Hollywood produced a lot of actresses – every one of them had a destiny of their own.
Grace Kelly is mainly known for her films with Alfred Hitchcock (“Rear Window”, 1954): Hitchcock was impressed by the princess-to-be and without her, a number of Hitchcock’s films are unimaginable from today’s perspective.
Very often, the suspense in Hitchcock’s films comes from the acting performances of the actors and actresses.
One could say that Hitchcock didn’t invest the budget of a film in a lot of different locations and special effects but in the actors and actresses.
This is also the reason why some of his films not only remind the viewer of a theater play – some of his films are picturised theater plays.
Hitchcock without Kelly? Kelly without Hitchcock? Hardly possible.
In “Rear Window“, Grace Kelly portrays a socialite who is helping her partner to solve a crime and puts herself in danger by doing that. In “Dial M for Murder“, she portrays the unsuspecting wife of a criminal.
She’s never the only star in a movie, but she always takes center stage because the plot depends on her characters.
Just as in the movie “To Catch a Thief“ (1955): Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly) gets to know the protagonist John Robie (Cary Grant) who is a former jewel thief and is therefore suspected to be responsible for a rash of crimes. Stevens not only gets to know the former thief, she is falling in love with him. At the same time, she mistrusts him until the end of the movie.
This mistrust renders the viewer uncertain whether Robie is responsible for the crimes or not. Naturally, the viewer is getting influenced by Stevens’ mistrust while watching the film.
With the aid of Kelly’s acting experience, Hitchcock manages to ratchet up the suspense of the movie “To Catch a Thief“.
Princess Grace de Monaco
After her acting career and winning a rash of awards for her work, she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. She decided to marry him and became princess and de-facto a sovereign of Monaco.
Grace Kelly, who was called Gracia Patricia from now on, identified herself completely with her new role as a sovereign.
Princess Grace still is an idol for a lot of people and concerning fashion and style, she exerts influence until today.
For instance, the manufacturer of writing instruments Montblanc carries a Princess-Grace-de-Monaco-collection which is inspired by the actress and Princess of Monaco. | Read more on culture.