#To catch a thief series

Stevens is a blunt, humorous woman who is open and outgoing Frances is almost the exact opposite. Robie contrives to meet them, and, as 'Mr. Most prominent on the list are Jessie Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis), a rich American widow, and her beautiful blonde daughter, Frances (Grace Kelly).

Hughson gives in and provides the American with a detailed list of his clients and their jewels. Robie responds by forcing Hughson to admit that he occasionally pads his expense account and takes towels from hotels as souvenirs thus, the boundaries of morality are blurred a bit. Hughson, a proper Briton, is puzzled by Robie's cheerful, guiltless acknowledgment of his past crimes. The two men engage in some intense verbal sparring. In return for a list of Lloyd's of London's most prominent insurees, who will, therefore, likely be the thief's next victims, Robie will undertake to apprehend the new Cat. Robie again protests his innocence and outlines his plan to Hughson. Hughson (John Williams), an insurance adjuster from Lloyd's of London. Eventually Bertani puts Robie in touch with a man named H. The pair are interrupted by the police, however, who are hot on Robie's trail. To do so, he must set a trap for the 'Cat,' and he asks Bertani's help to do so.

Robie realizes that the only way he will be able to prove that he is telling the truth is to apprehend the new cat burglar himself.

Robie's assertions of innocence are met with skepticism by all concerned some are angry, a few are amused, and Danielle (Brigitte Auber), the young daughter of the wine steward, is obviously smitten with Robie. Long since retired from the burglary business, Robie nevertheless finds himself under suspicion, both from the police and from his former Resistance comrades, for the latest string of thefts, all of which seem to bear his mark. After the war, he remained in France and became a famous, and for a time successful, jewel thief, growing rich at the expense of those who could afford the losses he inflicted ('I never stole from anyone who would go hungry,' he remarks at one point). Robie is an American who had fought alongside Bertani (Charles Vanel) and most of his kitchen help in the French Resistance during World War II. As the camera moves in for a close-up of Robie's face, Hitchcock delivers his second visual shock of the film - a raw egg splatters against the glass in front of Robie's face.Īn explanation is soon forthcoming. He walks back to the glassed-in kitchen, where he stands for a long moment peering through the transparent door. John Robie (Cary Grant) strides into Bertani's Restaurant on the French Riviera with a grim look on his face, a look which the restaurant's staff reciprocates. Hitchcock introduces us to a real cat burglar (albeit a retired one) in the next scene.

#To catch a thief series

The scene continues with a montage of similar screams, intercut with shots of a black cat running across a series of tiled roofs the obvious association is that of a cat burglar. The credits roll as the camera first focuses on the window of a travel agency and then pans to a sign that reads 'If you love life, you'll love France.' As the camera pulls in on the sign, Hitchcock suddenly cuts to a close-up of a woman screaming, 'My jewels! I've been robbed.' In one fell swoop, Hitchcock has established both the film's location and its subject - jewelry theft. The film opens with a typical Hitchcock shock, this time laced with humor. Indeed, one of the director's themes (although he never presses his case to the point of didacticism) is that the moral implications of theft are, if not entirely subjective, frequently dependent upon the perspective of the observer. As the film opens, they have at least one thing in common - none knows which of the other characters fits into which category. Some of them are reformed thieves at least one of them is an active jewel thief some of them are merely expense account padders and some are manipulative lovers. The film's title is derived from the old proverb 'Set a thief to catch a thief,' and Hitchcock populates the film with thieves and manipulators of all sorts. However, a relaxed Hitchcock is still Hitchcock, and TO CATCH A THIEF is a richly rewarding cinematic experience. But TO CATCH A THIEF finds Hitchcock in a playful mood, and the film never generates any real tension. Not that the film is entirely devoid of suspense - there is a mystery to be solved, after all. Some of these admirers were, therefore, taken aback somewhat by TO CATCH A THIEF, a lush comedy. From THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1934) and THE 39 STEPS (1935) to DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954) and REAR WINDOW (1954), Hitchcock's admirers reveled in the tension for which his films were justly famous.

B y 1955, when he made TO CATCH A THIEF, Alfred Hitchcock had long since established his reputation as a master of suspense.