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To Catch
A Thief (1955)
In Alfred Hitchcock's lightweight, suspenseful romantic
thriller and heist film (with a mystery element and racy dialogue)
set on the colorful French Riviera, where a nighttime jewel-thief
(cat burglar) was creating panic amongst the visitors and residents;
the sexy caper was filmed in VistaVision and Technicolor, and partially
on-location:
- the opening view was of a distressed female
after she noticed her empty jewelry case in her French Riveria
hotel room; she was screaming:
"My jewels! I've been robbed. Someone stole my jewels" -
the film emphasized the motif of a stealthy, prowling jewel thief
(cat burglar) that had committed the crime - a black cat crossed
a slatted, tiled rooftop at night
- the authorities' only suspect was a reformed and
retired ex-burglar (for 15 years) - American-born John Robie (Cary
Grant), known as "The Cat" who lived in a hillside Cote
d'Azur villa near Cannes; photographed
from the air, the police (who arrived to question Robie) chased
after him as he drove away and fled from his villa, although it
was only a diversion
- to successfully escape, Robie boarded a bus to Cannes
and sat in the rear seat, while he watched through the back window
as detectives returned to his villa. He was squeezed on the bench
seat between a cage containing two fluttering birds (enticing to
a cat) and a portly passenger (director Hitchcock's cameo)
- once Robie reached Cannes in the French Riviera,
he decided to investigate the crime by himself
and find the real thief who was imitating his crimes, before the
police trailed and arrested him; he met with his old ex-con
friends in a restaurant - including head waiter Bertani (Charles
Vanel) and wine steward Foussard (Jean Martinelli) from the days
of French Resistance against the Germans during WWII
- when the police arrived, Robie was helped
to escape via a speedy motor-boat by Foussard's smitten and flirtatious
young, teenaged blonde daughter Danielle Foussard (Brigitte Auber)
to a nearby, luxury Cannes hotel's beach club
- while lounging on the hotel's beach, Robie (and
the audience) had their first view of beautiful, lanky and cool
blonde Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly) in a yellow turban and sunglasses
who was applying sun-tan lotion
- Robie pursued his own investigation of the recent
string of 'cat' burglaries by meeting at a flower market in Nice
with a contact of Bertani's named H. H. Hughson (John Williams)
- an insurance agent of Lloyds of London that was losing money
after the rash of thefts; he was conveniently provided with a detailed
list of names of those on the Riviera who were heavily-insured
clients with expensive jewels (supposedly, they would be the Cat's
next victims); one of the names on the list was affluent, nouveau
riche American widow - an oil millionairess named Mrs. Jessie
Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis), who was traveling with her beautiful
blonde daughter Frances and staying at the Carlton Hotel
- Robie was able to maneuver drinks with Mrs. Stevens
and her spoiled yet refined daughter, by posing as a wealthy Oregon
lumber magnate named Conrad Burns (although Frances quickly saw
through his disguise as an American tourist)
At Her Hotel Door, An Unexpected Goodnight Kiss
from Frances for Robie
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- afterwards to his complete surprise, Robie
escorted Frances, a pretty and quiet socialite, back to her hotel
suite - the seemingly-modest Frances
unlocked her hotel room door, turned - and then after a warm glance
into his eyes, she seductively placed her arm around his shoulder
and passionately kissed him (the kiss was initiated by her). Without
a word, she then backed away, and shut her door. He slowly turned
toward the camera with a satisfied smile on his lip-stick stained
lips
- the next morning, it was learned that the cat burglar
had again struck and stolen more jewels; during a breakfast
scene, in one of the most memorable and vulgar images on screen,
an exasperated Mrs. Stevens extinguished or stubbed out her lighted
cigarette (a phallic symbol) in the yolk of a fried egg, while being
warned about keeping her jewelry in her safe
Mrs. Stevens Extinguishing Her Cigarette in An Egg Yolk
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Frances in Carlton Hotel Foyer with Robie
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Verbal "Cat"-Fight Between Danielle and Frances at the
Carlton Hotel's Floating Raft
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- Frances attracted attention in the hotel's foyer with
Robie - she was fashionably decked out in a high-necked, black bathing
suit, oversized white sunhat, and white coverup; while Robie was
reclining on a beach chair with Frances, cute brunette Danielle caught
Robie's attention in her bathing suit, and they swam out to the hotel's
floating raft; Danielle informed Robie that Bertani's ex-convicts
had been threatening to kill him (they were worried about discrediting
suspicions being cast onto them)
- Frances swam out and joined them at the hotel's floating
raft, where the two engaged in a verbal 'cat'-fight over the bemused
Robie - both of the bitchy women were extremely jealous of each other
- later, Frances invited Robie to join her for a picnic
basket lunch and a drive in her open convertible sports car ("I
have my car and a basket lunch with chicken and beer"). After
a tense and swervy car ride to evade a pursuit car of detectives,
she parked at a "lonely and secluded"
picnic spot that she had picked out, overlooking the seaside town,
where they shared the contents of her picnic basket placed on the
front seat (he sat on the floorboard with his legs out the open
passenger door); she excitedly revealed that she knew he wasn't Mr. Burns,
and suspected that he was the jewel thief John Robie
- their conversation turned particularly
saucy and was filled with witty double entendres and sexy innuendo.
When she passed him a beer, he asked: "You got an opener?"; in
a famous provocatively-teasing line, Francie made an offer to Robie,
referring to the fried chicken (and more) that she had brought on
the picnic, causing him to do a double-take:
Frances: "Do you want a leg or a breast?"
Robie: "You make the choice."
- later in Frances' hotel suite, Frances begged Robbie
to make her his accomplice during his crime spree; while real fireworks
exploded through the open doors in the background (over the water in
the night sky), other 'sexual' fireworks burst within the room between
them - she had invitingly turned out the lights: "If you really
want to see the fireworks, it's better with the lights out. I have
a feeling that tonight, you're going to see one of the Riviera's
most fascinating sights. I was talking about the fireworks....The
way you looked at my necklace, I didn't know."
Acting as an exploitative predator, she enticed him by displaying her
white strapless gown and his main weakness - her sparkling, glistening
diamond necklace as the ultimate prize (the word 'diamonds' also
referred to her bare decolletage and breasts)
- she asked if he was passionately staring at her valuable necklace that
he was frustratingly "unable to touch" -- "The thrill is right there in front of you,
but you can't quite get it." She stroked her necklace and tantalizingly
discussed the diamonds she was wearing. She encouraged him to extol
the beauty of both her diamonds -- and her breasts. "Even
in this light, I can tell where your eyes are looking. (He sat down
next to her.) 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. (She kissed his fingers,
one by one, and then put her necklace in the palm of his hand.)
Ever had a better offer in your whole life? One with everything?" He
responded: "I've never had a crazier one." She
purred: "Just as long as you're satisfied." He remarked
about her fake diamond necklace: "You know as well as I do.
This necklace is imitation," to which she replied: "Well, I'm not." (They
kissed)
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the scene climaxed with the white-hot, orgasmic peak
of the colorful fireworks exhibition bursting in a vibrant closeup
in the night sky, illuminating the intensity of their kiss in the
dark - and the imminent loss of her virginity. The scene was one of
filmdom's most blatantly-sexual images
- after
their very seductive encounter, the next day, Frances accused Robie
of being responsible for the loss (theft) of her mother's jewels (and
her own sexual loss of virginity) by distracting her the previous evening: "Give
them back to me...Mother's jewels!"; Robie confessed to her
his true identity and revealed he was "The Cat" ("My
name is John Robie. I used to be a jewel thief several years ago"),
but denied stealing her mother's jewels; he slipped out onto the
roof when Frances attempted to summon the police
- later in the film, when Robie
was staking out a house for the thief, he was attacked by an unknown
assailant; he inadvertently killed the man who was identified as
Danielle's father Foussard (the restaurant's wine-steward); police
mistakenly thought he was The Cat, until Robie informed the police
that it was impossible for peg-legged Foussard (with a prosthetic
leg) to climb rooftops during robberies; however, the public still
believed that Foussard was the 'Cat Burglar'
- just before a major costume ball scheduled for the weekend at an estate,
Frances apologized for accusing Robie of being the thief - she also
confessed that she loved him ("I'M
IN LOVE WITH YOU") and would help find the real burglar;
they both attended the estate's fancy event,
with Frances wearing a Louis XV-era gold-gown
- in the film's conclusion during the masked costume
ball, Robie (who was wearing a black Moorish nubian slave outfit
with a mask and was able to switch places with Hughson) was
free to track the real Cat from the villa's rooftop during the evening;
he noticed a black-clad figure exiting a window (after major jewel
thefts) and traversing the rooftop - he froze, spied the figure,
and then chased after it
Robie's Capture of the Real Cat Burglar - Danielle
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- Robie caught up to the masked
thief - grabbed the individual - and unmasked DANIELLE; a light was directed
toward the rooftop and caught Robie in the spotlight, but he
proved his innocence and revealed the real masked copycat thief - young
blonde Danielle Foussard, who fell and dangled from the roof's gutter
until she confessed that her father Foussard and restauranteur
Bertani had planned all of the robberies
- in the final short scene set at Robie's Cote d'Azur
villa, Frances (still wearing her gold gown from the costume ball)
urged and pressured Robie into admitting that he was in love with
her; he obliged her by repeating what she had dictated to him: "Without
you, I couldn't have done it. I needed the help of a woman. I guess
I'm not the lone wolf I thought I was, Francie"
- as they were about to say goodbye, he pulled her arm toward him for
an embrace and kiss; Frances had finally nabbed the slightly-dismayed
Robie - as she triumphantly noted in the last line that she was domesticating
him: "So this is where you live. Oh, Mother will love it up here!"
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Hotel Room Visitor: "My jewels! I've been robbed"
The View of an Actual Black Cat on a Rooftop - a Symbol
of a 'Cat Burglar'
Diversionary Flight From Robie's Cote d'Azur Villa
- Aerial View
Robie Seated On a Bus to Cannes (Director
Hitchcock's Cameo)
Robie with Flirtatious Teenaged Blonde Danielle Foussard (Brigitte
Auber) on a Motorboat
First View of Frances
Stevens (Grace Kelly) on Cannes' Carlton Hotel Beach
Drinks at the Carlton Hotel with Frances and Her Mother Mrs. Stevens
Robie Riding in a Convertible Sports Car with Frances
- For a Picnic Lunch - She asked: "Do you want a leg or a breast?"
Robie Admiring Frances' Jewels (and Other Body Parts)
The Explosive Kissing-Fireworks Sequence
Frances' Confession to Robie: "I'm in love with you"
Robie and Frances Together Kissing in the Closing Scene
at His Cote d'Azur Villa: ("Mother will love it up here")
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