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| Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief (1955) |
Alfred Hitchcock had his "A" team on this movie—his favorite actor, Cary Grant; favorite actress, Grace Kelly; favorite assistant director/second-unit director, Herb Coleman; favorite screenwriter, John Michael Hayes; favorite cinematographer, Robert Burks; favorite film editor, George Tomasini; favorite costume designer, Edith Head; plus the best process photographer in the business, Farciot Edouart, shooting French Riviera rear-projection film for Grace Kelly's driving scenes. So why is To Catch a Thief only a so-so movie?
Why? Because unlike Rear Window and The Man Who Knew Too Much, nothing has been added to the plot of To Catch a Thief to make resolution of the mystery urgent. And so the movie is in no hurry.
[SPOILER ALERT] In Rear Window, Jeff and his deputies Lisa and Stella have to investigate and solve the crime before Thorwald flees the city, which could happen at any time. There's a real sense of urgency. And in The Man Who Knew Too Much, what could be more urgent than stopping the assassination of a prime minister and rescuing a kidnapped child? [End SPOILER ALERT]
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(More to come.)
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| C: Robert Burks. D: Alfred Hitchcock. |
