Today I'm revisiting one of the funniest and most humorous Hitchcock films ever: To Catch a Thief (1955). It stars the always charming Cary Grant and the gorgeous Grace Kelly and it is a film about thiefs, backstabbing and survival, but in a fan way.
The film's star is John Robie a famous thief, known by his nickname "The cat" who has retired from his dishonest profession and lives in the Riviera, France.
When a copy cat appears and stels the jewellery of many millionaires, his name is once again on the front pages of the newspapers and nobody believes that he has indeed retired. So he decides to find the copy cat and stop them.
For this purpose, he works with an insurance agent who is really keen on not paying the stolen jewels of his clients and for that he hires a thief to catch the thief.
High on the list of the possible victims is Jessie Stevens and her daughter Frances who have visited Europe so that Frances may find a suitable husband.
John Robie approaches the two women and introduces himself using a fake name while he tries to protect them and prevent a possible robbery.
However, the daughter gets interested in him and things start to get complicated.
To Catch a Thief is one of the funniest movies that Hitchcock ever made. There are many gags and innuendos throughout the film, which combined with the great Cary Grant's grimaces offer lots of laughs to the viewer.
Speaking of Cary Grant, he had retired two years prior of this film saying that after the appearance of method actors like Marlon Brando people wouldn't be interested in him. However, he returned for this film and went on working for another 11 years.
This is one of the rare occasions that a Hitchcock film has so many outdoor scenes. However, that is quite understandable. Despite its huge stars, the film's real protagonist is the French Riviera. In every outdoor shot, one can't help but admire the breathtaking scenery.
While they are in the car, the couple has a picnic and they share this conversation: "You want a leg or a breast?", asks Frances, to which John responds "You make the choice". All this was an improvisation.
During the film there are two references to Hitchcock's deslike of eggs. One is when an egg is thrown at a window in front of John Robie's face and another is when Mrs. Stevens puts out her cigarette on a fried egg.
In the first scenes of the film, when John Robie first appears, there are some subliminal shots of a black cat as his nichname is "the cat" because of his excellent stealth ability.
Director Cameo: About 9 minutes in, Alfred Hitchcock is sitting next to Cary Grant on the bus.
"You want a leg or a breast?""You make the choice."
"What do you say?""My only comment would be highly censorable"Frances Stevens and John Robie
"How many did you kill?""72. But I know something that'll please you. None of them were insured."H.H.Hughson (insurance agent) and John Robie
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