Harrison's Reports (1955)

114 HARRISON'S REPORTS July 16, 1955 "To Catch a Thief" with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly (Paramount, September; time, 106 min) Filmed mostly on the beautiful Riviera in Technicolor and Vista Vision, "To Catch a Thief" is a thoroughly satisfying mystery-comedy-romance, one that should go over in a big way with adult audiences. Alfred Hitchcock has not endowed the action with as much suspense as one might expect in a picture produced and directed by him; nevertheless, its story of a one'time jewel robber who sets out to establish his innocence by catching a thief who was using his technique is tight and swiftly-paced, and constantly offers dramatic and comical developments. Cary Grant, long absent from the screen, makes an auspicious return as the former thief who becomes the chief suspect as a result of a series of jewel thefts. Grace Kelly is equally good as a head-strong American heiress who falls in love with him but suspects him of hoodwinking her after her mother's jewels are stolen. Much of the urbane and sophisticated dialogue owes its scintillating quality to the fine delivery and acting of both Grant and Miss Kelly. The supporting players, too, are outstanding; each delivers a believable and well-rounded characterization. The photography is excellent, and the beautiful Riviera backgrounds are a treat to the eye: — Grant, a former jewel theif known to the French police as "The Cat," had been one of a group of convicts who had escaped from jail during the Nazi occupation and who had joined the French Resistance. After the war, all were allowed to go their various ways so long as they behaved. Grant's peaceful life of retirement in a coastal villa is suddenly disrupted when he finds that the police suspected him of committing a series of jewel thefts that had broken out in and around Cannes. He manages to elude capture and makes his way to Cannes, where Charles Vanel, owner of a fashionable restaurant and a former leader of the French underground, helps him to be spirited away to a beach club in a motorboat driven by Brigitte Auber, an attractive young girl, who had long had a crush on him. Through Vanel, Grant makes contact with John Williams, an insurance company investigator, who furnishes him with a list of the top jewel owners in the area, in order that he may catch his imitator at work and thus clear himself of suspicion. Williams even introduces Grant as a wealthy American lumber man to Jessie Royce Landis, a rich American widow, and Grace Kelly, her daughter, who were among his company's top jewel clients. A romance develops between Grace and Grant, but his movements arouse her suspicions and she soon guesses his true identity. This knowledge does not affect her love for him, but when her mother's jewels disappear, she accuses him of the theft and turns cold toward him. Her mother, however, believes in his innocence and allows him to escape from the police. In the course of events, Grant finds reason to believe that his friend, Vanel, was behind the robberies, and that he would next strike at a big costume ball, for which he had been engaged as the caterer. He persuades Grace to attend the ball with him in costume and, after making sure that he had been spotted by the police guarding the wealthy guests, sees to it that Williams, dressed in a similar costume, changes places with him so that he might be free to keep an eye on Vanel's movements. He hides out on the roof and, shortly after the guests retire, he traps Birgette as she stealthily makes off with a bag of jewels. The police spot both of them and, in the desperate struggle to escape, Brigette makes a near-fatal leap and is about to drop to her death below. Grant clutches her by hand in the nick of time, but before he hauls her to safety he makes her confess to the police below that she had committed the different thefts and that she was in league with Vanel. It all ends with Grace apologizing to Grant for suspecting him and persuading him to marry her. It was produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, from a screenplay by John Michael Hayes, based on the novel by David Dodge. Adult fare. "The Night Holds Terror" with Jack Kelly and Hildy Parks (Columbia, August; time, 86 min.) Well produced, directed and acted, this program melodrama is a spine-tingling thriller. Although it is lacking in marquee names, it might very well prove to be a "sleeper" because of favorable word-ofmouth advertising. The story, which is based on a true-life happening, centers around the frightening experience undergone by a young couple and their two children when a trio of sadistic gangesters take over their household and, under threat of killing one or more members of the family, force the husband to sell his car for cash and later hold him for ransom when they learn that his father is a wealthy businessman. The story idea is somewhat similar to "Suddenly," which starred Frank Sinatra, and to the legitimate Broadway play, "The Desperate Hours," which has been produced as a film by Paramount but has not yet been scheduled for release. But though the story is not novel, the action, thanks to Andrew Stone's creditable direction and the smooth continuity of his screenplay, is packed with suspense from start to finish and holds the spectator taut throughout. A highly interesting aspect is the intelligent use made by the police of a telephone company's facilities to track down the gangesters without endangering the life of the kidnapped husband. The players are not well known but all act so well that they are believable in whatever they do or say : — While driving home, Jack Kelly, an aircraft worker, picks up Vince Edwards, a hitch-hiker, who forces him at gunpoint to drive to a desolate spot for a meeting with John Cassavetes and David Cross, his confederates. The three hoodlums are enraged when they find only ten dollars in Kelly's wallet. They threaten to kill him but reconsider when he offers to get them more money by selling his car for cash. Because the auto dealer could not raise immediate cash until his bank opened in the morning, the gangsters force Kelly to drive them to his home, where they hold him, his wife (Hildy Parks) and their two children as hostages. The family spends a night of terror at the hands of the sadistic gangsters. On the following morning, one of them accompanies Kelly to obtain the cash for his car. To ensure a safe getaway, the gangsters decide to take Kelly along with them and warn Hildy that they will kill him if she notifies the police before they clear out of town. Hildy promises to keep her silence provided Kelly telephones her one-half hour after they drive off. As they head out of town, the thugs discover that Kelly is the son of a wealthy businessman and decide to hold him for $200,000 ransom. They telephone Hildy, notify her of their intentions and inform her that they will call