To Catch a Thief

Boy, when it comes to old school glamour, no one can top Cary Grant. The man wore a well-tailored suit with ease and his natural charm made him irresistible. There have been many imitators but there will only be one Cary Grant.

And nobody captured Grant's suave nature better than Alfred Hitchcock. (Their four-film collaboration proved that effortlessly.) Their third collaboration To Catch a Thief, set against the backdrop of the French Riviera, is easily the most chic. (A whole eight years before Charade too!)

And like Charade, Grant is alongside an actress who's better known as a style icon. But instead of Audrey Hepburn, here he has Grace Kelly as a co-star. And the glamour from both of them just radiates on screen. (Certainly doesn't hurt that both of them are Hitchcock regulars.)

A plot device regularly found in your average Hitchcock picture is the accused innocent. Such films to feature that include the likes of The 39 Steps and (more obviously) The Wrong Man. To Catch a Thief has this plot, a whole four years before Hitchcock and Grant would do it with North by Northwest.

To Catch a Thief is good but compared to the other films Hitchcock did with Grant and Kelly, it pales in comparison. It relies more on the romance between the two stars than on the thrills. Still, at least it's pretty to look at. (Robert Burks didn't win an Oscar for nothing.)

My Rating: ****