Charade Has Audrey, Cary, and A Wonderful Song & Plot

What's not to like about this movie?

We have a mysterious murder of Regina Lampert's husband while she is estranged from him and on vacation in Switzerland. We learn that he was mixed up with some thieves during WW2 who stole a lot of money, and the other thieves threw him from a train.

Enter Cary Grant as Peter Joshua, supposedly a detective from the American Embassy, who is going to protect Regina (Audrey) from the other thieves who are still trying to find the treasure. But where is the money? That is part of the charade.

We see the other thieves one by one get murdered too. (You will recognize George Kennedy as Herman Scobie--one of the theives.) Finally, there is only a mysterious thief who keeps telephoning Regina. The second thief could be Peter Joshua , who thus could be good or evil. Poor Regina, she goes through the movie wondering which. The climax of the story sees her running feverishly through a carnival seeking the treasure once it has been figured out and then running again between Peter and Hamilton Bartholomew (Walter Matthau), who could be good or bad. They end up in a theatre with the real thief and murderer falling through the stage door. But is he really the murdering thief?

In between all of this, we have the wonderful theme song Charade composed by Henry Mancini and the beautiful Audrey Hepburn who is always a class act.

This is a movie that you want to see over and over again. As the years go by, you forget the details but always remember the two stars and the theme song. WOW, what a movie!

imdb review

If you're in the mood for a clever mixture of suspense, romance, humor and some fantastic location shots, treat yourself to CHARADE. Audrey Hepburn was never more appealing than she is here--badly in need of help to discover the whereabouts of the hidden money her late husband's enemies want to find. With her life hanging in the balance, she enlists the aid of Cary Grant--but since all is not what it seems, you're in for some surprising plot twists along a very merry ride.

Just relax and let Cary and Audrey do all the work--with the help of a great supporting cast including Walter Matthau, superb in a surprising supporting role. Stanley Donen keeps it all moving at a brisk pace and Henry Mancini's music is a sheer delight.

Highly recommended as an expert, elegant mixture of humor and suspense, even if it does seem to imitate the Hitchcock way of filmmaking

WHO has the money? FUN clever classic GREAT ending~

PLOT: LOVELY REGINA LAMBERT (AUDREY HEPBURN) IS SOON A WIDOW BEFORE SHE CAN DITCH HER HUSBAND~ NOW THE MYSTERY / FUN IS WHO KILLED HIM AND WHY~ SO MANY SUSPECTS~

the HENRY MANCINI~theme music adds to the BEAT of this movie which moves along FAST for most of the movie~ Regina Lambert(Audrey Hepburn) no longer loves her husband Charles but before she can ditch him~ he is TOSSED OFF OF A TRAIN~ SO now the big search is on for the killer~ Charles had many identities~ and the mystery is from WW2 where Charles and some MISSING GOLD is the focus~ of 5 old comarades also OSS~ Charles Coburn, Walter Mathau are trying to look for the missing LOOT apparently Charles stole~ from the rest of the GROUP! the GROUP of 5 OSS (trusted Military Secret Espionage Unit in WW2) found some NAZI gold ~ buried it ~ and were to DIVIDE THE PROFITS~ FROM IT AFTER THE WAR~~ but Charles kept it so NOW the others want their 'share' every one is LOOKING FOR THE MISSING LOOT~ including CARY GRANT WHO TRIES A DIFFERENT~ APPROACH TO GET WHAT HE WANTS~ ROMANCE~~~BACK TO THE HOTEL~ WHERE all 5 SEARCH each others rooms SLOWLY THEY ARE BEING MURDERED~ONE DIES IN A BATHTUB~~ so they stick his body in a bed~~ CARY GRANT lies about his name to Audrey over and over~ Mathau is a US goverment AGENT~ CLAIMS GRANT IS IN ON IT AND WANTS AUDREY DEAD TOO~ BUT THE sweet little romance evolves between thrilling murders~ but the FUN HERE IS FINDING THE missing TREASURE~ ADD a clever chase through the Paris Underground into a threatre~ where we LEARN who the real KILLER is adds to the final FUNNY~ ending~ Grant is charming plays this with humor~ romances younger Hepburn, HEPBURN IS VERY GOOD as she is both lovely but uses her brain to solve the MYSTERY of the stolen LOOT~ right under their eyes all along~ I GIVE THIS ONE A 9 OUT OF 10 FOR A ROMANTIC THRILLER PLAYED FOR FUN~ AS THE OPENING CREDITS SHOW THIS IS 1/3 MYSTERY, 1/3 ROMANCE AND 1/3 COMEDY~ FOR A GREAT BLEND OF CLASSIC FUN~(also see WAIT UNTIL DARK)

IF YOU FOUND THIS REVIEW HELPFUL PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE~

find out why Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn were so cool

I usually don't give many films a perfect rating but I feel this movie contains all the elements of a good film. It's funny, charming, witty, exciting and suspenseful. The presentation is actually campy but the casting makes this one of the finest films of the 60's. Seriously, how can you go wrong with Stanley Donen as your director and a cast of Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, James Coburn and Walter Matthau? When you find the answer to that let me know.

After Cary Grant turned down several roles alongside Hepburn including Roman Holiday and Sabrina he finally got the chance with this film and it was their only film together leaving nothing to be desired except for maybe another film together. The witty dialogue exchanges are nothing short of classic and highly memorable.

I'd highly recommend this film as a MUST SEE for fans of either of the lead actors.

Charade

I purchased a copy since I own National Film Museum Inc, and we hold a License for said picture. I needed an extra copy fast, so I bought it on line. MADACY is NFM's DVD licensee. As our contract is all rights, world wide in perpetuity, no one besides Universal, Criterion, and NFM are authorized Licensors/licenees. Ebay seems to have all the infringers, which we intend to clean up on Charade, Gary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, considered by AFI as one of the best films ever (top150 film listings) it's the greatest Hitchcock film HE NEVER MADE, in IB technicolor(letterbox).