Charade (1963) Reviews

I guess I should mention that I'm a sucker for a good mystery novel. I love reading them, and I enjoy being surprised at the end. Of course, the best mysteries won't rely entirely on a shocking conclusion. Witty dialogue, memorable characters, reasonable suspense, and most importantly, plot twists, must be peppered and laced throughout. The great thing about Charade, is that it takes everything that you could possibly want in a mystery novel, and puts it all under one roof.

A young woman named Regina Lambert finds herself in possession of a large sum of money when her husband dies and leaves her $250,000. Unfortunately for her, three men are convinced that the money is theirs, and they're determined to get it back. With no one else to turn to, Regina puts her trust in a stranger named Peter Joshua. The two must now not only outsmart the three crooks, but also solve the mystery Regina's husband has left behind.

Charade ingeniously blends the best elements of any mystery book, into a single film, creating an engaging and entertaining experience that's both intelligent and exciting. Clever dialogue and some quirky situations helps inject humor and fun into the production, while a handful of chase scenes keeps things exciting. With the added threat of three crooks living right next door, Charade is rarely dull.

The romance between the two leads is surprisingly well done. It's a little overdone at times, but it's not too schmaltzy, nor too formulaic. It finds a perfect balance that few films ever achieve. The chemistry between the leads is excellent, as their personalities easily compliment each other. Modern romance films should take notes.

The mystery itself is genius. There are several plot twists throughout, but all of them seem minuscule when compared to the grand finale. While many similar films often fails to provide much punch during the "revealing" stage, Charade pulls of it's big twist at the end beautifully.

Characters are both memorable, and likeable (or dislikeable, depending on intentions), with great acting to boot. Audrey Hepburn as Regina may appear helpless at first, but she quickly becomes an independent and brave woman, ready to fend for herself. Cary Grant as Peter is suave, but without being romantic. His maturity contrasts Regina's childishness. The three crooks (James Corburn, George Kennedy, and Ned Glass) are menacing, though not as defined as other characters. Jacques Marin as Inspector Grandpierre gets several laughs as the cranky policeman.

The score, composed by Henry Mancini, is excellent. Often jazzy, but not without suspense and tension, it's a solid work from the master composer.

A truly thrilling and surprising film, Charade is an extremely charming and masterfully made production. With a great cast, witty screenplay, and some great twists, this is the ideal mystery movie. If you're the kind that enjoys mystery novels, this is for you. If you're not into mystery novels, try it anyway.

Honestly, I’m not really big on Cary Grant (9 movies seen) or Audrey Hepburn (8 movies seen) but since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, I thought it was pretty good but I can’t say I found it really amazing. The point is that the story was just way too convoluted and fluffy for my taste and I’m rather amazed that many viewers compare this movie to Hitchcock’s work. Hitchcock’s movies were sometimes complicated but they always made sense and they were terribly smart whereas this movie was honestly full of non-sense and huge plot holes. As far as I’m concerned, if the characters or the makers don’t take the story seriously, why should I? Still, I thought it was quite enjoyable. Indeed, even though her character was rather clueless, Audrey Hepburn was just really charming, as usual. Above all, I thought that Cary Grant was just awesome. I mean, he is basically one of those actors who always plays the same part in every single movie but he is always great anyway. This movie was not an exception. It was one of his last movies and he stood above all the rest of the cast and delivered the best lines. Personally, I didn’t care much about the multiple identity thing and I thought it would have been more interesting if he remained a random guy who get accidentally involved in some shady spy conspiracy but, it didn’t matter, I thought he was great anyway. To conclude, even though it didn’t really blow me away, it remains an entertaining flick, it is a classic, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, great, glamorous movie stars and fantastic actors, meet up for a genre-bending masterpiece of the emerging 60s spy/secret agent cinema. With equal parts suspense-thriller, fluffy romance and dark comedy, Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn are allowed to be sexy, dangerous and goofy in equal parts. But this isn’t just a showcase for two of cinema’s greatest icons, this is a tightly structured, exceptionally well-written film. Charade is one of the greatest movies of all-time.

Once I saw the swirling arrows and color bars that animate the opening credits courtesy of Saul Bass, and heard the Henry Mancini score, I knew I was going to be in for quite a treat. Immediately after that Hepburn’s elegant beauty, intelligence and considerable skills and style filled the screen. I was entranced. She looked glamorous even when stuffing her face. Then a gun enters the frame, it turns out that it’s filled with water, but it showed me that this would be a film of tonal shifts and playing with expectations. And so it is. Who is who and who they are allied with changes at a break neck pace. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, you’re told something new and everything changes. Or does it? Can we really be all that sure? This is why Charade gets dubbed the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made. But it has its own flavor. Lighter than North by Northwest, less male ego-centric and slut-sexuality than the Bond franchise, it plays like a screwball comedy. But a hint of malice and danger is thrown in for good measure.

Grant and Hepburn aren’t the only actors doing the heavy-lifting but making it look effortless. They’re joined by James Coburn, George Kennedy and Walter Matthau – each hitting the appropriate tone between kitsch and seriousness. And, naturally, each is after a MacGuffin. In this case, a large sum of money which has gone missing, Hepburn’s dead-husband was the last person to know its whereabouts. She is assumed to also know where it is, and so each positions himself to gain access to her and obtain the money, if she dies along the away, so be it. Except for Cary Grant…maybe. The night time rooftop fight scene between Grant and Kennedy is pretty shocking considering that this features Cary Grant. The man who’s very image is the concept of a handsome and charming movie star in real danger, or as close to it as this dark chocolate treat will get to it.

It isn’t just the acting and the script that makes Charade so memorable, it’s the Mancini score. It was deservedly nominated for an Academy Award, and it helps set the tone(s) for the film. Charade has everything going for it. While Grant, Matthau and Hepburn have all passed away, they continue to radiate as brightly, buoyantly as they did when this film was new in 1963.

Audrey Hepburn falls in love with a man old enough to be her dad.
.... again.

Anyways,
the best thing that I like about this movie is that it's both a spongy thriller & a creamy romantic comedy, in one.
In other words, it's a cinematic Twinkie.