To Catch a Thief

"WANTED by the police in all the luxury-spots of Europe!... A catch for any woman!"

1955 1h 46m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 1,728

MysteryRomanceThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a string of jewel robberies hits the French Riviera, suspicion falls on retired thief John “The Cat” Robie. To clear his name, he sets out to trap the copycat himself—entangling a wealthy widow and her beguiling daughter in a seductive game of pursuit, deception, and desire.

“WANTED by the police in all the luxury-spots of Europe!... A catch for any woman!”

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Cast

Cary Grant
John Robie
Grace Kelly
Frances Stevens
Jessie Royce Landis
Jessie Stevens
John Williams
H. H. Hughson
Charles Vanel
Bertani
Brigitte Auber
Danielle Foussard
Jean Martinelli
Foussard
Georgette Anys
Germaine

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: John Michael Hayes
Languages: French, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.5× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

71 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, shot by Robert Burks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lyn Murray. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Tomasini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Cary Grant and Grace Kelly and Jessie Royce Landis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alfred Hitchcock directs. Robert Burks behind the camera. Lyn Murray scores. George Tomasini cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 3.5× over at the box office.
371 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.
5Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, shot by Robert Burks. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Lyn Murray. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor George Tomasini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Cary Grant and Grace Kelly and Jessie Royce Landis carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "WANTED by the police in all the luxury-spots of Europe!... A catch for any woman!".
10IMDB entry: tt0048728 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 23 themes, including "hotel", "jealousy", "villa", "police".
12Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Burks
Original score: Lyn Murray
Editing: George Tomasini
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Wally Westmore
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,500,000
Box office: $8,750,000
Return: 350% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: To Catch a Thief (1955)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Alfred Hitchcock

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-05-07
★ 7/10
The big man was in jovial mood with this one. To Catch A Thief, is, when all is said and done, a softer entry on the great Alfred Hitchcock's CV. By his own admission it was a film he viewed as "lightweight", but such is the great mans talent, his softer cinematic efforts still punch the buttons and are films that many filmmakers can readily learn from. In this one Hitchcock is purely making an entertaining piece for those in the right frame of mind, a splendid mixture of comedy and romance which also culminates in no shortage of dramatic entertainment as well. Cary Grant is perfectly debonair as the cat burglar John Robie, who here has to catch a thief because he is the chief suspect for a spout of robberies on the French Riviera. Into the mix is that vision of beauty that is Grace Kelly, this is a woman who could melt the Antartic just by walking over it! Kelly as Frances Stevens spends the majority of the film trying to get into John Robie's pants and this puts a delightful sexual tension into the unfolding story. We get some sparkling scenes here, such as a firework display as the two protagonists flirt and then kiss, thus making the film easy on the eye, and some delicious slices of humour dot themselves throughout as Hitchcock indulges in his wink wink innuendo. The plinking score from Lyn Murray works a treat during a roof top cat sequence, while the ending stays just above average without really having an any over dramatic impact. All in all it's a very tidy effort that is always worth spending time with on a lazy Sunday afternoon with a glass of vino in hand. 7/10
JPV8522020-04-21
★ 8/10
Fluffy mystery-romance-thriller excels thanks to the wonderful charms of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. For me, this is a lesser Hitchcock film but still had plenty of fun and entertainment value even though there's nothing really noteworthy in terms of the story or any particular scene. 3.75/5
CinemaSerf2022-11-14
★ 7/10
Cary Grant is on excellent form in this ultra-sophisticated crime caper. Having long since retired to life on the Côte D'Azur, "John Robie" finds himself at the centre of enquiries as his "Cat" appears to have resurrected itself and is robbing rich folks of their jewels. John Williams again steals his scenes - this times as the insurance adjuster "Hughson" who is convinced, enough, by Grant's protestations to agree to work with him to find the true culprit. Enter the wealthy Jessie Royce Landis ("Jessie"), a self-made American millionairess and her glamorous daughter "Frances" (Grace Kelly). The mother is determined to find a match for her girl - and well, the romantic roots are well and truly planted. Hitchcock keeps us guessing for quite a while as the romantic and criminal threads develop in parallel before tying together in quite an exciting climax. At times I have found Kelly to be just a touch too aloof, but here she still has enough of a foot on the ground to play her part well providing for an engagingly mischievous chemistry between the two of them.. The attention to detail is super, too - and it's easy to become subsumed in the lazy, rather vacuous, but very enviable lifestyle of the rich and famous!