Hitchcock has said that To Catch a Thief is a lightweight story. But, though the story may be so, Hitchcock’s masterful touch helps to raise the quality of the film. What I mean is that his shot choices add a great deal of value not only to the aesthetic of the film, but to the meaning within the story. He chooses shots that have multiple layers (The cops coming in Bertani’s restaurant, Robie at the stairs when the cops are in the house), and he also reveals character through these shots (He places Robie in between Frances and Danielle in the Riviera and funeral scenes), thus giving a depth to the story that might not be there in someone else’s hands.
There is also the element of suspense, which Hitchcock is known for. In this case he uses it quite masterfully to introduce Gene Kelly’s character, Frances, to Cary Grant’s, Robie. He shoots in such a manner that we aren’t sure she’s even interested in him, then when she kisses him we are caught off guard, but we get this really great feeling of understanding exactly what Robie just experienced. This is a subtle, well thought out touch that allows Kelly’s character to change dramatically and still allow her to be grounded and truthful.
To withhold that Bertani is the true mastermind behind the robberies until the very end is very clearly a signature Hitchcock choice, completing the suspense and uncertainty of who did it even to the very end of the film.
