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Charade | Year: 1963 Classification: Drama Directed: - Stanley Donen Actors/Actresses: - Audrey Hepburn - Cary Grant - James Coburn A Delicious Mystery This is the kind of classy entertainment missing from the movies today. Stanley Donen and Peter Stone cooked up this delicious souffle of a movie and got Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn to star in this comedy mystery set in Paris. Donen doesn't try to overpower us with his location, making it all the more effective as a backdrop to this twisty confection. Even the famous Mancini score is used in a soft and subtle way to create a film of elegance and style. Regina Lambert (Audrey Hepburn) is in Paris contemplating a divorce from husband Charlie who she no longer loves and knows very little about. When he is murdered, Inspector Edouard Grandpierre (Jacques Marin) and CIA man Hamilton Bartholomew (Walter Matthau) begin to fill in the holes of Charlie's checkered past and inform Reggie how much danger she is in. It seems that some very shady and determined characters want the $250,000.00 Charlie had that is now missing. Luckily for her, Cary Grant shows up to be her white knight and protector from these thugs; or is it? James Coburn as Tex and George Kennedy as Scobie are particularly menacing as two of the bad guys after Reggie, who they think has the money. But telling the bad guys from the good guys gets more complicated by the minute as she discovers lie after lie that Grant has told her and he changes his identity with every new story he tells her. It even turns out he knows these guys. Yet, Reggie finds herself falling for the older but distinguished Grant anyway and by the end of this film she may just have to take a leap of faith to save her own life. There are some teriffic moments in this film with Cary and Audrey including a scene in a nightclub involving a fun dance and an orange! The romantic atmosphere is punctuated by a ferry boat excursion at night, Mancini's chorus of "Charade" softly playing in the background. This is classy and stylish entertainment produced and directed by Stanley Donen. The two stars were at their peak here, as was Stanley Donen. A delightful and suspenseful film with great locations, teriffic stars, and an innocent, romantic glow. You'll be suprised where the $250,000.00 is "hidden" and just what is really going on here. This film has a marvelous ending and will make you wonder why they don't make films like this anymore. Maybe it's because they can't. You have to own a copy of this one...... Criterion scores again! I got this DVD for Christmas and I wasn't disappointed. Stanley Donen, director of musicals such as "Singin' In The Rain" starring Gene Kelly, brought together Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn (who looks luminous, as always) in this wonderfully-written story about a Parisian widow (Hepburn) who is being pursued by three dangerous men (two of which are played by George Kennedy - an excellent "heavy" - and James Coburn at his most menacing) who want to find out about a large sum of money her dead husband supposedly had. Grant is the helpful stranger but eventually you begin to wonder: is he working with these men? Does he want the money for himself? Or is he really the handsome, older man Audrey finds herself falling in love with? Enhanced by a lush score by the late Henry Mancini, photographed beautifully in Paris and containing first-rate acting and deliciously wicked dialogue by writer Peter Stone, "Charade" is a film that should be in every serious DVD collection. Grant is older but better, like fine wine, and Ms. Hepburn ... well there have been millions of words used to describe her and I can't add to them other than to say the world lost a marvelous talent at her death. You'll enjoy "Charade" for a long, long time. the original is always better and lucky for you this is the original. loved it. Buy Charade at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Charade Search with the Priority Search Engine on Charade This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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