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To Catch a Thief

To Catch a Thief Poster
To Catch a Thief Poster

Released

1955

Runtime

103

To Catch a Thief

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What's it About

On the sun-drenched French Riviera, someone is relieving rich women of their precious jewels, and all the evidence points to retired cat burglar John Robie (Grant). Reluctant to sit still for questioning, "The Cat" evades investigators who show up at his lush villa and — with the help of London insurer H.H. Hughson (Williams) — cozies up to wealthy American widow Mrs. Stevens (Landis), who he believes may be the thief's next victim. Robie’s only hope for clearing himself will be to expose his imitator; that is, if Mrs. Stevens’s knock-out daughter Francie (Kelly) doesn’t distract him too much!

Why we love it

Filmed in VistaVision by Oscar winner Robert Burks, Hitchcock's swanky, breezy suspense film takes a simple idea  one cat burglar on the tail of another  and spins it into cinematic gold. With his customary wit and sexual innuendo, the director positions tanned star Grant on a collision course with the resplendent Kelly, who never looked more ravishing as spoiled heiress Francie, especially in a wide-brimmed white sun hat and bathing outfit Jackie O. might have coveted. When they kiss, there are literally fireworks on-screen, a technique Hitchcock used to keep the censors from snipping his film. You'll have a lot of fun catching this "Thief."

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