- Title: Charade
- Director: Stanley Donen
- Date: 1963
- Studio: Universal
- Genre: Suspense, Romance, Mystery
- Cast: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy
- Format: Technicolor, Widescreen
- Format: R1, NTSC
"Any morning now, you could wake-up dead, Mrs. Lambert." -- Threat spoken to Regina
"Being murdered in cold blood is not nonsense! Why don't you try it sometime?" -- Regina to Peter
Audrey Hepburn is Regina Lambert, who returns to her flat in Paris, determined to ask her husband for a divorce, only to find the flat completely empty, the electricity shut off, and a police officer waiting to tell her that her husband has been murdered -- thrown off a train. Shortly thereafter, a man claiming to be from the CIA (Walter Matthau) informs her that her husband was wanted for stealing $250,000 in gold during World War II along with four other men. What follows is a complicated suspense movie of multiple identities, miscellaneous murders, revenge, and a search for the missing money. Cary Grant alone, who keeps showing up around Audrey Hepburn, has at least four names.
This film is directed like a classic Hitchcock film, though the director is actually Stanley Donen - better known for his musicals. There is some romantic tension between Hepburn and Grant as well, but not as much as is typical for a Cary Grant-led romantic comedy.
Overall, though a bit long, it's still a fun film. I picked up my copy at Suncoast on sale for $4.99 -- back when there was a Suncoast Video, simply because with Grant and Hepburn as leads I figured I couldn't go wrong and I was right. The film is very enjoyable. Cary Grant is excellent as the mystery man Hepburn isn't sure she should trust or not. And Audrey Hepburn is excellent and believable as the only one in the film who really has no idea what's going on. Also, there's two surprises at the end: where the money was hidden (a classic - I love it, tho' the idea has been played with since in several formats) and who Cary Grant "really" is - another classic.
Recommendation: See it!
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Next Film: Charade (1953)
If you get a chance to listen to the commentary, its a lot of fun. The writer and director bicker about who came up with certain shots. Since they made the commentary together forty some odd years after their original involvement it struck me as charming.
ReplyDelete