All this talk about the chemistry between ice princess Kelly and debonair Grant is a lot of nonsense. They're just two perfectly photogenic people who happen to be cast in the same less than satisfying romantic mystery--she has the camera in love with her (probably the director as well) and he's still an attractive--if older--leading man. That's it.
And neither of them can disguise the fact that they're stuck in a glamorous but lightweight Hitchcock film that has the slimmest of plots--an innocent man is thought to be the one committing the current crimes among the rich on the Riviera--a man with a past history as a thief. And it's played more for comedy than mystery. And that's it, in a nutshell.
Hitchcock seems more concerned that GRACE KELLY is gowned in all of the latest fashions that will look good in Technicolor and that CARY GRANT will look impressive enough as her co-star to make everyone forget the age difference. He rounded up some real pros for a supporting cast, including JOHN WILLIAMS as an urbane detective and JESSIE ROYCE LANDIS as Kelly's mother (she was Grant's mother in NORTH BY NORTHWEST).
But it's fluff--sumptuously mounted fluff and nothing more. Women will sigh over Grace Kelly's many costumes (even Lana Turner would be envious), and men will wish they had a chance to tour the Riviera with Grace as a guide.
The suspense is a mere piffle with only one really suspenseful moment on a rooftop with Grant exposing the real culprit--and the one-liners meant to titillate are almost puerile by comparison with the witticisms in other Hitchcock films of this nature. The accent is more on comedy than thrills and the result is one of the weakest Hitchcock films from this period.
Sorry. The heavy accent on glittering Hollywood glamor is not enough to sustain interest in a basically dull and obvious script, although it's easy to see why the color cinematography of lovely Riviera backgrounds brought the film an Oscar for Robert Burk. Hitchcock should have drawn a better performance from Grace Kelly instead of concentrating on her Oscar-nominated wardrobe.
And neither of them can disguise the fact that they're stuck in a glamorous but lightweight Hitchcock film that has the slimmest of plots--an innocent man is thought to be the one committing the current crimes among the rich on the Riviera--a man with a past history as a thief. And it's played more for comedy than mystery. And that's it, in a nutshell.
Hitchcock seems more concerned that GRACE KELLY is gowned in all of the latest fashions that will look good in Technicolor and that CARY GRANT will look impressive enough as her co-star to make everyone forget the age difference. He rounded up some real pros for a supporting cast, including JOHN WILLIAMS as an urbane detective and JESSIE ROYCE LANDIS as Kelly's mother (she was Grant's mother in NORTH BY NORTHWEST).
But it's fluff--sumptuously mounted fluff and nothing more. Women will sigh over Grace Kelly's many costumes (even Lana Turner would be envious), and men will wish they had a chance to tour the Riviera with Grace as a guide.
The suspense is a mere piffle with only one really suspenseful moment on a rooftop with Grant exposing the real culprit--and the one-liners meant to titillate are almost puerile by comparison with the witticisms in other Hitchcock films of this nature. The accent is more on comedy than thrills and the result is one of the weakest Hitchcock films from this period.
Sorry. The heavy accent on glittering Hollywood glamor is not enough to sustain interest in a basically dull and obvious script, although it's easy to see why the color cinematography of lovely Riviera backgrounds brought the film an Oscar for Robert Burk. Hitchcock should have drawn a better performance from Grace Kelly instead of concentrating on her Oscar-nominated wardrobe.