To Catch a Thief

To Catch A Thief is beloved by generations of avid crime and mystery/thriller readers. For many, the title is synonmous with the Oscar-winning film adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock for Paramount Pictures filmed in VistaVision in 1955.

The film is based on the 1952 novel by American mystery writer David Dodge (1910-1974) which tells the story of John Robie, an American expatriate who is trying to live a quiet life in a villa, which he audaciously names Villa des Bijoux (Villa of the Jewels) in the South of France.

Setting: The French Riviera, 1955. John Robie, a retired jewel thief known as ‘Le Chat’, now living quietly near Cannes after being granted amnesty for fighting with the Maquis during the War, is forced out of retirement to find a copycat burglar who has surfaced imitating his larcenous past. Every pick-pocket and petty thief on the French Riviera is being rounded up by the police, including Robie’s wartime comrades. A spanner is thrown into his plans to quickly uncover this unwelcome copycat when he meets a rich American tourist, Francie Stevens, who becomes his unwitting ally.

For a man trying to leave his past behind, Robie is confronted with the dilemma of reliving his notorious past whilst trying to protect his Maquis friends from being framed for heists he is believed to have committed whilst falling in love with Francie to whom he cannot reveal his true identity.