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: ***