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To Catch a Thief

To Catch a Thief

Mystery · Romance · Thriller · 1955

When a string of jewel robberies hits the French Riviera, suspicion falls on retired thief John “The Cat” Robie. To clear his name, he sets out to trap the copycat himself—entangling a wealthy widow and her beguiling daughter in a seductive game of pursuit, deception, and desire.

Movie details

To Catch a Thief

“WANTED by the police in all the luxury-spots of Europe!... A catch for any woman!”

1955 Mystery · Romance · Thriller 1h 46m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

When a string of jewel robberies hits the French Riviera, suspicion falls on retired thief John “The Cat” Robie. To clear his name, he sets out to trap the copycat himself—entangling a wealthy widow and her beguiling daughter in a seductive game of pursuit, deception, and desire.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over To Catch a Thief?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Suspicion

Suspicion

Mystery · 1941

A sheltered heiress falls for a charming playboy and elopes with him, but soon discovers his gambling vice and mounting debts. As his lies deepen and those around them meet mysterious ends, she begins to suspect that her husband’s affection may conceal a deadly motive—and that she could be his next victim.

Vertigo

Vertigo

Mystery · 1958

A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

Night Train to Lisbon

Night Train to Lisbon

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Safe Haven

Safe Haven

Romance · 2013

A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Very Foul Play

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Very Foul Play

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At a gathering of mystery and true crime fans, Aurora Teagarden’s nephew, Phillip, is accused of murder when an unplanned onstage blackout during the play in which he is performing ends, revealing Phillip holding the bloody knife that has just killed one of the other performers. 12th installment in Aurora Teagarden Mysteries

Shadow of a Doubt

Shadow of a Doubt

Thriller · 1943

In sleepy Santa Rosa, restless young Charlie’s world brightens when her sophisticated Uncle Charlie arrives for a long visit. But as his behavior grows increasingly strange, she begins to suspect that her beloved uncle may be hiding a terrible secret—and that danger has quietly entered her home.

23 Paces to Baker Street

23 Paces to Baker Street

Crime · 1956

Philip Hannon, a blind playwright living in London, overhears part of a conversation , that leads him into a desperate race, to find a kidnapped child. When he gets no help from the police, he along with his butler, and his ex fiancée, attempt to track down the crooks.

Harper

Harper

Mystery · 1966

Harper is a cynical private eye in the best tradition of Bogart. He even has Bogie's Baby hiring him to find her missing husband, getting involved along the way with an assortment of unsavory characters and an illegal-alien smuggling ring.

Terror by Night

Terror by Night

Mystery · 1946

Holmes and Watson board a passenger train bound from London to Edinburgh, to guard the Star of Rhodesia, an enormous diamond worth a fortune belonging to an elderly woman of wealth; but within the first hour of the trip, the woman's son is murdered and the diamond stolen and any of the passengers in their car could be the killer thief.

The Drowning Pool

The Drowning Pool

Thriller · 1975

Harper is brought to Louisiana to investigate an attempted blackmail scheme. He soon finds out that it involves an old flame of his and her daughter. He eventually finds himself caught in a power struggle between the matriarch of the family and a greedy oil baron, who wants their property. Poor Harper! Things are not as straight-forward as they initially appeared.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Alfred Hitchcock

Written by

John Michael Hayes

Cary Grant

Cary Grant

John Robie

Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly

Frances Stevens

Jessie Royce Landis

Jessie Royce Landis

Jessie Stevens

John Williams

John Williams

H. H. Hughson

Charles Vanel

Charles Vanel

Bertani

Brigitte Auber

Brigitte Auber

Danielle Foussard

Jean Martinelli

Jean Martinelli

Foussard

Court is in session

Put To Catch a Thief on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.