Grace Kelly

To Catch a Thief (Special Collector’s Edition)

  • Title: To Catch a Thief
  • IMDb: link

“I’m in love with you.”
“Now that’s a ridiculous thing to say.”

To Catch a Thief (Special Collector’s Edition)A new string of burglaries along the French Rivieria prompt police to suspect the notorious John Robie (Cary Grant) has returned to his life of crime. The trouble is Robie is innocent. However no one, not the police nor his former friends, will believe him. With the help of an insurance agent (John Willliams) Robie hatches a plan to catch the thief in the act and clear his name.

Our retired thief cleverly insinuates himself into the lives of a wealthy widow (Jessie Royce Landis) and her beautiful daughter Fraces (Grace Kelly) knowing that their jewels will be on the list of the imposter. What he doesn’t anticipate is Frances recognizing him as the Cat and still being attracted to him.

In terms of enjoyment and escapism there are few films as well made as this one.  Though not on the level of some of Alfred Hitchcock‘s more important films like Psycho or Rear Window (also starring Grace Kelly, read that review) aside from North By Northwest it’s the most fun film the great director ever made.

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The Great Films – Rear Window

  • Title: Rear Window
  • IMDb: link

“Are you interested in solving this case or in making me look foolish?”
“Well, if possible, both.”

With the recent release of Disturbia I thought this would be a good time to introduce a new feature and take a look back at the film which it pays homage to.  Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is considered one of the director’s finest films by both critics (it earned a 100% Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes and ranked #42 on AFI’s 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time) and fans (at the time of this review it ranks #16 on IMDB’s Top 250 Films of All Time).

Alfred Hitchcock, ah, there was a man who knew how to tell a tale.  The joy in Rear Window is the simplicity.  One man looking into the windows of his neighbors discovers a little about them, and a little about himself, and uncovers what he believes is evidence of cold-blooded murder.  It’s a film of slow revelations, of constant building tension, of troubled relationships, and of learning the truth about yourself as well as your neighbors.  If you enjoy suspense then you could search long and hard trying to find a flick better than this one.

Stuck at home with a broken leg, photojournalist L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart) begins to examine the world around him finding numerous worlds in the apartments across the courtyard.  Over the past six weeks these strangers have become his form of entertainment and his only way to experience the outside world.

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