Blu-ray Review: Grant, Kelly And The French Riviera: Revisiting Alfred Hitchcock’s “To Catch A Thief”

A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.

There’s little that can be said about Alfred Hitchcock that hasn’t already been said in a plethora of essays, biographies and film commentaries. The Master of Suspense. The Greatest/Most Influential Film Director of All Time. A Creepy Old Pervert (according to Tippi Hedren, star of “The Birds,” who claimed to have been terrorized by Hitch). There’s no denying his remarkable vision, his groundbreaking techniques. Equally jaw-dropping is how little his films have aged, still possessing the power to mess with your head and pin you to the edge of the seat.

While considered a relatively minor work by the cinematic maestro, 1955’s “To Catch a Thief” marked a rare occasion where Hitch displayed a more relaxed, joyful side. Written by Hitchcock regular John Michael Hayes, the film is less focused on plot than on the interplay between its two fabulous protagonists; it ebbs and flows and entertains in a purely Hitchcockian fashion, yet isn’t as rigorously intense as most of his other films. That may render it inconsequential compared to masterpieces like “Psycho,” “The Birds,” “Vertigo,” or “Rear Window” but not all movies have to shatter convention and become instant classics — and here Hitchcock proved quite adept at handling a visually spectacular, tongue-in-cheek, sexy caper.

Taking place in the French Riviera — which both the director and his cinematographer Robert Burks (who deservedly received an Oscar for his work) — clearly adored, “To Catch a Thief” focuses on John “The Cat” Robie (Cary Grant), an infamous, albeit retired, jewel thief, residing happily in his colorful haven of grapevines. A series of jewel robberies make him the prime suspect, forcing Robie to enlist the help of a smitten teenage girl, Danielle (Brigitte Auber), and flee. His journey leads him to Frances (Grace Kelly), daughter of a rich widow, whose entire wardrobe seems to consist of jewels. Sparks fly. She’s seduced by his criminal past and expresses interest to be an accomplice. Complications ensue, including the theft of Frances’ jewelry, the death of the purported thief, and an incandescent masquerade ball, wherein the thief’s true identity is revealed.

It comes as no surprise that Hitch directs with the issuance and elegance of a true pundit. The film moves at a breathtaking pace, both thrilling and exquisitely witty. Restrictions-enforced innuendoes played in its favor, as with most of Hitch’s work, heightening the palpable sexual tension between the two leads. Cary Grant’s Robie oozes charisma (I mean, c’mon, it’s Cary Grant), while Grace Kelly — in what happened to be her final film with Hitch — absolutely mesmerizes with her elegance, her poise, her sheer jaw-dropping beauty. Sure, this isn’t Acting of the highest caliber, but I’ll be damned if their chemistry doesn’t singe the screen, and that’s all this film requires.

“To Catch a Thief” may lack the nail-biting tension of Hitchcock’s previous films — or the ones to come — but the joy of watching the sophisticated, sly interplay of its two mega-stars, as well as the director making magic at the peak of his popularity and inspiration, far outweighs whatever shortcomings the film may have.

Now available on a Special Edition Blu-ray from Paramount Home Entertainment