To Catch A Thief (1955)
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94% of critics liked it
(34 reviews) -
64% want to see it
(33,654 ratings)
A jewel thief is at large on the Riviera, and all evidence points to retired cat burglar Cary Grant. Escaping the law, Grant heads to the Cote D'Azur, where he is greeted with hostility by his old partners in crime. All of them had been pardoned due to their courageous activities in the wartime… More A jewel thief is at large on the Riviera, and all evidence points to retired cat burglar Cary Grant. Escaping the law, Grant heads to the Cote D'Azur, where he is greeted with hostility by his old partners in crime. All of them had been pardoned due to their courageous activities in the wartime Resistance, and all are in danger of arrest thanks to this new crime wave. But Grant pleads innocence, and vows to find out who's been copying his distinctive style. With the reluctant aid of detective John Williams, Grant launches his investigation by keeping tabs on the wealthiest vacationers on the Riviera. One such person is heavily bejeweled Jessie Royce Landis, who is as brash and outspoken as her daughter Grace Kelly is quiet and demure. But "still waters run deep," as they say, and soon Kelly is amorously pursuing the far-from-resistant Grant. Part of Kelly's attraction to Grant is the possibility that he is the thief; the prospect of danger really turns this gal on. Being Cary Grant, of course, he can't possibly be guilty, which is proven in due time. But by film's end, it's obvious that Kelly has fallen hard for Grant, crook or no crook. Occasionally written off as a lesser Alfred Hitchcock film (did we really need that third-act fashion show?), To Catch a Thief is actually as enjoyable and engaging now as it was 40 years ago. Though the Riviera location photography is pleasing, our favorite scene takes place in a Paramount Studios mockup of a luxury hotel suite, where Grant and Kelly make love while a fireworks display orgasmically erupts outside their window. And who could forget the scene where Jessie Royce Landis disdainfully stubs out a cigarette in an expensive plate of eggs? Adapted by frequent Hitchcock collaborator John Michael Hayes from a novel by David Dodge To Catch a Thief won an Academy Award for cinematographer Robert Burks. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Written By
- John Michael Hayes
- Genres
- Romance, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Delmore Schwartz, The New Republic
It is a significant dud, and Grace Kelly's role has the virtue of making clearer the quality which excited so much attention in previous roles.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
To Catch a Thief does nothing but give out a good, exciting time. If you'll settle for that at a movie, you should give it your custom right now.
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Don Druker, Chicago Reader
Alfred Hitchcock's fluffy 1955 exercise in light comedy, minimal mystery, and good-natured eroticism (the fireworks scene is a classic).
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Jaime N. Christley, Slant Magazine
Unsurprising, as To Catch a Thief is one of the most beautiful movies of all time, Paramount casually drops one of its best-looking Blu-rays, with a nice sideboard of extras.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Lavishly shot in the French Riviera, this romantic thriller is vatsly entertaining due to star power of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Cary Grant
as John Robie (The Cat)
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Grace Kelly
as Frances Stevens
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Jesse Royce Landis
as Mrs. Jessie Stevens
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John Williams (II)
as H.H. Hughson
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Charles Vanel
as Bertani
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Brigitte Auber
as Danielle Foussard
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Jean Martinelli
as Foussard
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Georgette Anys
as Germaine
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John Alderson
as Detective
- Martha Bamattre
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René Blancard
as Inspector Lepic
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Eugene Borden
as French Waiter
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Nina Borget
as Frenchwoman
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Margaret Brewster
as Cold Cream Woman
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Lewis Charles
as Man with milk in kitchen
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Frank Chelland
as Chef
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William "Wee Willie" Davis
as Big man in kitchen
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Dominique Davray
as Antoinette
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Russell Gaige
as Mr. Sanford
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Steven Geray
as Desk clerk
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Jean Hebey
as Mercier
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Gladys Holland
as Elegant French woman
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Bela Kovacs
as Detective
- Jeanne Lafayette
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Roland Le Saffre
as Claude
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Louis Mercier
as Croupier
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Alberto Morin
as Detective
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Paul Newlan
as Vegetable Man in Kitchen
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Barry Norton
as Frenchman
- George Paris
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Leonard Penn
as Monaco Policeman
- Albert Pollet
- Cosmo Sardo
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Otto F. Schulzs
as Chef
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Adele St. Maur
as Woman with Bird Cage on Bus
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Marie Stoddard
as Mrs. Stanford
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Philip Van Zandt
as Jewelry Clerk
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Guy de Vestel
as Detective
- Eddie LeBaron & His Orchestra
- George Nardelli
- Manuel Paris
- Loulette Sablon
- George Adrian
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Michael Hadlow
as Monaco Policeman
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Don Megowan
as Detective
