Charade (1963)

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 ...

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 ...

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 a...