To Catch a Thief – Review

Based on a book, To Catch a Thief is a great Hitchcock film. While it has his usual elements, it also stands out from the pack a bit with some different elements and themes. It is a light romance mystery full of great lines and a fun plot. There is at least one dead body, but it has a much nicer focus than some of his darker flicks.

As a cat burglar steals from the locals along the French Riviera repeatedly, the rich are on edge and the police are looking for clues and suspects. Naturally, the retired burglar John “The Cat” Robie (Grant) is a place for them to start, and the authorities head to his gorgeous house to question him. A crew of French cops look to take him to Nice, but he is not too enthusiastic about the idea. He elects to give them the slip and head to the area to investigate the robberies himself.

He meets up with his old pal Bertani (Vanel), a restaurant owner whom he has a past with. Robie has been retired now for 15 years, so he is frustrated with the new suspicion. Maybe he can catch the real thief and imitator, all while proving his own innocence. He should be able to anticipate the thief’s moves and catch the copycat in the act.

As he begins poking around, Robie looks to plot a sting operation, finding rich targets and watching them for the new Cat to strike. He creates a cover story and gets intertwined with a rich widow named Jessie Stevens (Landis), and her beautiful daughter Frances (Kelly). Uh oh, a distraction!!

As Robie gets further and further “undercover” and swept up in Frances’ world, the cops are closing in and he must solve the string of stolen goods, or risk losing his freedom, and the smoking hot girl, all at the same time!

To Catch a Thief is an absolute classic. It is a ton of fun, and has a good story fueling its characters. The setting is gorgeous, and the cast fit perfectly into its colorful and serene backdrops. The acting is excellent and grooves with the fun atmosphere all around, while the mystery propels the viewer to the end. The runtime is short enough that it does not drag at all. I love this film and despite it being a touch less macabre than plenty of Hitchcock’s work, it still feels like his type of story and fits into the catalog perfectly.