Is To Catch a Thief among Hitchcock's best? No, in fact I don't even put it in my top 10. Did I expect it to? Again no, it is a very high expectation that can't be applied to every single film he's made(and just for the record as much as he is my favourite director I am not one who says he hasn't made a bad or disappointing film). All I wanted is a good entertaining film to watch, and To Catch a Thief fit that bill more than perfectly. There are times where the pacing, particularly in the middle, does get draggy. However, when so much is so good mostly that is ignorable and can only be noticed when the story gets thin on the ground, which admittedly it can do. Of all of Hitchcock's films, which are all wonderfully made(Jamaica Inn for me was one exception though),To Catch a Thief is one of Hitchcock's most audacious visually. The scenery is just breathtaking and only accentuated by the cinematography, deservedly Oscar-winning, that is both colourful and sweeping. Grace Kelly's wardrobe is glamour personified also. The music is energetic and beautifully orchestrated, fitting perfectly with the visuals and the film's tone. Hitchcock directs superbly, this is not a film that you associate him normally with(light romantic-comedy-thriller rather than suspense-thriller) but it is never jarring and has some of his trademark touches, unlike Jamaica Inn or Under Capricorn I didn't have the feeling of this doesn't feel like Hitchcock. His cameo is worth looking out for too, as with all his other cameos in his films.

The screenplay sparkles with wit and emotion, helping to at least keep us guessing until the last minute. The playful banter between Grant and Kelly and sexual innuendo are hugely entertaining. The story will entrance people and underwhelm others, while I can definitely understand the latter opinion and there were times where I felt it could have been tighter I was one of those who still found it interesting and involving thanks to the direction, cinematography and the leads' chemistry. There is the odd suspenseful touch, but there is more of an emphasis on the comedic and romantic elements, and both are done beautifully here with the comedy witty and playful and the romance sweet and touching. Cary Grant is very charming and urbane with a touch of arrogance, a side that you are familiar with with him but seeing as it's one that suits him to a tee you don't care. The gorgeous Grace Kelly I don't think has ever looked so beautiful and her droll yet understated performance is every bit as good as her performances in Dial M For Murder and Rear Window. The two have a sparkling chemistry which only adds to the enjoyment. Jessie Royce Landis is deliciously formidable and John Williams, a fine actor deserving of more praise even now, gives sterling support as well.

Overall, well worth catching. It's not one of my favourites from Hitchcock and it's not one of his best, but at the same time it's not a film to be properly dismissed either. 9/10 Bethany Cox

It's funny, but the studio was really worried that audiences would not believe that Cary Grant could be believed as a romantic suitor for Grace Kelly. Why is this funny? Well, because although I could suspend disbelieve and accept the romance (after all, he WAS Cary Grant!!),what I could not believe in the least was when the extremely British and erudite Grant posed as a guy from Oregon!!!! Come one....give me a break! That's like having Marjorie Main playing the Princess Anastasia! This is a film that is perhaps a bit less suspenseful than most of Hitchcock's other films. After all, the film is not about murder! Instead, it's about someone trying to implicate a retired thief (Grant) in a new string of copycat cat burglaries. No one seems to believe him (except, perhaps, John Williams' character) and so Grant decides to investigate himself. This plan of Grant's brings him to a wealthy American and her gorgeous daughter (Kelly)...and much of the film is dedicated to this romance. In this sense, this is also atypical of the usual Hitchcock film.

Believe it or not, the film is really less of a mystery and more of a sexy and deliberately paced film featuring a beautiful couple in extremely beautiful locations along the French Riviera. The mystery itself is nice enough but the elegant journey to the conclusion is the reason to see the film. And I must say it was very enjoyable--and I wish Hitchcock had done more films like this ("North By Northwest" has elements of this but doesn't carry it far enough--though I prefer this film). What I also loved was the very sexy and double-entendre laced dialog--as well as the Freudian imagery for sex sprinkled throughout the film. Hitchcock was really trying to tweak the censors' noses with this one--and it's a great joke that not everyone might get (such as the scene with the exploding fireworks). As a result, it's a film that deserves to be held in a much higher esteem--while it lacks great suspense, it more than makes up for it in style and romance.

By the way, get a load of Cary at the costume ball. I'll say no more--just watch.

Cary Grant, former resistance hero and gentlemanly cat burglar, is now retired from the trade. But there's someone out there who's using all his old cat burglar tricks and putting him in one big jackpot. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but Cary ain't flattered. With the French Surete and the English insurance company breathing down his neck, he'd better find out who the culprit is and fast.

He's got one ally, John Williams of the insurance company who has a sense it ain't really Cary. He's also got to contend with spoiled rich girl Grace Kelly who's taken a fancy to him. How much help she is is a dubious proposition.

Unlike a lot of Alfred Hitchcock films this one doesn't have all that much mystery to it. In fact early on you should be able to figure out who's stealing Cary's tricks. But the color photography which won an Oscar of the French Riviera is breathtaking and Cary Grant and Grace Kelly play the whole thing with such style that you really don't care.

My favorite in the film is Jessie Royce Landis who is Kelly's mother. She's rich, but remembers when she was poor. She takes to Cary and sticks with him when Grace has doubts and gives her quite a lecture on men. She knows her subject well.

Sadly life imitated art in this one. Grace Kelly met her future husband Prince Rainier on the set and on the road where she takes Cary Grant for a speeding car ride is the same one she had the automobile accident that took her life a generation later.

But don't dwell on the morbid here. Appreciate To Catch A Thief for the fine entertainment it is.