In 1954, Grace Kelly –one of the greatest actors of all time—starred in Rear Window, arguably the greatest Hitchcock of all time, which arguably makes it the greatest film of all time. In 1959, Cary Grant –one of the greatest actors of all time—starred in North by Northwest, arguably the greatest Hitchcock of all time, which arguably makes it the greatest film of all time. So what happens when you combine Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, and Alfred Hitchcock in the 1955 mystery thriller To Catch a Thief? Greatest film ever, amIright? Oh my, no. And a sad, sad revelation that screenplay is the most important element of any film. You can combine three timeless legends for the big screen, but if you’ve written Twins, it’s still gonna be Twins.
Dressed with leftovers from the An American in Paris wardrobe, John “The Cat” Robie (Grant) plays a well-to-do ex-cat burglar living in the south of France. His private villa comes complete with live-in housekeeper and a view that likely goes all the way to Africa. Does anyone ever explain how Robie is a zillionaire retired recluse when all his fellow WWII resistance thieves have to work crummy day jobs at the local Gas ‘n’ Sip? Guess we’ll just have to take that one on fate. C’est la vie, dig?
Ah, but things aren’t so nice in Nice if you To Catch A my meaning. There’s a cat burglar on the prowl and they’re stealin’ all of “The Cat’s” meow. Knowing he’s on the hot seat and, perhaps, wanting to test his own skills one last time, Robie volunteers going undercover with the help of H.H. Hughson (John Williams), the insurance agent for, apparently, all the jewels on the French Riviera – yeah, cuz that’s a normal thing to happen in a film, right? These are definitely normal things, not silly at all: first that the insurance agent is always hanging around, second that the agent develops personal relationships with both the people he’s insured and the people who are most likely to steal the insured items, and third … I’m sorry, there’s an insurance agent billed in the top cast of a Hitchcock?! What?
“The Cat” is constantly in, what else? A “cat and mouse” game with the cops who think he’s behind all the robberies and with Frances Stevens (Kelly), a bored American looking for something to do while waiting for the movie to end. For my second Hitchcock revisit in a row, I find myself more drawn to the secondary girl than the screen gem. Brigitte Auber, as the collective daughter of the Rogue’s Gallery Restaurant and Bistro, comes off as far more genuine and earnest than Grace Kelly. That last sentence may be akin to blasphemy, especially among American film lovers, but given the choice of the two based on To Catch a Thief, I’d pick the French girl in a heartbeat and not look back. And it pains me to say that.
So, there’s your premise, ex-Cat decides to play for current cat, with a pair of kittens hanging around. I’m reminded of that old joke that to catch a bus you have to think like a bus. This script strikes me as fairly pedestrian for a Hitchcock. A modern retelling would have at least two non-sequitur subplots, one in which the audience would be convinced 100% that Robie was doing his own Robing. It’s still a Hitchcock, hence a bunch of what you might love about Alfred Hitchcock films is present, and, let’s face it, even when you get mediocre out of Grant and Kelly, it’s still better than 90% of the rest, so no, I won’t pan the film or tell you not to see it. But I’ll put it this way: if all you knew of Hitchcock was To Catch a Thief, you’d wonder what the big deal was and you wouldn’t be wrong.
I feel like I’ve just been gypped
My heart through my chest has been ripped
Grant, Kelly, and Hitchcock
Should have busted the block
What do you do with “all talent no script?”
Rated PG, 106 Minutes
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: John Michael Hayes
Genre: When the greats disappoint
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Die hard Hitchcock fans
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Die hard Hitchcock fans
