Charade

Quality seeping from every genre pore.

Charade is directed by Stanley Donen, written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, and stars Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. It also features Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Dominique Minot, Ned Glass, and Jacques Marin. It's shot on location in Paris with Charles Lang on cinematography and Henry Mancini provides the score - where his memorable theme tune was Oscar nominated.

When her husband is murdered, just prior to seeking a divorce from him, Regina Lampert (Hepburn) finds herself pursued by a number of men who seem to think she knows the location of a quarter of a million dollars in stolen loot. Of all the men who are now thrust into her life, it's the handsome Peter Joshua (Grant) who she trusts and sides with. Trouble is, is that his name keeps changing and she's finding it difficult to determine who exactly are the good guys and who are the bad guys - especially as the corpses start to mount up.

Pure Hollywood entertainment featuring two of its most endearing and classy performers, Charade shows how a multi genre spliced film should be made. It's rare to find a film that works on all levels, as a comedy, a thriller and a romance. But thanks to the astute direction from Donen, Charade comes up trumps whilst also oozing an elegant sheen about it. That Grant & Hepburn have charisma in abundance is something of a given, but they are given a quality script to work from and a Hitchcockian plot to revel in. It has been said from some critical quarters that there is no peril in Charade, thus its reputation is not entirely lived up to. Yes we can say it's a playful movie, but it's meant to be, pretty much like "North By Northwest" is. Yet the peril exists, lest we forget a great rooftop fight and the last quarter of the movie as we follow our hurried protagonists through the Parisian underground - and on to a memorable encounter at a theatre. Or what about a metal handed George Kennedy putting the pressure on, o...

Audrey Hepburn's acting is simply lovely and her clothes gorgeous. I loved the way old movies were made, simple, slow passed, no running around or blowing entire buildings, just the old way of telling stories. This way I got to meet all characters, like them, laugh at them and be happy with their ending. And Regina is such an elegant, feminine, brave lady that I'd hoped to be when older. In sum a wonderful movie.

Style, class, elegance, an intriguing mystery and a pleasant game of lies and half-truths in a film that deserves to be considered a great classic.

Some say this movie is the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made, and it's true. The iconic director didn't make this film, he wasn't even connected to the production, but his influence and style are very present here. The director, Stanley Donan, may possibly have been fond of the master. Maybe, I don't know. It doesn't matter, the director does a good job and the movie is good.

The center of the film is the murder of a man who leaves a young wife bankrupt when she used to live a luxurious life. In the following days, she discovers that her husband was not who he claimed to be, and that he was probably killed because of his own greed: after all, he had appropriated a huge amount of money stolen years before by himself and three other accomplices who will want their share now. Meanwhile, she is also contacted by the CIA and an agile, sly gentleman, who may also be unreliable. By the way, in this film, it is really difficult to know who is telling the truth.

The film has all the makings of a great classic, and is a regular on a number of television channels dedicated to old and classic films. It is also considered one of the best in the career of most of the actors involved. The production values are also excellent, and there is a good deal of money in the film: many exterior scenes in recognizable filming locations take advantage of the best that the always elegant Paris has to offer us, from its cathedral to the beauty of the Seine River. The cinematography deserves a close look: there is nothing ingenious, but is done with a lot of talent and technical competence. And the soundtrack? Magnificent.

As always happens, Audrey Hepburn gives us another character full of charm and style, with an aristocratic bearing that the costumes, by Givenchy (her personal friend), emphasize even more. She was, th...

This is a corker of a romantic thriller with both Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn at the top of their game. When her husband is found murdered by the railway line, "Reggie" soon discovers that he wasn't quite the man she had though - Walter Matthau ("Bartholomew") convinces her that he was on the run from the US Government with an huge stash of gold. Enter James Coburn; George Kennedy and Ned Glass who begin to cajole, intimidate and downright threaten her determined to obtain the stash. Grant - her knight in shining armour steps in to protect her from these avaricious hoodlums and the shenanigans begin. Stanley Donen really does get the best from everyone in this gripping, witty and stylishly sexy drama. The writing is subtle and nuanced - we have a thriller in which there is virtually no actual menace, but it still twists and turns and nobody is ever whom they seem/say, The characterisations are engaging, the ending is clever, fun and well worth enjoying again 60 years later.