One of the things I enjoy about writing for Popdose is the opportunity to introduce people to classic films that they may have heard of but don’t know whether to rent or buy. Paramount Pictures has been re-releasing many of their classic films in their “Centennial Collection” series, adding new bonus features and remastering the films to fit into those newfangled 16X9 TVs. The latest two films to get this deluxe treatment are Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 romantic caper, To Catch a Thief, and the Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau 1968 classic screen adaptation of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple. In addition to the crisp new pictures, these DVD collections come with a second disc of bonus features, some of which haven’t been released in previous DVD editions.
Before filming To Catch a Thief, Grant had been in a self-imposed retirement for several years when Hitch came calling for him to star in the film. What a great career move, because after To Catch a Thief, Grant then went on to star in such popular films as An Affair to Remember, Charade, Father Goose, and the quintessential action film, North by Northwest (also directed by Hitchcock). In the film, Grant is John Robie, a notorious, albeit retired, thief known as The Cat. Living in seclusion in the south of France, a string of new burglaries that match the Cat’s m.o. make him the lead suspect by the police. But Robie is innocent, and sets off to clear his name with the help of people he knew from the French resistance. Unfortunately for Robie, no one believes he’s innocent. He manages to get the name of an insurance man who provides the names and whereabouts of rich women touting expensive jewels in the hotels of the Riviera. Robie’s plan is to catch the thief red-handed. Robie takes on the guise of an American industrialist and meets one of the potential victims, Jessie, (Jessie Royce Landis) and her beautiful daughter, Francie (Kelly). Jessie takes a liking to Robie and invites him to hang out with them. At the same time, Francie immediately recognizes Robie, but plays along with his charade because she finds him attractive and interesting. By film’s end Robie discovers the real thief who has been framing him and plots to catch the thief. At the same time, Francie falls in love with the lovable rogue.
This isn’t one of Hitchcock’s all-time great thrillers. The plot keeps moving steadily, but there isn’t really much in the way of suspense or action. Instead, Hitchcock’s film is a breezy, witty movie with tight dialogue and great scenery. The real appeal here is getting to see Grant and Kelly work alongside each other, tossing off double entendres left and right. In fact, Hitchcock challenged Hollywood’s ratings system with the dialogue in the movie and a famous kissing scene in which fireworks are going off in the background, symbolizing the sex the two characters would be having if allowed by the censors. Still, with director as creative as Hitchcock, half the fun of watching his films is seeing how he handles the “sex” scenes. Another highlight of the film is the technical aspect, especially the cinematography and the costumes. Indeed, the film went on to win the Academy Award for Robert Burk’s camerawork (shot in Vistavision) capturing the beauty of the lush French countryside. Additionally, To Catch a Thief received nominations for Edith Head’s costumes and also the Art Direction by Hal Pereira, Joseph McMillan Johnson, Samuel M. Comer, Arthur Krams (more…)
