworks figure prominently in the film's most famous scenes, but most of the pyrotechnics are verbal. John Michael Hayes' dazzling script, adapted from David Dodge's novel, boasts the sophisticated wit, dizzy flirtation, and sexual suggestion of a classic screwball comedy. Like the similarly bewitching Trouble In Paradise, Thief derives an exhilarating erotic charge from criminality, subterfuge, and the allure of fake identities. Thanks to Hitchcock's assured visual sense and Robert Burke's Oscar-winning Vistavision cinematography, Thief is giddy with eye candy, but the scenery is always secondary to the screenplay, which well serves the blinding star-power on display. - Nathan Rabin