John Robie, a retired jewel thief known as the Cat, must catch a copycat burglar on the French Riviera — or take the blame himself.
In To Catch a Thief (1955), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant plays John Robie, a former cat burglar living quietly in the south of France. When a series of jewel thefts follows his old pattern, the police suspect Robie, and he sets out to find the real thief. Along the way he meets Frances Stevens, played by Grace Kelly, a wealthy young woman who is at first suspicious of him and then drawn to him.
The film is as much a travelogue as a thriller, with the Riviera in bright colour and Hitchcock enjoying the contrast between Robie’s cool surface and the danger around him. Grant is perfectly cast: he looks like a man who could steal anything, and also like a man who has left that life behind. His scenes with Kelly, especially a picnic above the coast and a fireworks display, are among the most elegant in his career.
To Catch a Thief shows Grant at his most glamorous, a star in full command of his image, playing a hero who is charming precisely because he may not be entirely innocent.