To Catch a Thief

PG

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1 hr. 46 min.

Romance

Comedy

Mystery & Thriller

List

92%

53 Reviews

Tomatometer

84%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Notorious cat burglar John Robie (Cary Grant) has long since retired to tend vineyards on the French Riviera. When a series of robberies is committed in his style, John must clear his name. Armed with a list of people who own the most expensive jewels currently in the area, John begins following the first owner, young Francie (Grace Kelly). When her jewels are stolen, Francie suspects John, destroying their tentative romance. John goes on the lam to catch the thief and clear his own name.

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Critics Consensus

It may occasionally be guilty of coasting on pure charm, but To Catch a Thief has it in spades -- as well as a pair of perfectly matched stars in Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

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Jeff M

While this doesn't reach the extraordinary heights of Hitchcock's masterpieces like STRANGERS ON A TRAIN and PSYCHO, I'm learning that second-tier Hitchcock is still better than the vast majority of movies out there! This is an extraordinarily entertaining caper film filled with game performances and some wonderful scenery of France. Truth be told, I was less interested in the titular catching of a thief and more enamored in the relationship between Grant and Kelly, who have a fantastic chemistry together. Watching them together is pure joy! I'm ashamed to admit that my knowledge of classic film needs improvement, but watching this makes me very anxious to check out more movies in both Grant's and Kelly's filmography. The rooftop climax is expertly directed, and this is an elegant, classy cat and mouse game.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/06/24

Full Review

HoN L

It didn't drive me crazy with suspense and thrill, as you would expect of a Hitchcock movie, but it still catch my eye with some amazing dialogue, playfull romance with it's little twists and of course, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant's amazing acting.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/29/24

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Dock R

Glamorous and fast-paced, Cary Grant could easily be mistaken for an early James Bond.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/15/24

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Allan C

Classic Hitchcock film with Grace Kelly (in her final film with Hitch) in her finest ice queen role. Cary Grant plays John Robie, The Cat, a notorious burglar turned French Resistance hero once WWII broke out. Now retired and living in the French Riviera, he finds himself framed for a series of jewel robberies fitting his prior M.O. My only complaint about this film is that the mystery itself is not all that compelling, but the chemistry between the charming Grant and the icy Kelly is legendary! It's pretty typical of Hitchcock to let the story or plot take a backseat to set pieces and interesting scenes. Also, Grant and Kelly give audiences what is arguably the greatest onscreen kiss of all time, standing on a balcony at a lush Monaco hotel with fireworks exploding in the background. Grant and Ingrid Bergman are close runners-up in Hitchcock's NOTORIOUS, but my all-time favorite movie kiss goes to Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly in Hitchcocks's REAR WINDOW. Hitch knows kissing, but besides kissing, he delivers his usual memorable suspense set pieces and makes wonderful use of the Monaco locations. However, the most unsettling part of the film is when Kelly recklessly drives along a mountain road with Grant, which years later would be this same road the real-life Princess Grace would die in a fatal car crash. Overall, this is a suspense film classic and among Hitchcock's best, but not quite among his top-tier films (which would be NORTH BY NORTHWEST, PSYCHO, REAR WINDOW, VERTIGO, NOTORIOUS, STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, and SHADOW OF A DOUBT).

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/03/23

Full Review

steven a

What the film lacks in substance it more than makes up for in charm, colour and sumptuous locations beautifully captured by Burks' camera. Grant and Kelly are excellent, as is Landis as Kelly's boozy mother. Kelly looks radiant and is elegantly dressed in Edith Head's costumes. Hitchcock adds some neat touches through the shot set-up and keeps the tone humorous throughout, occasionally adding moments of tension – notably in the well-staged rooftop climax. The result is a winning movie that breezes along on the chemistry of its stars.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

ChrisCSH

Cary Grant and Grace Kelly are perfectly cast in To Catch a Thief from director icon Alfred Hitchcock that follows Grant's character John Robi, as he tries to track down a cat burglar, who everyone thinks is him. The film gleams 1950s charm and elegance with fantastic cinematography of the French Riviera landscape.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/30/22

Full Review

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Alfred Hitchcock

Director

Cary Grant

John Robie

Grace Kelly

Frances Stevens

Jessie Royce Landis

Jessie Stevens

John Williams

H. H. Hughson

Charles Vanel

Bertani

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Jean Yothers

Orlando Sentinel

It literally bubbles with humor, spice, sparkling dialogue and baffling complications which keep the moviegoer on tenterhooks right up to the heap big surprise ending.

Sep 25, 2021

Full Review

Ed Potton

Times (UK)

It's not one of Hitch's most profound films, but it remains a twinkling, innuendo-laden pleasure, with Grant, Kelly and the French Riviera vying for your attention.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 3, 2019

Full Review

Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

Francie finds something inauthentic in Robie: "like an American in an English movie". Well, yes, perhaps. But Grant's debonair and oddly unlocatable mid-Atlantic identity is absolutely right for the part.

Rated: 5/5

Aug 7, 2014

Full Review

Zita Short

InSession Film

If you’re enthusiastic about costuming or beautiful women, this might to be for you. If you’re looking for more than that, this will leave you feeling cheated out of your money and time.

Feb 2, 2023

Full Review

Edward Porter

Sunday Times (UK)

The story... lacks suspense, and some of the script’s double entendres have a Carry On quality, yet the film easily gets by on its stars’ charms and the surrounding air of luxury.

Nov 7, 2022

Full Review

Andrew Sarris

Film Culture

Both director and writer seem unable to sustain character, much less develop, and enrich it. Both [To Catch and Thief and The Trouble with Harry] drag along from scene to scene without much inner motivation.

Nov 18, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Notorious cat burglar John Robie (Cary Grant) has long since retired to tend vineyards on the French Riviera. When a series of robberies is committed in his style, John must clear his name. Armed with a list of people who own the most expensive jewels currently in the area, John begins following the first owner, young Francie (Grace Kelly). When her jewels are stolen, Francie suspects John, destroying their tentative romance. John goes on the lam to catch the thief and clear his own name.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter: John Michael Hayes
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG (Smoking|Mild Suggestive Material|Some Action Violence)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 5, 1955, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 2, 2017
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm, 1.66:1

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