To Catch A Thief (1955)

      " ...a high-polish job, a kind of reversion to the urbanities of a gentleman Raffles..."

With Grace Kelly.

To Catch A Thief - Review is taken from 'The Films of Cary Grant' by Donald Deschner (1973):

"Has Alfred Hitchcock over-refined his technique?  There are those who will say yes after seeing his To Catch A Thief, but this fan is quite happy with Hitchcock as he is.  In his latest mystery, the emphasis is less on the mystery than on the incidental mechanics that develop it, much as it was in Rear Window, though here the plot is even thinner.  

Nevertheless, it is a high-polish job, a kind of reversion to the urbanities of a gentleman Raffles, with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly ideal in the romantic leads."

- Philip K. Scheuer, Los Angeles Times

New Artwork by Rebekah Hawley at Studio36 -
Number 60 - To Catch A Thief (Lobby Card Style)

Part Of

For more, see also:

Quote From Today 5 August 2022

On This Day 4 August 2021

On This Day 28 August 2020

Quote From Today... To Catch a Thief (1955)

    "Why did I take up stealing?"

To Catch a Thief was Cary Grant's 60th full length feature film.

H. H. Hughson: You are a man of obvious good taste in everything. Why did you...

John Robie: Why did I take up stealing? To live better, to own things I couldn't afford, to acquire this good taste that you now enjoy and which I should be very reluctant to give up.

H. H. Hughson: Then you are frankly dishonest.

John Robie: I try to be.

"Lights, Camera...Action!" - The Directors - Part 2

After Howard Hawks' five films with Cary Grant, there were two directors who completed four films each with Grant...Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Donen.

Alfred Hitchcock:

13th August 1899 - 29th April 1990

"Hitch and I had a rapport and understanding deeper than words. He was a very agreeable human being, and we were very compatible. I always went to work whistling when I worked with him because everything on the set was just as you envisioned it would be. Nothing ever went wrong. He was so incredibly well prepared. I never knew anyone as capable. He was a tasteful, intelligent, decent, and patient man who knew the actor's business as well as he knew his own." 

- Grant on Hitchcock

Suspicion (1941)

On set with Joan Fontaine.

His appearance in the film.

Notorious (1946)

Hitchcock's appearance in a scene with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

To Catch A Thief (1955)

 

On film with Grant.

On set with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant.

North By Northwest (1959)

An early appearance in the film.

                                                           

On set and behind the scenes with Cary Grant, Eve Marie Saint and James Mason.

"Cary is marvelous, you see. One doesn't direct Cary Grant, one simply puts him in front of a camera. 

And, you see, he enables the audience to identify with the main character. I mean by that, Cary Grant represents a man we know. He's not a stranger."

- Hitchcock on Grant

To be continued...The Directors - Part 3 - Stanley Donen.

"A Rose by Any Other Name...."

This rose is called the 'Cary Grant'.

It was commissioned as a Valentine's gift in February 1986, for Cary Grant's 5th wife, Barbara Harris. 

They were planted along the driveway of their home.

The rose is categorized as a Hybrid Tea.

It has large blooms, size of a fist, that are bright orange, with a long stem and glossy green foliage.

Easy to care for, blooming from late February to November.

The rose is believed to only exist in one country outside the USA; Monaco, in Princess Grace's garden in her memory.

Leading Ladies...Part 3

So that brings us to those actresses who appeared only on screen once with Cary Grant.

Adrienne Ames
Sinners in the Sun (1932)

Tallulah Bankhead
Devil and the Deep (1932)

Ethel Barrymore
None But The Lonely Heart (1944)

Constance Bennett
Topper (1937)

Janet Blair
Once Upon a Time (1944)

Mary Brian
The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss (1937)

"He was the most fun and the most romantic man I've ever known."


Leslie Caron

Father Goose (1964)

"Cary liked women who had a distinction and a certain education about them."


Jeanne Crain
People Will Talk (1951)

Also appeared on the radio, Jan 25th, 1954, in People Will Talk.

Doris Day
That Touch of Mink (1962)

Laraine Day
Mr. Lucky (1943)

Also appeared on the radio, Oct 18th, 1943, in Mr. Lucky.

Marlene Dietrich
Blonde Venus (1932)

Lily Damita
This Is The Night (1932)

Frances Drake
Ladies Should Listen (1934)

Samantha Eggar
Walk, Don't Run (1966)

Faye Emerson
Destination Tokyo (1944) The only credited actress in the cast.

Frances Farmer
The Toast of New York (1937)

Jean Harlow
Suzy (1936)

Rita Hayworth
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Charlotte Henry
Alice in Wonderland (1933)

Audrey Hepburn

Charade (1963)

"Working with him was a joy. There was something special, which was quite undefinable, about Cary. He was a quiet man basically, for someone who dealt in comedy, and yet very much to the point."


Benita Hume
Gambling Ship (1933)

Grace Kelly

To Catch a Thief (1955)

"Everyone grows old, except Cary Grant."

"Grace was astonishing. When you played a scene with her, she really listened. She was right there with you. She was Buddha-like in her concentration. She was like Garbo in that respect." - Cary Grant


Elissa Landi
Enter Madame! (1935)

Priscilla Lane
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Helen Mack
Kiss and Make Up (1934)

Jayne Mansfield
Kiss Them From Me (1957)

Gertrude Michael
The Last Outpost (1935)

Grace Moore
When You're in Love (1937)

Also appeared on the radio, March 8th, 1937, in Madame Butterfly.

Marilyn Monroe

Monkey Business (1952)

"She seemed very shy, and I remember that when the studio workers would whistle at her, it seemed to embarrass her." - Cary Grant


Joan O'Brien
Operation Petticoat (1959)

Suzy Parker
Kiss Them From Me (1955)

Paula Raymond
Crisis (1950)

Rosalind Russell
His Girl Friday (1940)

Eva Marie Saint

North By Northwest (1959)

"Other men wear suits. But with other men, there'sthe man and then there's the suit on him. That didn't happen to Cary Grant. For him, style was like a skin."


Martha Scott

The Howards of Virginia (1940)

"He was conscious of his body movement, like a dancer. It was wonderful to watch."


Jean Simmons
The Grass is Greener (1961)

Alexis Smith

Night and Day (1946)

"There was such an intense quality and focus about his work...He was mesmerizing and very exciting."


Shirley Temple
The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947)

Also appeared on the radio, June 13th, 1949, in The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer.

Thelma Todd
This is the Night (1932)

Jane Wyman
Night and Day (1946)