To Catch A Thief, 1955

What if you weren’t where you were supposed to be?

A woman and her daughter in their finest dresses, wear their high-priced diamonds and look for adventure. But they found someone was looking for their jewels.

Sometimes it’s hard to guess which character will show up at the next crime. Who’s supposed to be where?

Cary Grant plays John Robie, a retired jewelry thief who used to be known as The Cat. Because of his agility on rooftops, he always escaped without a trace. Now his style is being used by a new thief who obviously wants Robie blamed.

Since the crimes look so much like he committed them, he has to go after the thief himself. He’s the only one who knows what the new thief will do next, since the thief is copying him to begin with.

While avoiding the police, Robie asks for help from Mr. Hughson, an Insurance man who is reluctant to work with a known thief. Robie assures him that both of them are thieves. To prove his point, he points out “business expenses” and “souvenirs” from hotels that were really thefts. Sure that they have more in common than he’d originally thought, Hughson works with Robie to set a trap for the new thief.

Many of the humorous moments are still funny even though I’ve seen this one a few times. And I always enjoy looking for the cameo appearance by director Alfred Hitchcock.

Grace Kelly delivers a smart performance as Francie Stevens. However, Cary Grant came out of retirement himself to take on the role of a younger man, and he was spectacular. That look on Robie’s face after his first kiss from Francie was priceless.

This film won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color. And it was nominated for two Oscars: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color and Best Costume Design, Color.

To Catch a Thief stands out to Grace Kelly’s fans because she died while driving the same stretch of road where, 27 years before, she’d filmed the picnic scene in this movie.

Costume Designer Edith Head’s work in this film is truly fun to see. She designed costumes for thousands of actors and actresses, but the charming and gifted Grace Kelly was her favorite.