Charade

Movie Review: Charade

Year of Release: 1963
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Stanley Donen
Cast: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy

Plot outline: Romance and suspense in Paris, as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen (IMDb).

The enduring popularity of Charade makes any criticism of the movie nearly irrelevant. Most people who see the movie will be so charmed that they won't care that it is a sleek star vehicle, that the plot is formulaic, or that the villains are cartoonish. If you are among the great majority that has enjoyed Charade, don't let me spoil your fun. I spent most of the movie frustrated by the movie's familiarity. It especially resembles To Catch a Thief, the Hitchcock romantic comedy/mystery/thriller starring Cary Grant that was also set in France. Add parts of Hitchock's North by Northwest, The 39 Steps, etc., and mix with Audrey Hepburn's familiar 'glamorous girl lost' persona from Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's, etc. Cary Grant is one of my favorite actors. It's fun watching him take a shower in his suit. The scene with a stern cleaning lady beating the dust from a rug in front of Grant is a classic. Hepburn is lovely and has a marvelous speaking voice. But Grant is pushing sixty, and while he looks good for his age, he seems to be an unlikely target for Hepburn's very forward machinations. The direction seems to be confused as to whether Charade is a comedy or a thriller. It must be the former, because the story is difficult to take seriously. Wrapped up with a blissfully happy ending, Charade is a crowd pleaser whose audience won't care if its all been done before, and better. By no means is it a bad movie, but its charms cannot fully overcome its dubious conventions. (BK)

My judgement: ** out of 4 stars