To Catch a Thief feels like North by Northwest lite. It is an entertaining film by a man who knows how to entertain, but nothing more. It is neither realistic nor relevant. Instead, it is escapism at its best, extravagant people doing extravagant things on extravagant sets wearing extravagant clothing and extravagant jewelry. Cary Grant's charisma and Grace Kelly's beauty are unparalleled in this film and work wonderful together here. Though the plot focuses on Grant as a reformed cat burglar who is suspected of new thefts and has to clear his name, it's not a heist movie at all. It is closer to a romantic comedy with an adventure/James Bond-style overtone. And it works so well. There are so many funny scenes to love in this movie, but my personal favorite is when Grant "accidentally" drops a chip into a woman's cleavage at the casino. I think I enjoyed the movie a little bit more than I should have because it takes place at Cannes, and I'd just been there earlier this summer. While watching the movie, I recognized the beach and the Carlton Hotel that Kelly's character and her mother were staying at--the same one that I saw Jerry Seinfeld zipline down as a promotion stunt for Bee Movie!It does have its problems though. Hitchcock seems to overindulge in many shots, loving his relatively new color photography and not wanting to cut any of it out. There are so many lingering, unnecessary shots of countrysides and the like. The plot isn't perfectly cohesive and half the dialogue is in French, untranslated. There are a lot of side plots and plot holes and an unsurprising "twist" as to the identity of the copycat burglar. Still, a very entertaining movie and worth checking out for Hitchcock fans, Grant fans, and Kelly fans.
IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0048728/