To Catch a Thief "The New Yorker" dismissed the film as "an Alfred Hitchcock picture that makes you wonder what has happened to the man ... As the heiress, Grace Kelly is very pretty. She does not, presumably, try to act." "The Monthly Film Bulletin" wrote, "Even a comedy thriller needs considerably more in the way of plain excitement and tension than "To Catch a Thief" provides, and Hitchcock's celebrated habit of playing tricks with the audience ... seem a poor substitute for the real thing." "The Guardian" called the film "a thorough disappointment," writing that Hitchcock had "failed so completely that one can
To Catch a Thief (novel) The police are cracking down, threatening to send all the old ex-prisoners back to prison. The thief is using Robie's methods, so Robie can help them catch the thief, and get the police off their backs. Jean-Pierre disguises Robie as a pudgy, middle-aged man. As "Jack Burns", vacationing American businessman, Robie scouts Riviera nightclubs and casinos. He identifies three likely targets for the new "Le Chat": Mrs. Stevens, the Souzas, and the Sanfords. He works out "Le Chat"-style plans for burgling their residences. Unfortunately, Mrs. Stevens becomes attached to "Burns". He stands next to her in a casino (to study