To Catch a Thief / Le Main Au Collet (1955)

Cary Grant had stepped away from films when Hitchcock coaxed him back to play John Robie, the reformed cat burglar of the Riviera. Robert Burks's VistaVision photography of the coast won the Academy Award for colour cinematography, and the film did more for the Côte d'Azur than any tourist board. Grace Kelly first met Prince Rainier of Monaco that same year, at a photo shoot arranged during the Cannes Film Festival; they married in 1956 and she never made another film. Edith Head dressed her for the role, and the gold gown of the masquerade ball remains one of the most admired costumes of the decade. Hitchcock, as ever, slips in a cameo, sitting beside Grant on a bus.

This French Grande, with artwork by Boris Grinsson, is the first printing by Cinemato from 1955, made for the film’s original French release as La Main au collet. First printings of this design are exceptionally rare. Linen-backed.

• Year: 1955
• Nationality: France
• Condition: Linen-backed
• Type: Original French Grande (first printing, Cinemato)
• Size: 47 x 63 inches
• Product Code: T6995