Customer Reviews

To Catch A Thief [Blu-ray] [1955] [Region Free]

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2012 BLU RAY REISSUE ***

When 1955's "To Catch A Thief" was relaunched on DVD back in 2007 with a full frame-by-frame Lowry Digital Restoration (the company is now known as Reliance MediaWorks) - fans of the film were quietly blown away by the work done on the print. Like "North By Northwest" (that other great Hitchcock/Grant collaboration cleaned up by the same much-praised process) - "Catch" looked stupendous - beautifully clean vibrant colour - and it came with a nice slew of new complimentary extras.

This 2012 BLU RAY reissue of it is no different - a truly gorgeous looking film finally given the format it deserves. In fact there are moments in this transfer that must surely rate as BLU RAY 'restoration benchmarks' - the clean up seeing Robert Burks' original colour cinematography shine like a diamond. Burks and his team (who had framed "Rear Window" for Hitch the year before) pulled an Oscar for their work on "To Catch A Thief" - and would go on to provide Hitchcock with the same filmic magic on "Vertigo" (1958), "North By Northwest" (1959), "The Birds" (1963) and "Marnie" (1964).

"To Catch A Thief" is presently an American issue on BLU RAY (Paramount 14637) but it's due in the UK in July 2012. If you can't wait and want the US version - the good news is that it's NOT REGION-CODED so it'll play in all players. It comes in a card wrap sleeve (which the British issue won't) and features a full compliment of extras including a few new bits over the 2007 DVD issue (see list below).

The film itself is the stuff of legend - a testament to clever scriptwriting, Director grit, meticulous planning and sheer leading man and woman starpower. Battling censorship groups and prudish bosses - Hitch used his brilliant scriptwriter JOHN MICHAEL HAYES to adapt David Dodge's book and construct a screenplay positively bristling with salacious suggestion. For this he needed sex - or more accurately - implied sex. So we get lines like "What you need is two weeks with a good man in Niagara Falls..." (a famous Honeymoon destination of the time where newlyweds rarely left their chalets) or Grace Kelly offering Cary Grant some chicken from the picnic basket "You want a leg of a breast?" Cary smirks and gives the perfect double-entendre reply. "You make the choice..."

Even something as innocuous to us now as sunbathing on a sandy beach was fraught with moral degradation then. The powers-that-be feared bikinis - so Hitch had Grace wear a full bathing suit to get around their protestations. BUT when he came to shoot the scene, she sexily rubs in suntan oil into her elegant bare arms. You don't notice her passion-killer swimsuit much after that. Or even when they eventually kiss in the darkened bedroom towards the end - it cuts to fireworks in the background to suggest explosions of a more human kind. And yet precisely because both the writer and Hitch had to be so devious - the film is so much better for it. "To Catch A Thief" may be considered by some to be lightweight Hitchcock - but it's bloody entertaining fluff and was hugely racy for its time. Alfred Hitchcock knew that suggestion was more potent than showing - and his audience had a far more active imagination that any Committee of Impeccable Moral Turpitude.

Hitchcock also loved his leading ladies - and few came more gobsmacking than Grace Kelly. Beautiful, sophisticated and (like her name) graceful in every way - she was the very epitome of Golden-Girl Fifties chic. What most hadn't expected however was that underneath all the glacial glamour lurked an out-an-out sexpot (she apparently devoured men in real life and of course married an actual Prince a year later). So combined with the legendary Hollywood costumer Edith Head - and the loaded lines - you got the gorgeous Grace Kelly both looking and sounding ravishing.

Then of course came Hitchcock's other weapon of choice - the debonair Cary Grant. Cary plays John Robie - a retired jewel thief and burglar of 15-years affectionately known as "The Cat" because of his acts of agility when making house withdrawals. Someone who knows his methods starts robbing jewels from rich ladies elsewhere - and it isn't long before the finger of blame comes calling to Robie in his French retirement home in the hills. Robie must go to Cannes (where the robberies are) - and confront some of his old 'Resistance' mates (even if some of them want him dead) - a thief sent 'to catch a thief'. And on the story goes...

Grant was 50 in 1954 and almost in semi-retirement - feeling that his public no longer wanted him - while Kelly (who was just 25) had worked with Hitchcock on "Dial M For Murder" and "Rear Window" in the previous year and become Hitch's new go-to girl. Hitch was keen to ally this rising female star with a suitable male match and game material that would enhance both - and after a persuasive dinner - he got Cary on board. And it worked a treat. Despite his advanced years and her youth - they seemed like Tracy and Hepburn - Bogey and Bacall - a completely believable couple. The film was a huge hit with the public (and still is) - largely due to the great script and their explosive onscreen chemistry...

Jessie Royce Landis provided much of the comedy as the meddling mother and the gamine French actress Brigitte Auber played the other possible love interest - the young wilful Danielle with a soft spot for the suave John Robie. Solid dependable accomplice was played by John Williams - a Lloyds of London Insurance agent willing to give Robie what information he needs - if it means he can get his clients stolen jewels back. And all of it leads to a rooftop finale in the dark with a clever twist in its rather elegant tail...

BLU RAY highlights include the market and flowers sequence - Kelly walking through the Hotel corridors in knockout off the shoulder dresses - Grant in the water by the pontoon - Robie trying to explain his innocence to the Chief of Police (Charles Varnell couldn't speak good English so you will notice that his entire performance is overdubbed) - and many more. Even the opening sequence that focuses on the window of a travel agent is gorgeous.

To sum up - if you're a fan and your soft machine flutters at the thought of "To Catch A Thief" and its delicious naughtiness - then you must own it on BLU RAY.

As Elin said on the 18th fairway to her faithful husband - is that a Redwood in your trousers Tiger - or are you just pleased to see me. Oh stop it...

BLU RAY Specifications:
PICTURE: 1080p High Definition (Full Frame)
AUDIO: English 2.0 Stereo Dolby TrueHD, English Mono Dolby TrueHD, French Mono Dolby Digital, Spanish Mono Dolby Digital, Portuguese Mono Dolby Digital
SUBTITLES: English, English SDH (Deaf And Hard Of Hearing), French, Spanish and Portuguese

EXTRAS:
1. Feature-Length Commentary by Dr. Drew Casper - Hitchcock Film Historian
2. A Night With The Hitchcocks (Drew Casper introduces Patricia Hitchcock (his daughter) and her daughter Mary Stone to an audience of film students in Nov 2008 to discuss their father and grandfather's movies) (23 minutes) ** NEW **
3. Unacceptable Under The Code: Film Censorship in Hollywood (discusses how movies were made in such repressive times - 12 minutes) **NEW**
4. Writing And Casting To Catch A Thief (9 minutes)
5. The Making of To Catch A Thief
6. Behind The Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly (6 minutes)
7. Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch A Thief: An Appreciation (Home movies of Hitch and family - 7:30 minutes)
8. Edith Head: The Paramount Years (14 minutes on the legendary costumer)
9. If You Love To Catch A Thief - You'll Love This Interactive Travelogue (a map of Southern France allows you to pick out the villas and locations used in the film)
10. Theatrical Trailer
11. Galleries

PS: Hitchcock's "The Birds" is due later in 2012 - fully restored - and part of Universal's "100th Anniversary" celebrations - see my review for "To Kill A Mockingbird"

PPS: for other superb BLU RAY reissues (including full restorations) - see also my reviews for:
"The Italian Job", "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning", "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner", "North By Northwest", "Cool Hand Luke", "The Dambusters", "The Prisoner - The Complete (UK TV) Series In High Definition", "Braveheart", "Snatch", "The Ladykillers", "The African Queen", "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "Back To The Future Trilogy", "Brief Encounter", "The Blues Brothers", "All Quiet On The Western Front", "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "Kelly's Heroes"

When Ian Fleming wrote the original James Bond stories, he said he modeled 007 on the screen personna of Cary Grant. The role was, as a matter of fact, offered to Grant, but he turned it down. This role of John Robie, the Cat, in To Catch A Thief might give us an idea of what Grant would have been like as James Bond. To Catch A Thief was made about eight years before Dr. No came out. Grant had not made a movie in a while before To Catch A Thief and said he was retired. But, this movie was the number one grossing movie of the first half of the 1950s, and Grant, to our good movie watching entertainment, went on to make several more movies such as North By Northwest and Charade. By the way, the book by David Dodge is great, if you can ever find a copy.

This film is not one of Hitchcock's best nor is it one of the worst films made. Its entertaining, but not particularly interesting- you won't leave it thinking about it for days after, but you will leave it having spent an enjoyable couple of hours. Basically this is because of the actors- Grace Kelly is wonderful as many of the other reviewers have said. Cary Grant likewise plays his role with wit and charm. Several of the minor characters are also well played- Kelly's mother is grotesquely funny at points, the French bandits especially the daughter who has a crush on Grant are also at times amusing. Quite simply this is a fun relaxing film- not one for the film snobs, but for everyone else a great way to spend an afternoon.

This is a great version of this wonderful film. The definition is superior to DVD versions, and, for the first time on disc, one can actually see all of Hitchcock in his cameo appearance! Hitherto he has either been edited out almost completely, or, in the version I had, you managed to see half of him. I commend this BluRay disc of what I consider to be a much underrated film.

A classic Hitchcock film up there with Rear Window, North by Northwest and Vertigo.

Set in the French Riviera, Cary Grant plays an ex-cat burglar accused of a spate of burglaries reminisent of his previous work. He sets out to try and catch the real thief and ends up playing a game of cat and mouse.

It is a film of true Hitchcock tradition with great suspense, great photography and locations, and great sound. Cary Grant is as always highly watchable with Grace Kelly showing she was one of the best female leads of the era, if not of all time.

An excellent film up there with any Hitchcock classic you could mention. Highly recommended. Although could someone please tell me what car Grace Kelly is driving!

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2012 BLU RAY REISSUE - A FULL LOWRY DIGITAL RESTORATION ***

When 1955's "To Catch A Thief" was relaunched on DVD back in 2007 with a full frame-by-frame Lowry Digital Restoration (the company is now known as Reliance MediaWorks) - fans of the film were quietly blown away by the work done on the print. Like "North By Northwest" (that other great Hitchcock/Grant collaboration cleaned up by the same much-praised process) - "Catch" looked stupendous - beautifully clean vibrant colour - and it came with a nice slew of new complimentary extras.

This 2012 BLU RAY reissue of it is no different - a truly gorgeous looking film finally given the format it deserves. In fact there are moments in this transfer that must surely rate as BLU RAY 'restoration benchmarks' - the clean up seeing Robert Burks' original colour cinematography shine like a diamond. Burks and his team (who had framed "Rear Window" for Hitch the year before) pulled an Oscar for their work on "To Catch A Thief" - and would go on to provide Hitchcock with the same filmic magic on "Vertigo" (1958), "North By Northwest" (1959), "The Birds" (1963) and "Marnie" (1964).

"To Catch A Thief" is presently an American issue on BLU RAY (Paramount 14637) but it's due in the UK in July 2012. If you can't wait and want the US version - the good news is that it's NOT REGION-CODED so it'll play in all players. It comes in a card wrap sleeve (which the British issue won't) and features a full compliment of extras including a few new bits over the 2007 DVD issue (see list below).

The film itself is the stuff of legend - a testament to clever scriptwriting, Director grit, meticulous planning and sheer leading man and woman starpower. Battling censorship groups and prudish bosses - Hitch used his brilliant scriptwriter JOHN MICHAEL HAYES to adapt David Dodge's book and construct a screenplay positively bristling with salacious suggestion. For this he needed sex - or more accurately - implied sex. So we get lines like "What you need is two weeks with a good man in Niagara Falls..." (a famous Honeymoon destination of the time where newlyweds rarely left their chalets) or Grace Kelly offering Cary Grant some chicken from the picnic basket "You want a leg of a breast?" Cary smirks and gives the perfect double-entendre reply. "You make the choice..."

Even something as innocuous to us now as sunbathing on a sandy beach was fraught with moral degradation then. The powers-that-be feared bikinis - so Hitch had Grace wear a full bathing suit to get around their protestations. BUT when he came to shoot the scene, she sexily rubs in suntan oil into her elegant bare arms. You don't notice her passion-killer swimsuit much after that. Or even when they eventually kiss in the darkened bedroom towards the end - it cuts to fireworks in the background to suggest explosions of a more human kind. And yet precisely because both the writer and Hitch had to be so devious - the film is so much better for it. "To Catch A Thief" may be considered by some to be lightweight Hitchcock - but it's bloody entertaining fluff and was hugely racy for its time. Alfred Hitchcock knew that suggestion was more potent than showing - and his audience had a far more active imagination that any Committee of Impeccable Moral Turpitude.

Hitchcock also loved his leading ladies - and few came more gobsmacking than Grace Kelly. Beautiful, sophisticated and (like her name) graceful in every way - she was the very epitome of Golden-Girl Fifties chic. What most hadn't expected however was that underneath all the glacial glamour lurked an out-an-out sexpot (she apparently devoured men in real life and of course married an actual Prince a year later). So combined with the legendary Hollywood costumer Edith Head - and the loaded lines - you got the gorgeous Grace Kelly both looking and sounding ravishing.

Then of course came Hitchcock's other weapon of choice - the debonair Cary Grant. Cary plays John Robie - a retired jewel thief and burglar of 15-years affectionately known as "The Cat" because of his acts of agility when making house withdrawals. Someone who knows his methods starts robbing jewels from rich ladies elsewhere - and it isn't long before the finger of blame comes calling to Robie in his French retirement home in the hills. Robie must go to Cannes (where the robberies are) - and confront some of his old 'Resistance' mates (even if some of them want him dead) - a thief sent 'to catch a thief'. And on the story goes...

Grant was 50 in 1954 and almost in semi-retirement - feeling that his public no longer wanted him - while Kelly (who was just 25) had worked with Hitchcock on "Dial M For Murder" and "Rear Window" in the previous year and become Hitch's new go-to girl. Hitch was keen to ally this rising female star with a suitable male match and game material that would enhance both - and after a persuasive dinner - he got Cary on board. And it worked a treat. Despite his advanced years and her youth - they seemed like Tracy and Hepburn - Bogey and Bacall - a completely believable couple. The film was a huge hit with the public (and still is) - largely due to the great script and their explosive onscreen chemistry...

Jessie Royce Landis provided much of the comedy as the meddling mother and the gamine French actress Brigitte Auber played the other possible love interest - the young wilful Danielle with a soft spot for the suave John Robie. Solid dependable accomplice was played by John Williams - a Lloyds of London Insurance agent willing to give Robie what information he needs - if it means he can get his clients stolen jewels back. And all of it leads to a rooftop finale in the dark with a clever twist in its rather elegant tail...

BLU RAY highlights include the market and flowers sequence - Kelly walking through the Hotel corridors in knockout off the shoulder dresses - Grant in the water by the pontoon - Robie trying to explain his innocence to the Chief of Police (Charles Varnell couldn't speak good English so you will notice that his entire performance is overdubbed) - and many more. Even the opening sequence that focuses on the window of a travel agent is gorgeous.

To sum up - if you're a fan and your soft machine flutters at the thought of "To Catch A Thief" and its delicious naughtiness - then you must own it on BLU RAY.

As Elin said on the 18th fairway to her faithful husband - is that a Redwood in your trousers Tiger - or are you just pleased to see me. Oh stop it...

BLU RAY Specifications:
PICTURE: 1080p High Definition (Full Frame)
AUDIO: English 2.0 Stereo Dolby TrueHD, English Mono Dolby TrueHD, French Mono Dolby Digital, Spanish Mono Dolby Digital, Portuguese Mono Dolby Digital
SUBTITLES: English, English SDH (Deaf And Hard Of Hearing), French, Spanish and Portuguese

EXTRAS:
1. Feature-Length Commentary by Dr. Drew Casper - Hitchcock Film Historian
2. A Night With The Hitchcocks (Drew Casper introduces Patricia Hitchcock (his daughter) and her daughter Mary Stone to an audience of film students in Nov 2008 to discuss their father and grandfather's movies) (23 minutes) ** NEW **
3. Unacceptable Under The Code: Film Censorship in Hollywood (discusses how movies were made in such repressive times - 12 minutes) **NEW**
4. Writing And Casting To Catch A Thief (9 minutes)
5. The Making of To Catch A Thief
6. Behind The Gates: Cary Grant and Grace Kelly (6 minutes)
7. Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch A Thief: An Appreciation (Home movies of Hitch and family - 7:30 minutes)
8. Edith Head: The Paramount Years (14 minutes on the legendary costumer)
9. If You Love To Catch A Thief - You'll Love This Interactive Travelogue (a map of Southern France allows you to pick out the villas and locations used in the film)
10. Theatrical Trailer
11. Galleries

PS: Hitchcock's "The Birds" is due later in 2012 - fully restored - and part of Universal's "100th Anniversary" celebrations - see my review for "To Kill A Mockingbird"

PPS: for other superb BLU RAY reissues (including full restorations) - see also my reviews for:
"The Italian Job", "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning", "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner", "North By Northwest", "Cool Hand Luke", "The Dambusters", "The Prisoner - The Complete (UK TV) Series In High Definition", "Braveheart", "Snatch", "The Ladykillers", "The African Queen", "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "Back To The Future Trilogy", "Brief Encounter", "The Blues Brothers", "All Quiet On The Western Front", "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "Kelly's Heroes"

PPPS: for a list of other LOWRY DIGITAL Transfers and Restorations (Classic and Modern Titles) - see the 'comment' section attached to this review

Alfred Hitchcock's great movie and need not any introduction . It is an all time example of classics that should never be missed.

A perfect Sunday afternoon film with the suave Mr grant and the beautiful miss grace Kelly. Just add wine and a box of chocolates and snuggle down on the sofa to enjoy

Wanted three DVD's to go with North by Northwest for my husbands birthday and this was went well with it

This is the Hitchcock film starring Cary Grant that isn't North By Northwest and the film starring Grace Kelly that isn't Rear Window. It might be a rather simplistic viewpoint I know (both took pride of place in other Hitchcock movies) but that would appear to be a general consensus about To Catch A Thief.

And admittedly, this movie fails to match the "five-star" nature of those two genuine classics...but only just.

It's based on the novel by David Dodge but purely in a superficial way. Indeed Dodge admitted years later that all that survived in the movie was the title and some of the character names. And indeed with the twin towers of Grant and Kelly at the helm why wouldn't Hitch have ratcheted up the romance between John "The Cat" Robie and Frances Stevens?

The main surprise has to be that despite the fact this movie was made in one of the most repressive era's in Hollywood history it literally bursts at the seams with innuendo and sexual tension. We know exactly what Francie means when she asks Robie whether he wants a breast or a leg when she offers him the chicken out of the picnic basket; similarly the fireworks that explode as the two embrace say much more than any explicit love scene would have done.

Grant would perfect his characterisation here five or so years later in North By Northwest but he is still on top form here as well. Just as the film is a largely unclassifiable blend of genre's (is it a comedy, a romance, a suspense movie, a "wrong man" movie?) Grant could be much the same in the "real world" and is perfect for the part the self-absorbed Robie. Kelly is as sublime here as she is in Rear Window or Dial M For Murder and it's not just my innate bias towards the the woman who was undoubtedly the most attractive woman to have ever walked the earth that makes me say that. Indeed it's not just me totally besotted by her; the camera seems just as enthralled with Kelly here and is it any wonder?

Some would tell you this movie is just a slight comedy with a travelogue style setting (even the movie's detractors would have to accept the film's scenery and shooting of it is awesome and beautiful) but that would be doing it a grave disservice. You can hardly fault the film either for not being Northwest or Rear Window. You have two of the all-time Hollywood great's at the top of their game, a delightfully witty (and naughtily so) script and some great back-up in the cast (Jessie Royce Landis and John Williams to name but two). This may genuinely be one of the most humourous and witty Hitchcock movies, and is an utter delight to watch.

This movie is also a good point of reference if you want to confirm the genius of Hitchcock. Just watch the risible The Tourist (starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie) for a stark look at how an attempt to make a similar movie in the 21st century can go so horribly wrong.