To Catch a Thief (1955)

Labeled as the "Master of Suspense", he became known for thrillers, often combined with a dark sense of humor. This is Part 2 of Watching ALL of Alfred Hitchcock's movies.

I am a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock, his stories and his movies. But he lived in a different time from mine and I do not always catch up to what he was trying to tell the audience with his movies.

For that reason, this is not a review.

It's screenshots, my favorite movies and "dumb" thoughts I had while watching ALL of his movies.

I can't review something like this! I will never get his movies the way he wanted me to get them (or not get them)! But I am enjoying myself, and going through hours and hours of master's work.

This time, I am ranting about the 11th movie I ever saw from him:

To Catch a Thief (1955)

A sarcastic Cary Grant, horny Grace Kelly and awkward John Williams is the best acting combination I have witnessed in ages.

John Robie, the Cat, is a retired burglar. But when his imitations starts to strike and steal, putting his comfortable life in danger, he realizes he is the only one who can catch the real thief. He does not count with meeting a dangerous and sensual Frances Stevens, who will mess with his objective while simultaneously providing a key to resolving the whole situation.

Such simple story... who would have thought how much fun it hides! While being suspenseful and creepy, To Catch a Thief is a wonderful and witty comedy, that comes so unexpectedly from the repertoire of Alfred Hitchcock.

It was an incredibly entertaining watch and I was dying of laughter at Cary Grant's facial expression and the way he was sarcasm incarnated...! I would rewatch it just for that.

And I actually did. I rewatched many many scenes just to giggle at some of the moments and my life really was prolonged by 50 years.

Anyway, Screenshot time!

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☝ Huh.

[I screamed so hard. He came out of the water, all wet and LIED IN THE SAND.]

    

☝ Watch this poor man's face. He was so done with Robie... Scared for his life!

Oh and by the way, I was so happy when I saw John Williams again! The last time I saw him was during Dial M for Murder, which was... oh my god, at the start of this year, possibly. 

He is such a funny man and I love him so so much.

John was a big surprise, and made this experience even better. He played an insurance company... guy that was so awkward, it made my belly hurt from laughing so much.

    

[He was so sad!!]

The moment Grace Kelly came up on the screen, things started to change, gears started to shift. She played this rich girl, that is husband-hunting, while she doesn't really know what she wants... but she wants it immediately.

Out of nowhere, she decided she wants Robie, while knowing exactly who he was.

And the fact that she knew he is the thief, the Cat gave her even more excitement out of it. At times, it was kind of uncomfortable to see her try and seduce Robie, while making a kind of out jewels and trying to persuade him to make her a part of his dangerous life and even work with him.

Mostly because Robie HAD NONE OF IT. Oh my God how funny that was! I am still laughing as I am typing this!

    

☝ This woman just kissed him out of nowhere, gave him this "I will eat you raw" look, teasingly closed the doors to tease the hell out of a criminal... And this was his reaction:

    

AHAHAHHAHA!!

And that's not all!! Look at him when she came out in this weird ass clothes. (Btw, he had the same exact reaction as I did.)

    

Looking almost disgusted when she wasn't looking and then smiling at her approvingly I LIVE!

But also... what are those dresses? I don't get fashion at all...

What is with Hitchcock putting Cary Grant in a car with the worst women drivers ever that speed like crazy and not care for their life??

Back to Robie being an absolute icon:

    

    

Cary Grant was killing me and I will not pretend it's not the reason I rated this movie so highly. The film alone was pretty interesting, but it would be around 3/4 starts. Thanks to Cary, it climbed up the ladder and will remain a source of my laughter for a week.

    

Now the time for revelations come. While John is using his costume to blend in, so he can catch the imitation of the Cat, the others party hard. 

The whole scene with dancing made so much sense when it was revealed...

And to be perfectly honest, I consider ☝that a bigger, better and more important revelation that 👇that.

It did work well, and it was a nice twist. It wasn't big mind blowing earth shattering surprise, but it made sense and tied the movie together quite nicely.

Danielle's face expression though... it threw me off, because more than fighting Robie it looked like when you catch someone trying to be bratty and they have that "don't laugh at how silly this is" smile.

Kinda cringy tbh.

    

Williams saved the day with his "scare" when he realized he is touched by a beautiful young woman. Hilarious!

And now the final scene... and the OG "omg a woman caught me and I have to marry her now" side eye:

    

[I could swear I heard a wedding bell ring at that moment.]

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That is it, from To Catch a Thief. A perfect movie, that thrives of sarcasm, humor and amazing characters that bring lightness to an otherwise B-class mystery.

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Updated chart ranking all of Alfred Hitchcock's movies:

1. Dial M for Murder
2. Rear Window
3. Rope
4. To Catch a Thief 
5. Psycho
6. Vertigo
7. Rebecca
8. North by Northwest
9. The Birds
10. Strangers on a Train
11. Notorious

Hitchcock's cameo discovered? : Yes!