To Catch a Thief (
1955The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) is a
romanticWhile most films have some aspect of romance between characters a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central plot revolves around the romantic involvement of the story's protagonists. Common themes include the characters making decisions based on a newly-found romantic...
thriller directed by
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British filmmaker and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
and starring
Cary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was a British-American actor...
,
Grace KellyGrace Patricia Kelly was an American film and stage actress and fashion icon who later became Princess Grace of Monaco....
,
Jessie Royce LandisJessie Royce Landis was an American actress.She was born Jessie Royce Medbury in Chicago, Illinois. Landis was a stage actress for much of her career...
and
John WilliamsJohn Williams was a British stage, film and television actor.-Life and work:Born in The Chalfonts in Buckinghamshire, England, he was educated at Lancing College and began acting on the Broadway stage in 1924. He then went on to appear in thirty more Broadway plays over the next four decades...
. The movie is set on the
French RivieraThe Côte d'Azur, often known in English as the French Riviera, is the Mediterranean coastline of the south eastern corner of France, extending from Menton near the Italian border in the east to either Hyères or Cassis in the west....
, and was based on the 1952
novel of the same name To Catch a Thief is a 1952 thriller novel by David Dodge.John Robie is a former jewel thief, formerly known as "The Cat", who now spends his time tending to his Rose garden in France. There is a series of jewel robberies on the Riviera that resemble his style and the police believe that the Cat is...
by
David DodgeDavid Francis Dodge was a successful author of mystery/thriller novels and humorous travel books. His first book was published in 1941. His fiction is characterized by tight plotting, brisk dialogue, memorable and well-defined characters, and exotic locations...
. The screenplay was written by
John Michael HayesJohn Michael Hayes was an American screenwriter, who scripted some of Alfred Hitchcock's best remembered films.Hayes was born in Worcester, Massachusetts to John Michael Hayes Sr. and Ellen Mabel Hayes. Hayes Sr...
.
John Robie (Cary Grant) is a notorious but retired jewel thief or "cat burglar," nicknamed "The Cat," who now tends to his
vineyardA vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture....
s in the South of France. A series of robberies that closely resemble his style leads the police to believe that the Cat is up to his old tricks again.
You don't have to spend every day of your life proving your honesty, but I do.
[about Foussard's funeral] I'll get to see the real cat - who will certainly be there purring.
Palaces are for royalty. We're just common people with a bank account.
[to Robie] You've got a very strong grip - the kind a burglar needs.
[to Hughson] Put your money away, Hughson. You can cheat a little on your expense account.
[to Francie, about Robie] I wouldn't mind buying that for you..
And so to bed where I can cuddle up to my jewelry... as rare and wonderful as they are, I think I'd rather have a hundred thousand Jeremiahs.
I have no more affection for that jewelry than I have for a train ticket that gets me somewhere.
Since when is love a crime?
To Catch a Thief (
1955The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) is a
romanticWhile most films have some aspect of romance between characters a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central plot revolves around the romantic involvement of the story's protagonists. Common themes include the characters making decisions based on a newly-found romantic...
thriller directed by
Alfred HitchcockSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British filmmaker and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in his native United Kingdom in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
and starring
Cary GrantArchibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was a British-American actor...
,
Grace KellyGrace Patricia Kelly was an American film and stage actress and fashion icon who later became Princess Grace of Monaco....
,
Jessie Royce LandisJessie Royce Landis was an American actress.She was born Jessie Royce Medbury in Chicago, Illinois. Landis was a stage actress for much of her career...
and
John WilliamsJohn Williams was a British stage, film and television actor.-Life and work:Born in The Chalfonts in Buckinghamshire, England, he was educated at Lancing College and began acting on the Broadway stage in 1924. He then went on to appear in thirty more Broadway plays over the next four decades...
. The movie is set on the
French RivieraThe Côte d'Azur, often known in English as the French Riviera, is the Mediterranean coastline of the south eastern corner of France, extending from Menton near the Italian border in the east to either Hyères or Cassis in the west....
, and was based on the 1952
novel of the same name To Catch a Thief is a 1952 thriller novel by David Dodge.John Robie is a former jewel thief, formerly known as "The Cat", who now spends his time tending to his Rose garden in France. There is a series of jewel robberies on the Riviera that resemble his style and the police believe that the Cat is...
by
David DodgeDavid Francis Dodge was a successful author of mystery/thriller novels and humorous travel books. His first book was published in 1941. His fiction is characterized by tight plotting, brisk dialogue, memorable and well-defined characters, and exotic locations...
. The screenplay was written by
John Michael HayesJohn Michael Hayes was an American screenwriter, who scripted some of Alfred Hitchcock's best remembered films.Hayes was born in Worcester, Massachusetts to John Michael Hayes Sr. and Ellen Mabel Hayes. Hayes Sr...
.
Synopsis
John Robie (Cary Grant) is a notorious but retired jewel thief or "cat burglar," nicknamed "The Cat," who now tends to his
vineyardA vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture....
s in the South of France. A series of robberies that closely resemble his style leads the police to believe that the Cat is up to his old tricks again. They come to arrest him, and he adeptly gives them the slip.
He immediately seeks refuge with his old gang from his days in the
French ResistanceThe French Resistance is the collective name used for the French resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy Regime during World War II...
, a group of ex-cons whose patriotic work led to grants of parole that depend on keeping their noses clean. Bertani, Foussard, and the others are all under a cloud while the Cat is at large, and they blame Robie. Still, when the police arrive at Bertani’s restaurant, Foussard’s daughter Danielle (
Brigitte AuberBrigitte Auber is a French actress who has worked extensively on film and TV in Europe, but is little-known in the United States....
) spirits her old flame to safety.
Robie enlists the aid of an insurance man of Bertani's acquaintance, H. H. Hughson (John Williams), in order to prove his innocence. Robie's plan is to catch the new cat burglar in the act. To do this, he obtains a list of the most expensive jewels on the Riviera from the reluctant Hughson. The first names on the list are Jessie Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis) and her daughter Francie (
Grace KellyGrace Patricia Kelly was an American film and stage actress and fashion icon who later became Princess Grace of Monaco....
). Robie strikes up acquaintance with them—one met with delight by Jessie, a pretense of modesty with Francie, and claws-baring jealousy from Danielle.
Francie is not afraid of a little fun. Although she sees through Robie’s cover as an American industrialist, the considerable charms of this thief are worth catching. She dangles before him her jewels, teases him with steamy tales of rooftop escapades, exposes herself as a feline of a special breed: an accomplice who might share his passion and be available to his sordid desires. Fireworks fill the night and can even be seen in the sky.
That night, Jessie's jewels are stolen, and Francie suddenly feels that Robie has taken advantage of her. He narrowly evades the clutches of the police and goes back on the lam.
He stakes out a house where he believes the new burglar will strike and is violently attacked. In the ensuing struggle he kills the attacker. It’s Foussard, Bertani's wine steward.
The police chief is satisfied that Foussard was the jewel thief, but, as Robie points out to him in the presence of the abashed Hughson, this would have been impossible: Foussard had a prosthetic leg and couldn't possibly climb on rooftops.
After Robie is ejected from Foussard’s funeral, Francie apologizes and confesses her love for him. They agree to attend a masquerade ball the coming weekend.
At the ball, Francie is resplendent in a gold gown, Robie unrecognizable behind the mask of a Moor. The police hover nearby, ready to arrest Robie at the drop of a hat. When Jessie asks the Moor to go get her "heart pills," Robie’s voice tips off his identity to the authorities. Upon his return the police wait out Francie and the Moor as they dance the night away. Upstairs, the cat burglar strikes, cleaning out many a jewel box. Finally, Francie and the Moor go to her room, and the mask is removed: it’s Hughson, switched in to conceal Robie’s exit.
On the rooftop Robie lurks. His patience is finally rewarded when he is joined by another figure in black. But just as his pursuit begins, the police throw a spotlight on him. Again he flees and shots ring out, but he manages to corner his foe with jewels in hand. Unmasked, his nemesis turns out not to be a man after all. Danielle is "The Cat," and she confesses that she’s been working for her father and Bertani.
Robie speeds back to his vineyard and Francie races after to convince him that he does need her in his life. He agrees, but seems less than thrilled about including her mother.
Cast
- Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was a British-American actor...
- John Robie
- Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly was an American film and stage actress and fashion icon who later became Princess Grace of Monaco....
- Frances Stevens
- Jessie Royce Landis
Jessie Royce Landis was an American actress.She was born Jessie Royce Medbury in Chicago, Illinois. Landis was a stage actress for much of her career...
- Jessie Stevens
- John Williams
John Williams was a British stage, film and television actor.-Life and work:Born in The Chalfonts in Buckinghamshire, England, he was educated at Lancing College and began acting on the Broadway stage in 1924. He then went on to appear in thirty more Broadway plays over the next four decades...
- H. H. Hughson
- Charles Vanel
Charles-Marie Vanel , known as Charles Vanel was a French director and actor.-Filmography:* Henri-Georges Clouzot's The Wages of Fear , 1953....
- Bertani
- Brigitte Auber
Brigitte Auber is a French actress who has worked extensively on film and TV in Europe, but is little-known in the United States....
- Danielle Foussard
- Jean Martinelli - Foussard
- Georgette Anys - Germaine
Production
This was Hitchcock's first of five films in the widescreen process
VistaVisionVistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954....
.
To Catch a Thief is unique in that it is the only Hitchcock film released by Paramount that is still owned and controlled by Paramount. The others were sold to Hitchcock in the early 1960s and are currently distributed by
Universal StudiosUniversal Studios , a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the six major American movie studios. Its main motion picture production/distribution arm is called Universal Pictures. Its production studios are located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California...
, which also owns most of Paramount's pre-1948 sound library (this library was purchased by
MCAMCA, Inc. was an American corporation in the music and television businesses. MCA published music, booked acts, ran a record company, and distributed television productions and home videos.-The Early Years:...
in 1957, and incorporated into the Universal library in 1962 after MCA bought Universal); the exception to the "reversion to Hitchcock" rule was
PsychoPsycho is an American suspense/horror movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock, from the screenplay by Joseph Stefano. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Bloch, which was in turn inspired by the crimes of Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein....
, which Universal bought directly from Paramount in 1968.
The movie and its filming process are also heavily referred to in Nico Orengo's book "La Guerra del Basilico" (The Basil War).
In this film
Jessie Royce LandisJessie Royce Landis was an American actress.She was born Jessie Royce Medbury in Chicago, Illinois. Landis was a stage actress for much of her career...
plays Cary Grant's potential mother-in-law. In
North by NorthwestNorth by Northwest is a 1959 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau...
she would play his character's mother. She was just seven years older than Grant.
This was Grace Kelly's final film for Hitchcock; she became Princess Grace of
MonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe on the northern central coast of the Mediterranean Sea, having a land border on three sides only with France, and being about away from Italy. Its size is just under 2 km² with an...
in 1956.
Edith HeadEdith Head was an American costume designer who had a long career in Hollywood that garnered eight Academy Awards—more than any other woman in history.-Early life and career:...
designed Grace's clothes for the production, including a memorable golden ball gown. Hitchcock later tried to cast Princess Grace in
MarnieMarnie is a psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on the novel of the same name by Winston Graham. The film stars Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery. The original film score was composed by Bernard Herrmann.-Plot:...
(1964), but the citizens of Monaco expressed disapproval in her acting in another film; she later served as a narrator for at least two films.
Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is a signature occurrence in most of his films. In
To Catch a Thief he can be seen (10 minutes into the film) as a bus passenger sitting next to Grant, whom Grant turns to look at.
Awards
The film won an Academy Award and was nominated in another two categories:
Won
- Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture....
(Robert Burks)
Nominated
- Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(Hal PereiraHal Pereira was an American art director and production designer....
, Joseph McMillan JohnsonJoseph McMillan Johnson was a leading Hollywood art director born in Los Angeles.He was graduated from USC with a degree in architecture before attending Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He was working for well-known architect Kem Weber when he was hired by David O. Selznick in 1938...
, Samuel M. ComerSam Comer was a set decorator who worked on almost 300 films during a career spanning four decades. He won four Academy Awards and was nominated for another 22 in the category Best Art Direction...
, Arthur KramsArthur Krams was an American set designer. He first made a name for himself working for MGM on films such as Holiday in Mexico, Easter Parade and The Student Prince in the mid 40s. Later, he went on to work with Paramount Pictures. While there, he shared an Oscar for The Rose Tattoo...
)
- Best Costume Design (Edith Head)
External links