The intelligent, exciting, theatrical, but moody, downbeat crime drama-thriller (and melodramatic film noir) was adapted from Maxwell Anderson""s 1939 Broadway stage play by director John Huston and Richard Brooks.The film""s title,To Catch a Thief, was based upon the ancient proverb: "Set a thief to catch a hief," with double meanings regarding a double-chase.[Note: It is fairly clear at this point that the malevolent, manipulative Gregory is responsible for its absence, not Paula, although he is persuasive in convincing her of her culpability.I told him so...You gotta watch out for that sun.It""s rough...You blood""s too thin.That""s the trouble with a lot of Easterners.Meanwhile, she ordered the Mexican house-maid Petra to bring Leslie""s breakfast to her on a tray.Leslie asserted herself: "Oh, I""m fine, Luz.I""m a lot tougher, perhaps, han you think I am." Luz boasted competitively about her own hardiness and toughness in the harsh and lonely environment of Texas, where Leslie obviously didn""t seem to fit in:Me.When Edna heard something, she went to look for Harold and was spooked by a white rat.From behind, a hand grabbed her mouth, and her own previously-missing knitting needle was pierced into the back of her head(# 2 death), causing her to gag and slowly fall dead.