Four weeks later, Hayes had completed a first draft which ran to 212 pages and this was hastily translated into French in order to obtain the necessary filming permits and work permits for the American cast and crew. īy February 23rd, Hayes and Hitchcock had completed a 9 page story outline. Whilst Rear Window was still post-production, Hitchcock arranged for Hayes and his wife to spend two weeks at the Hotel Carlton in Cannes researching the area in preparation for starting the screenplay. Hitchcock had enjoyed working with John Michael Hayes on Rear Window and the screenwriter was hired to write To Catch a Thief towards the end of 1953. Hitchcock was able to profit by selling on the story rights of To Catch a Thief to Paramount for $105,000. In 1954, Hitchcock's agent Lew Wasserman negotiated the director's new contract with Paramount which included four projects to which Hitchcock owned the story rights - Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, and The Man Who Knew Too Much. In need of a stage-bound project to accommodate the bulky 3D cameras, Hitchcock selected to film an adaptation of Frederick Knott's stage play Dial M for Murder. but the studio wasn't keen on either project and instead pushed for him to direct a film in 3D.
With Transatlantic on hold, Hitchcock was under contract to Warner Bros. In early 1953, Sidney Bernstein decided that Transatlantic had lost too much money and he stepped down from the partnership.
Cary Grant was approached to star as the retired jewel thief and he tentatively agreed, despite his plans to retire from acting. At the time filming finished on I Confess towards the end of 1952, Hitchcock already had two proposed projects lined up for Transatlantic Pictures: first an adaptation of David Duncan's 1948 novel The Bramble Bush and then an adaptation of David Dodge's latest novel, To Catch a Thief, for which the director had purchased the rights for $15,000 in December 1951.
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