William Deyesso is a Massachusetts entrepreneur who serves as chief executive officer of Royal Administration Services. A theater enthusiast who enjoys the works of Shakespeare, William Deyesso also has a passion for classic movies. Among the most famous Hollywood films of the mid-1950s is Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief.
Representing the British director’s first widescreen feature and filmed in Technicolor, To Catch a Thief took full advantage of a scenic locale in the French Riviera. The movie represents a return to form by Cary Grant, who at age 51 had been retired from acting for two years. Having starred in Hitchcock’s 1941 thriller Suspicion, as well as 1945’s Notorious, Grant returned to the big screen for the chance to experience one of the world’s most iconic Mediterranean locales and reunite with the master of suspense.
Joining Grant on the Côte d’Azur was Grace Kelly, who filled the requirements for Hitchcock’s archetypal blonde and had appeared in the director’s recent previous films Rear Window and Dial M for Murder. She later returned to this locale as princess of the Kingdom of Monaco.
A masterwork of cinematography that features its coastal scenery front and center, To Catch a Thief was a major hit. With its unique mix of glamour, adventure, romance, and underlying dread, the film effectively captured a side of Hitchcock that, while less shocking, was more human and approachable to many viewers.
