On This Day...To Catch A Thief (1955)

 On this day in 1955, To Catch a Thief, Cary Grant's 60th full length feature film, was released.

Summary: 

With the help of a prospective victim's daughter, a retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation in light of a new wave of thefts.

Cast:

Cary Grant...John Robie

Grace Kelly...Frances Stevens

Jessie Royce Landis...Jessie Stevens

John Williams ...H.H. Hughson

Charles Vanel...Bertani

Brigitte Auber...Danielle Foussard

Jean Martinelli...Foussard

Georgette Anys...Germaine

Did You Know?

Cary Grant had announced his retirement from acting in February 1953, stating that, since the rise of Method actors like Marlon Brando, most people were no longer interested in seeing him. He was also angry at the way Charles Chaplin had been treated by the HUAC. He was lured out of his retirement to make this movie, and thereafter continued acting for a further eleven years.

John Robie mentions that, as a youth, he was in a trapeze group that traveled around Europe. In reality, Cary Grant was in an acrobatic troupe that toured around Europe--and eventually brought him to America--when he was young.

Cary Grant has only one line for the whole beginning of the movie. He doesn't speak his second line until fourteen minutes in. Grace Kelly doesn't speak until nearly 32 minutes in.

For the scene between Robie and the insurance agent, when they talk about the cook's sensitive hands, the German version of the movie differs completely from the original; In English, Robie notes she once strangled a German general without a sound; while in German, he says she once caught an escaped lion from a circus with her bare hands.

The insurance invoice listing the types of jewelry and their values showed the sum amount of $280,000. Adjusted for inflation, the valuation is $2,688,723.60 as of April 2020.

When Cary Grant reads the insurance valuation on the beach, the valuer's address is Para House, Wardour Street, London W1. This was the address of Paramount Pictures' London office.

French actor Charles Vanel (as Bertani) could not speak a word of English. All of his lines were dubbed.

Filming on the French Riviera plays a pivotal role in Wu Ming's novel "54." The action takes place in the springtime of 1954, and nearly all of the characters in the novel (including Cary Grant, an Italian-American mafioso nicknamed "Steve Cement," and two Parisian gangsters from Rififi (1955)) cross each other's paths in Cannes and Nice.

The movie was filmed in the summer of 1954 but its release was delayed because the producers felt the age difference between Cary Grant and Grace Kelly was too great for their romance to be believable. Ironically, when released in 1955, the film immediately became one of the biggest hits of the decade.

The sports car Grace Kelly drives with Cary Grant as her passenger is a 1954 Sunbeam Alpine.

While working on this film in the French Riviera, Grace Kelly met Prince Rainier of Monaco. It wasn't love at first sight for Kelly, but the prince initiated a long correspondence, which led to their marriage in 1956. Afterward, she became Princess Grace of Monaco, and retired from acting.

Quotes:

John Robie: Danielle, you are just a girl. She is a woman.

Danielle Foussard: Why do you want to buy an old car if you can get a new one cheaper? It will run better and last longer.

Frances Stevens: Even in this light, I can tell where your eyes are looking.

[fireworks]

Frances Stevens: Look, John. Hold them. Diamonds... The only thing in the world you can't resist. Then tell me you don't know what I'm talking about.

[fireworks]

Frances Stevens: Ever had a better offer in your whole life? One with everything?

[fireworks]

John Robie: I've never had a crazier one.

Frances Stevens: Just as long as you're satisfied!

[fireworks]

John Robie: You know as well as I do: this necklace is imitation.

Frances Stevens: Well, I'm not.

John Robie: [to Frances] Not only did I enjoy that kiss last night, I was awed by its efficiency.

Frances Stevens: Doesn't it make you nervous to be in the same room with thousands of dollars worth of diamonds, and unable to touch them?

John Robie: No.

Frances Stevens: Like an alcoholic outside of a bar on Election Day?

John Robie: Wouldn't know the feeling.

H. H. Hughson: The pastries are light as air.

John Robie: Germaine has very sensitive hands and an exceedingly light touch. She strangled a German general - without a sound.

John Robie: I only regret one thing.

Danielle Foussard: That you never asked me to marry you?

John Robie: No. That I ever took the time to teach you English.

Danielle Foussard: You only taught me the nouns. I learned the adjectives myself.

Jessie Stevens: Sorry I ever sent her to finishing school. I think they finished her there.

Frances Stevens: Are you sure you were talking about water skis? From where I sat it looked as though you were conjugating some irregular verbs.

Frances Stevens: I've never caught a jewel thief before. It's stimulating. It's like... It's like...

John Robie: Like sitting in a hot tub?

Lobby Cards and Posters:

Directed and Produced by Alfred Hitchcock.

Distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Running Time: 103 minutes.

Artwork by Rebekah Hawley at Studio36.