[Accessory Reel] To Catch a Thief (1955) — Glamour, Grapes & Cat Burglars

With a chilled Blush wine in hand, Tata and Mamie bask in the Riviera sun, following Cary Grant’s debonair jewel thief and Grace Kelly’s flawless frocks. They sip, swoon, and sass through car chases and champagne, wondering aloud: is it possible to catch a thief… or just fall hopelessly for him?

• Film: To Catch a Thief (1955) a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and staring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. The story follows John Robie, a retired jewel thief, who sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.
• Wine Pairing: 2022 Blush by Bogati Winery & Bodega

Follow and interact with us on:

• Instagram: booby.trap.podcast
• X: @BoobyTrapPodcst
• Facebook: The Booby Trap Podcast
• YouTube: @BoobyTrapPodcast
• Spotify playlists: Booby Trap Podcast

To Catch a Thief (1955) Silk, Smoke & Stolen Jewels: The Allure of To Catch a Thief

On the Riviera, nothing glitters without a shadow—and even the cat has secrets.

The French Riviera shimmers beneath the summer sun. Champagne chills on marble terraces. And somewhere, a thief slips through open windows, leaving nothing but perfume and panic behind.

In this episode, we follow the elegant trail of Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief (1955), a seductive blend of mystery, romance, and visual splendor. Told through cinematic storytelling, we step into the espadrilles of John Robie—the infamous “Cat”—as he evades suspicion, stalks a copycat criminal, and finds himself tangled in the jewels and games of a dazzling heiress, played with razor-edged charm by Grace Kelly.

We examine how Hitchcock turns the crime caper into a slow-burning tango of attraction, identity, and reinvention. From rooftop chases to masked balls, from stolen gems to whispered confessions, we unpack how To Catch a Thief plays with gender roles, postwar privilege, and the idea that sometimes, to escape your past... you have to steal a future.

Settle in with a glass of chilled blush or rose, and join us on the Riviera—where every shadow tells a story, and the quietest night hides the cleverest thief.

• Film: To Catch a Thief (1955) a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and staring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. The story follows John Robie, a retired jewel thief, who sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.
• Wine Pairing: 2022 Blush by Bogati Winery & Bodega

Follow and interact with us on:

• Instagram: booby.trap.podcast
• X: @BoobyTrapPodcst
• Facebook: The Booby Trap Podcast
• YouTube: @BoobyTrapPodcast
• Spotify playlists: Booby Trap Podcast

Lace, Lies & Lethal Wine: Unpacking Arsenic and Old Lace

In a Brooklyn house of doilies and death, the sweetest ladies serve the deadliest brew.

On Halloween night, the Brewster house glows with jack-o’-lantern charm—but behind the lace curtains, a sinister kindness brews. In this episode, we descend into the darkly delightful chaos of Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), where murder wears a smile and madness is a family tradition.

Told in cinematic narrative, we unpack Frank Capra’s macabre comedy through the eyes of Mortimer Brewster, a writer who uncovers that his beloved aunts are serial killers—with manners. As bodies pile up in the cellar and long-lost brothers return with surgical tools and delusions of grandeur, the film blurs the line between sanity and showmanship, love and lunacy.

We explore Cary Grant’s iconic physical comedy, the play’s theatrical roots, and how the film show the film depicts female serial killers. Why do audiences laugh when bodies are buried in the basement? And how does the film use cozy tropes—afternoon tea, polite conversation, family dinners—to expose the absurdity of violence in plain sight?

Pour a cup (just… don’t drink it), and join us for a tale of deception, devotion, and dashes of arsenic—all told in velvet tones, with a deadly wink.

• Film: Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) a film directed by Frank Capra and staring Cary Grant. The story follows Mortimer Brewster, a Brooklyn writer of books on the futility of marriage, risks his reputation after he decides to tie the knot. Things grow complicated when he learns that his beloved maiden aunts Abby and Martha are serial murderers.
• Wine Pairing: Blueberry wine by Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant

Follow and interact with us on:

• Instagram: booby.trap.podcast
• X: @BoobyTrapPodcst
• Facebook: The Booby Trap Podcast
• YouTube: @BoobyTrapPodcast
• Spotify playlists: Booby Trap Podcast