To Catch a Thief

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)