To Catch a Thief was "strong on sight and performance values" though it had "some plot weaknesses and is not as smooth in the unfolding as one might expect from an upper 'A' presentation." "Harrison's Reports" wrote, "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." Richard L. Coe of "The Washington Post" called it
A Thief in the Night (film) film, bringing rock music and elements of horror film to a genre then-dominated by family-friendly evangelicalism. A quarter century later, the authors of the broadly successful "Left Behind" series of books and films have acknowledged their debt to "Thief". Indeed, even the title "Left Behind" echoes the refrain of Norman's theme song for "A Thief in the Night", "I Wish We'd All Been Ready," in which he sings, "There's no time to change your mind, the Son has come and you've been left behind." A Thief in the Night (film) A Thief in the Night is a 1972 evangelical Christian