But Grant's debonair and oddly unlocatable mid-Atlantic identity is absolutely right for the part. Francie finds something inauthentic in Robie: "like an American in an English movie". Her own jewels are glittering symbols of sexual unavailability, and there is something almost outrageously metaphorical in their verbal fencing in her suite at the Carlton hotel, as the fireworks explode outside. He can only clear his name by collaring the real culprit – and while on this person's trail, he encounters the beautiful heiress Francie: the stunningly ice-blond Grace Kelly, pampered, bored and turned on by John's reputation. Cary Grant is John Robie, the reformed cat burglar living quietly on the Côte d'Azur, under suspicion for carrying out a spate of daring jewel thefts in Nice and Cannes. Diamonds are what the movie worships amid the sapphire-blue of the Mediterranean and cloudless skies Hitchcock wittily begins by disrupting those tourist images with a scream of horror from a woman whose valuables have been swiped. Two Hitchcock favorites, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, star as a retired cat burglar and a society woman who must join forces in this stunning. The south of France is resplendent in all its cynicism and discretion. Like "Charade", "To Catch a Thief" is highly enjoyable as a light, glossy romantic comedy, but lacks the tension and psychological depth of Hitchcock's best work.Hitchcock's superbly insouciant crime caper from 1955 must surely be one of the last movies in which the American super-rich are indulged so extravagantly and adoringly – the kind of people who stub their cigarettes out in fried eggs. It was, of course, not directed by Hitchcock, but Stanley Donen had clearly absorbed elements of his style. The film to which it perhaps bears the greatest resemblance is "Charade", which also starred Cary Grant and an iconic beauty of the screen (in that case Audrey Hepburn) in a French setting. There are no great set-piece suspense scenes comparable to the crop-duster and Mount Rushmore sequences in the later movie indeed, there is very little suspense at all, except in the scene at the end where Robie confronts the "Cat" on the rooftops. Although Hitchcock made a few other films along similar lines, notably "North by Northwest", "To Catch a Thief" contains a greater element of comedy and a lesser element of thrills. Movie Info Rating: PG (SmokingMild Suggestive MaterialSome Action Violence) Genre: Romance, Comedy, Mystery & thriller Original Language: English Director. If one had to categorise it, it would probably be as a comedy-romance-thriller. This is possibly Hitchcock's most light-hearted film, apart from his few ventures into pure comedy such as "Mr and Mrs Smith". Auber, in fact, was a year older than Kelly). The exchanges between the two women suggest that Danielle is considerably younger than Frances, probably only a teenager. Her verbal duels with Grant are one of the major features of the film they sometimes turn into three-way contests when Danielle, played by Brigitte Auber, joins in. Kelly was one of the most beautiful Hollywood stars of all time, and Hitchcock catches her at her loveliest in this film, her beauty shown to its best advantage by some sumptuous costumes. In both cases, it was their third Hitchcock film Grant would later go on to make a fourth, "North by Northwest". For the two main roles, he used two of his favourite actors, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. (The film won an Oscar for "Best Cinematography" and was nominated for two others, "Best Art Direction" and "Best Costume Design"). Hitchcock is not, perhaps, a director whom one would normally associate with visual beauty, but as another reviewer has pointed out, this is perhaps his most visually beautiful film, with plenty of tourist-brochure shots of the Riviera. A retired cat burglar fights to clear himself of a series of Riviera robberies committed in his style. Along the way, he finds time to flirt with Danielle, the attractive daughter of a local waiter, and to carry on a more serious romance with Frances Stephens, a glamorous American oil heiress. (The theme of a man unjustly accused or suspected of a crime was a common one with Hitchcock). Robie has to clear his name of suspicion and expose the real "Cat", as the press have nicknamed the burglar. As a result of his bravery, he was paroled, and, although he now claims to be living an honest existence, the recent burglaries have all the hallmarks of his style. Cast & Crew Read More Alfred Hitchcock Director Cary Grant John Robie, also known as Conrad Burns Grace Kelly Frances 'Francie' Stevens Jessie Royce Landis Mrs. Robie was at one time a notorious jewel thief, but escaped from prison during the Second World War and joined the French Resistance. Brief Synopsis A retired cat burglar fights to clear himself of a series of Riviera robberies committed in his style. When a number of jewel thefts take place on the French Riviera, suspicion falls on John Robie, an American expatriate.
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