This film doesn't seem to have received much play in theaters or on TV. And, for its age and number of top stars, it has few viewers, based on IMDb voting as of July 15, 2011. That's too bad, because "Catch Me a Thief" (aka, "To Catch a Thief") is chock full of humorous jabs, funny antics, slapstick, and wonderful spoofs.

One reviewer notes the scene-stealing antics of the female lead, Marlene Jobert. She plays the role of a young woman who is both scatter-brained and clever. She, Kirk Douglas, Tom Courtenay and Patrick Mower have some exceptionally hilarious scenes as their characters romp through spy chases and exchanges. One should be able to see the intended humor and spoofing of this film by the cast and the fun that Douglas, Courtney and Trevor Howard seem to be having in its making.

The time of this film was in the midst of the Cold War. Spy, espionage and Berlin Wall escape movies were frequent. The 1960s defections of British spies to the Soviet Union – most notably Kim Philby, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean – were still fresh in the minds of people at the time. Other security scandals in the U.S., Britain and France gave rise to much ridicule and doubt about their respective spy agencies. Clearly, the writers intended this film as a spy spoof and jab – especially of the British government and its intelligence service.

There are several hilarious scenes with Trevor Howard and the head of British intelligence being interrupted for important messages. They can barely tear themselves away from the trivial games they are playing at the time. Of course, that the heroine is a French niece of Howard, a major British minister, is a subtle jab in itself – of both the Brits and the French. When her husband is arrested on their honeymoon in Romania (another good laugh),the heroine runs to the British embassy, pounds on the door and demands to see the ambassador – as a French- British citizen. Jobert's husband is unknown to her as a corrupt businessman in league with the Soviets. Jobert wants the Brits to exchange a captured Soviet spy for him. While he waits in the relative comfort of his Soviet contact, he pines for the much more lavish comforts of the West.

The first spy exchange scene is a riot, with an outright jab at the Soviets. The Russian spy tries to haul all the material booty he can carry with him. And the final exchange fiasco is one of the funniest "chase" scenes I can recall from decades of movies. The buffoonery of the British and Russians is a riot. All-in-all, "Catch Me a Spy" is a fun, entertaining spoof and parody of espionage and the intelligence services of all sides during the Cold War.

Jobert's Gallic charm radiates through her voice, eyes and mannerisms. Kirk Douglas seems to look disheartened at his role. He appears flat and strained at times. He does have his moments. Douglas tells a very funny joke to Fabièn (Jobert) about Russian researchers determining the age of a mummy.

A few scenes seem stolen from Jobert's Rider On the Rain (of particular note hiding in the closet and being discovered, peering through a shop window). Jobert's comedic talent comes easily and properly dovetails into the serious aspects of the plot. Sir Trevor's scene stealing butler is absolutely hilarious and rivals Tom Courteny's role as the bungling spy. While the plot may seem a tad contrived, it comes across quite well, if one takes the time to relax and be entertained. The ending does leave you with the feeling that there should have been a sequel. Like "Rider On the Rain", her on-screen husband comes across unappreciative of having a loyal and dedicated beauty such as Jobert for a wife. Also reflecting the cold war times , you have lies, counter-lies and disinformation battering the truth.

Overall, you may find yourself watching this movie a few times for the sheer fun of it!

An obscure Cold War spy comedy, despite several recognizable names in the cast, "Catch Me A Spy" is meandering and unfocused for the most part, and there is an entire 20-minute segment, with Kirk Douglas and Marlene Jobert stranded at a remote and closed for the winter hotel, that just stops the movie dead in its tracks. However, the boat chase at the end is pretty good, and on the whole the film is not a bad time-filler, thanks mainly to Jobert; apart from being beautiful and having a fantastic body (or, to put it in her own character's words, "Nobody has ever complained about my legs before!"),she is also cute and charming; while it's true that her heavy French accent makes her hard to understand at times, I found it adorable just the same. ** out of 4.