Alfred Hitchcock's 1950's were a legendary time in his filmmaking career. "To Catch A Thief" is identified as one of his lesser, perhaps even his worst of that decade. Upon seeing it on the big screen however, I found myself captivated by the lush, beautiful cinematography of Southern France and a story that is entertaining with good performances and witty dialogue.
Cary Grant plays John Robie, a former bank robber who finds himself implicated and blamed for a new string of robberies even though he isn't responsible. It is his task to escape from being caught and finding out who the real culprit is. A simple straightforward premise but one that is impeccably directed and highly watchable. Grace Kelly plays the love interest Frances Stevens, the daughter of a wealthy family that is the victim of one of the many jewel thieveries throughout the film.
I found myself carried away by the scenery. It almost made the picture for me. The helicopter shots of car chases and the views out of various windows of homes and hotels was absolutely breathtaking in the Vistavision with which the film was shot. On the big screen you really get a sense of the grandeur of the countryside of the Southern France locale. The print I saw in theatre was phenomenal and beautifully restored to a point where you could have sworn it came out last week.
Cary Grant has been in better roles and ditto for Kelly but there performances drove the picture and gave it charm. Some of their passionately-charged dialogue was witty and amusing. A lot of it had double entendres and sexual innuendo that cleverly evaded the censors of the time.
Overall, I liked this Hitchcock film for its visuals and entertaining story and dialogue.
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