Could it be that all modern romances draw not from the tender love scenes in “Casablanca” and “Gone With the Wind” but from Alfred Hitchcock’s “To Catch a Thief,” which contains a moment so lovely to look at and so passion filmed that it’s hard to believe Hitchcock could ever have filmed it?
The scene in question is in a darkened hotel room along the French Riviera, with fireworks in the background and the glorious Grace Kelly beckoning in a stunning white dress to a resistant but suave and certain Cary Grant. She’s desperate to inflame his passion and his weakness for jewelry and beauty, and with each mysterious and aloof remark to pull himself away, she draws him back in with her infectious and seductive understanding of him. The orchestrations are sprawling, the lighting is soft, and the image is perfect. Continue reading “Rapid Response: To Catch a Thief”