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With its setting, amount of (predominantly black) humour, ambiguous dialogue and the nature of the crime (involving jewels, not the taking of a life), To Catch a Thief is a lighter affair in which crucial themes of Hitchcock’s work – food, sex and money – are cleverly combined. The film’s boldest action scene, a car chase, is a brilliant illustration of what can be achieved with a rear projection and well-timed cuts. Because this is essentially a film that is not action oriented and not very thrilling, more attention is focused on the acting than on the directing. Cary Grant is the embodiment of elegance. When he is accompanied by Grace Kelly, one of those actresses about whom one can speak only in admiring interjections, the impression of perfection is almost flawless. It's a shame that he will play James Bond and she a Bond girl only in my dreams. 75% (26.08.2011)

For me, the weakest Hitchcock film so far, lacking suspense (maybe I'm just infected with his nickname "master of suspense") and a more convoluted plot with some wow-effect at the end of the story (at least it seemed that way to me). The night scenes of the "cats" running around on the rooftops are probably the best shots of the whole film, along with the masquerade ball. Other than that, I don't know what I would single out about this (to me) mediocre film. It just doesn't have the quality of Vertigo, Psycho, or Rear Window. (08.02.2013)

I have mixed feelings about this movie. Cary Grant was great as usual, and Grace Kelly was (just) a feast for the eyes, but honestly, I expected more from a director of Hitchcock's caliber. At certain moments, both the plot and the performances seemed contrived, and I couldn't help but compare it to Operation Petticoat (1959), which I saw yesterday and liked much better. Here, I felt as if the creators couldn't quite decide if they wanted to make a comedy, a romance, or a thriller. The resulting mix has a bit of everything but not enough of anything. I expect more humor in a comedy and more tension in a thriller, and the romantic storyline was simplified in a way that made it unconvincing. I partially enjoyed watching the film and had a good time, but on the other hand, I was quite disappointed with how it was handled, so, as I said - I have mixed feelings about this movie. / "What do you say?" "My only comment would be highly censurable." / Lesson learned: "Oh, Mother will love it up here." How fitting:-) 2*+ (19.01.2023)