"To Catch a Thief" may have been Alfred Hitchcock's only film that bordered on escapism. Whereas most of his movies were all about suspense and camera angle, this one is mostly about aesthetics, at least as far as I could tell.
Cary Grant plays John Robie, an ex-cat burglar now living in retirement in Nice, France. When a series of robberies starts to plague the city, the police try to question John, but he gets away. While hiding in the city, he meets exquisite American heiress Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly, pretty as always), who's more interested in him than he is in her. From there, we start to become intrigued about which of the various characters is doing what.
One of the undeniable aspects in this movie is how it makes use of Grace Kelly's incomparable beauty: no matter from which angle they film her, she and her clothes always light up the screen. But there's something else that I notice about the movie: the similarities to "Charade". The obvious point is that both films star Cary Grant and happen in France. But also, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn were both born in 1929, and in their respective roles in these movies, they play women involved with men who may or may not be what they seem.
Maybe I'm the only person who thinks that. Anyway, "To Catch a Thief" is more about showing off Grace Kelly than about suspense or camera angles. But don't get me wrong: she was one hot babe. Too bad she got killed in a car wreck (in fact, "TCAT" has a scene where she's driving dangerously through the hills above Nice; a premonition?).
One scene that I really liked was when John is hiding in a boat and athletic Danielle Foussard (Brigitte Auber) is at the helm. When a plane flies overhead, John tells Danielle to get rid of them by acting pretty. She promptly pulls back her dress a little bit. He quickly reminds her: "Not that pretty! We're trying to get rid of them!"
Cary Grant plays John Robie, an ex-cat burglar now living in retirement in Nice, France. When a series of robberies starts to plague the city, the police try to question John, but he gets away. While hiding in the city, he meets exquisite American heiress Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly, pretty as always), who's more interested in him than he is in her. From there, we start to become intrigued about which of the various characters is doing what.
One of the undeniable aspects in this movie is how it makes use of Grace Kelly's incomparable beauty: no matter from which angle they film her, she and her clothes always light up the screen. But there's something else that I notice about the movie: the similarities to "Charade". The obvious point is that both films star Cary Grant and happen in France. But also, Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn were both born in 1929, and in their respective roles in these movies, they play women involved with men who may or may not be what they seem.
Maybe I'm the only person who thinks that. Anyway, "To Catch a Thief" is more about showing off Grace Kelly than about suspense or camera angles. But don't get me wrong: she was one hot babe. Too bad she got killed in a car wreck (in fact, "TCAT" has a scene where she's driving dangerously through the hills above Nice; a premonition?).
One scene that I really liked was when John is hiding in a boat and athletic Danielle Foussard (Brigitte Auber) is at the helm. When a plane flies overhead, John tells Danielle to get rid of them by acting pretty. She promptly pulls back her dress a little bit. He quickly reminds her: "Not that pretty! We're trying to get rid of them!"