To Catch a Thief (Special Collector’s Edition)

A new string of burglaries along the French Rivieria prompt police to suspect the notorious John Robie (Cary Grant) has returned to his life of crime. The trouble is Robie is innocent. However no one, not the police nor his former friends, will believe him. With the help of an insurance agent (John Willliams) Robie hatches a plan to catch the thief in the act and clear his name.

Our retired thief cleverly insinuates himself into the lives of a wealthy widow (Jessie Royce Landis) and her beautiful daughter Fraces (Grace Kelly) knowing that their jewels will be on the list of the imposter. What he doesn’t anticipate is Frances recognizing him as the Cat and still being attracted to him.

In terms of enjoyment and escapism there are few films as well made as this one.  Though not on the level of some of Alfred Hitchcock‘s more important films like Psycho or Rear Window (also starring Grace Kelly, read that review) aside from North By Northwest it’s the most fun film the great director ever made.

Re-released again on Blu-ray and DVD, if you don’t already own this film then this is as good a reason as you’ll get to pick it up, if however you are like me and have already bought the previous DVD than there’s not quite enough new material to justify purchasing this one as well. 

This is a great film that shows a different side to Hitchcock and showcases the immeasurable talents of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, who just shines on screen. I don’t know if there’s a woman who’s looked better on screen than Grace Kelly does here. Here is a star folks, and given some devilishly good dialogue and paired with Cary Grant she holds her own with a combination of beauty and poise, and carries the film with a wit, smile and elegance that we could use a little more of in Hollywood today.