Paramount Home Entertainment has released two more classic movies on DVD as part of it’s Centennial Collection- The Odd Couple starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, and To Catch A Thief starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.
“The Odd Couple” began as a play written by Neil Simon that was performed on Broadway starting in 1965, starring Walter Matthau as Oscar and Art Carney as Felix. Later in the show’s run, Jack Klugman took over the role of Oscar. In 1968, the play was made into a movie starring Walter Matthau as Oscar, and Jack Lemmon as Felix.
Felix is compulsively clean and fastidious, while Oscar takes the word “slob” to a whole new level. Despite these differences, they are friends, and when Felix’s wife kicks him out, he moves in with the already-divorced Oscar. Oscar trys to involve Felix in his social life, inviting him to his poker party (Felix makes drinks and sandwiches for everyone instead) and enlisting his help in wooing their upstairs neighbors, the Pigeon Sisters (Felix trades divorce stories with them instead). Ultimately, Felix learns to loosen up and Oscar learns to think about his responsibilities. The first DVD has a commentary from Charlie Matthau and Chris Lemmon, and the second Disc has five featurettees plus production galleries and the original theatrical trailer.
To Catch A Thief is one of Alfred Hitchcock’s lighter movies. Cary Grant is John Robie, a former cat burglar living in the French Riviera who finds that someone is committing robberies using his old style, which brings suspicion on him. He needs to find the thief and keep him from robbing anyone else. When wealthy Jessie and Francie Stevens (Grace Kelly) come to the Riviera for vacation, dripping with diamonds, Robie tries to warn them of the potential thief but when Jessie’s jewels are stolen anyway, he and Francie play a cat-and-mouse game of their own.
I had never seen this movie before, but reviews on Amazon indicate that this DVD has restored the original, removing scratches and brightening the picture considerably. I can say that scenes like a car chase down a mountain and a meeting in a flower market are certainly vibrant. And Grace Kelly is stunning in her first scene, wearing a powder-blue filmy ball gown. You can see why she became a Princess! The first disc has a commentary by a Hitchcock Film Historian, and there’s a second disc packed with ‘making of” featurettes and other information.
Both movies are available from Amazon.com, The Odd Couple is $18.99 and To Catch a Thief is $18.49. Add them to your classic movie collection today!
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