TO CATCH A THIEF (1955), dir. Alfred Hitchcock

Although he’s been billed as “the Master of Suspense,” Hitchcock is equally adept at fashioning pure escapist entertainment that celebrates its stars and setting. Indeed, “To Catch a Thief,” which stars Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, is exactly the type of confection that charms and disarms you while you watch it, but doesn’t haunt your sleep the way “Vertigo" does.

The movie stars Grant as John Robie, a retired jewel thief content to prowl about his villa in the south of France. Nicknamed “The Cat,” he once spent time in prison, but found redemption by joining the French resistance during World War II. Although he claims to be out of the game, when a string of diamond thefts begins exciting the local populace, both cops and former comrades immediately suspect “The Cat,” prompting him to try catching the thief himself.

Robie hatches a plan with an ex-war buddy turned restaurant owner: Figure out who the next victim is likely to be, stake them out, and catch the suspect in the act. Inevitably, this brings him into the orbit of a wealthy American widow (Jessie Landis) and her very pretty daughter Frances. As played by Grace Kelly, Frances seems like exactly the kind of icy Hitchcock blonde whose romantic advances are immediately suspect, but oh-so-impossible to resist.

So Robie poses as a lumber magnate from Oregon, which is about as believable as Cary Grant playing a former French resistance fighter. As for the young socialite, she takes a fancy to him immediately, which should have sent up red flags if not for the fact she looks like Grace Kelly. There’s tangible chemistry between the two, but is it just his suave good looks, charm and money that attract her, or something else? Admittedly, it is fun watching Robie reacting to a surprisingly strong-willed woman who, as he puts it, "is used to getting what she wants," especially since in most Hitchcock movies, it's the male lead who's obsessed with the blonde female.

Is he still playing her, or is it the other way around? Such questions, however, make “To Catch a Thief” sound much more complicated and serious than it really is. Even though Hitchcock executes the plot efficiently, and there’s even a twist some viewers may not see coming, and even with his directorial trademarks like sleight of hand present and accounted for, the movie adds up to little more than a series of postcards of the south of France, some pretty costumes and witty dialogue between two Hollywood legends.

But if a lark is what you want in a movie, by all means, go for this. Please enjoy the scenery, which won Robert Burks the Best Cinematography Oscar in 1956.

Overall rating: ***

THRONE OF BLOOD (1957), dir. Akira Kurosawa

I’m actually not very familiar with the films of Akira Kurosawa, but I enjoyed “Throne of Blood,” which is basically “Macbeth” transplanted to feudal Japan. The plot revolves around two great warriors who are told their fortunes by a forest spirit: one of them, Washizu, is destined to become lord of “Spider Web Castle,” a mighty fortress (and the Japanese name of the movie). This is also the destiny of the other man’s son.

Anyone who knows “Macbeth” can figure out the trajectory of “Throne of Blood,” even if there’s very little of Shakespeare’s dialogue. Expect ambition, betrayal, paranoia, more betrayal, madness, revenge, and a Lady Macbeth-type character who eggs her husband on to commit terrible deeds, but isn’t afraid to get her own hands dirty, too. A Macduff equivalent is nowhere to be found, but the forest spirit does tell the main character he won’t die until the “very trees rise up against him.”

Like I said, I’m not especially familiar with the director, and this is the first Kurosawa film from the 50’s I’ve seen. But judged on its own merits, I can say the best features of “Throne of Blood” are its eerie atmosphere and performances by a strong cast. Supposedly, Kurosawa was influenced by Japanese Noh Theatre: there is a chorus, as well as scenes of disquieting silence, broken by brief outbursts of drum and flute.

As in Noh, you also have the magical spirit wearing a mask and expressing its emotions through the positioning of the head as opposed to moving the face. It may sound low-tech, but believe me when I say: it has the total opposite effect as hokey-ness.

Finally, there were a number of scenes, particularly inside Spider Web Castle, in which I felt as if I were watching theatre instead of a film, scenes in which all the action seemingly took place within a limited area directly in front of the camera. There were also moments in which actor Toshiro Mifune, portraying the doomed Washizu, reveals his terror by flinging himself backwards against the nearest wall. These felt particularly stagy.

Of course, this is not to say anyone in the cast gives a bad performance, especially not Mifune or Isuzu Yamada, who made for an especially cold and calculating Lady Washizu. In fact, after the most spectacular sequence in “Throne of Blood” – Lord Washizu being shot at by his own archers – I would pay good money to see the actor portray deer-in-the-headlights-style blind fear in a movie anytime.

Kurosawa and Mifune teamed up for many films in the 50’s and 60’s, some of which are considered classics. After the experience of watching “Throne of Blood,” I’d be interested in seeing them.

Overall rating: ****