The 1955 Hitchcock thriller is perhaps not as revered as Psycho, Vertigo or Rear Window but it is a stylish, witty affair and the chemistry between Grace Kelly and Cary Grant is an absolute joy. It is a beautifully crafted film, a timepiece of a post-war, pre-60s Europe and it is the next film to place its head on the remake block.
The original works primarily because the thriller aspect, former thief John Robie (a dapper Grant) tries to catch a mysterious burglar who apes his criminal style while fending off the police, his former Resistance pals and the advances of Jessie Royce Landis who is combing the French Riviera to find a suitor for her daughter (Grace Kelly), is secondary to the emerging and playfully duplicitous love affair between its two leads.
Why am I waxing lyrical about this treasured film now? The title of the post gives it away somewhat but to recap: Latino Review (via The Playlist) spoke to screenwriter Josh Stolberg, who said on the Paramounted revival:
I wrote, with Bobby [Florsheim], a remake of ‘To Catch a Thief’ for Paramount. Neal Moritz is producing, and it’s exciting because it’s one of my favourite Hitchcock movies and it was fun to come at it from a different angle – make it a little bit more modern and ‘gadgety.’ It’s the first script that I’ve ever written that [encompasses] a lot of heists and action sequences and.. it was a blast!
I’m really excited. We just turned in the script to the studio a couple of months ago and they’re working on casting now. It takes place in Santarini…it’s a travelogue of the most amazing places on Earth…it’s gonna be a fun, fun ride I think.
If there’s one thing the Hitchcock film was missing it was gadgets. Just like Vertigo was missing Clowns or Psycho was missing Colour. Mildly indignant feelings aside I can see a Greek set thrill ride in the vein of The Tourist, or a brighter touchstone may be the 1999 John McTiernan remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. Good luck finding leads to match Kelly and Grant.
Open minds are being prepared to cope with the continuing saga, and until the Blu-ray of the Hitchcock classic comes out I’d suggest you stop on over at the always superb Clothes on Film for their take on the equation Grace Kelly + Clothes = stylistic awesomeness.
