So Swank! 1950's French Riviera Thievery
with Cary Grant, Grace Kelly ...
The Movie: To
Catch A Thief
When: 7:30PM,
Friday, August 26
Where: 1632 Main
Street
Cary Grant's comeback movie after declaring his retirement from the screen in 1953, To Catch A Thief (1955) is a Hitchcock-directed, lush, entertaining comedy/thriller concerning jewel heists on the French Riviera. Although the polished caper film contains a typical amount of mystery and suspense, its light-weight and relaxed.
Filmed in widescreen VistaVision, its leisurely tone is decidedly European, with pictorial exotic settings and fashions, snatches of French, witty (but risque and naughty) double-entendres-laden dialogue, and an elegantly-orchestrated romance.
It was Grant's third film for Hitchcock (after Suspicion (1941) and Notorious (1946)), and Kelly's third and final film for the famous director (after Dial M For Murder (1954) and Rear Window (1954)), soon before she left her film career forever and married Prince Rainier of Monaco. The romantic-thriller was much imitated at the time, e.g., Charade (1963) and Arabesque (1966). A modern-day remake planned to transplant the French setting to Miami, although it would keep the main storyline about a reformed jewel thief who attempts to clear his name when accused of a robbery.
The American expatriate hero (a falsely-accused former cat burglar) has to catch the real cat burglar (a 'she-cat') during a rash of robberies before he is caught himself, while the heroine is on a quest to 'catch' him - first as the burglar, and then as a husband. The infamous MacGuffin in this Hitchcock film is the identity of the thief. The stylish film's screenplay, by John Michael Hayes (in his second project with Hitchcock), was based on the novel of the same name by David Dodge. Hitchcock's film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Color Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Color Costume Design (Edith Head), and its sole winning category - Best Color Cinematography (Robert Burks).
