Charade (1963)

Director:

Stanley Donen

Writers:

Peter Stone (screenplay)
Peter Stone (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

5 December 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

You can expect the unexpected when they play..."Charade"

Plot:

Romance and suspense in Paris, as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. Who can she trust?

Plot Keywords:

CIA Agent | Suspense | CIA | Trust | Cleft

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Peter Joshua
Audrey Hepburn	...	Regina Lampert
Walter Matthau	...	Hamilton Bartholemew
James Coburn	...	Tex Panthollow
George Kennedy	...	Herman Scobie
Dominique Minot	...	Sylvie Gaudet
Ned Glass	...	Leopold W. Gideon
Jacques Marin	...	Insp. Edouard Grandpierre
Paul Bonifas	...	Mr. Felix - Stamp Dealer
Thomas Chelimsky	...	Jean-Louis Gaudet
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marc Arian	...	Subway Passenger (uncredited)
Claudine Berg	...	Maid (uncredited)
Marcel Bernier	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Georges Billy	...	Man in Stamp Market (uncredited)
Albert Daumergue	...	Man in Stamp Market (uncredited)
Raoul Delfosse	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Lucien Desagneaux	...	Passer-by in the Public Garden (uncredited)
Stanley Donen	...	Man in Elevator (voice) (uncredited)
Colin Drake	...	Hamilton Bartholomew (uncredited)
Jean Gold	...	Man Who Writes in the Terrace of the Cafe (uncredited)
Chantal Goya	...	Extra (uncredited)
Clément Harari	...	German Tourist (uncredited)
Monte Landis	...	Master of Ceremonies at Les Black Sheep Club (uncredited)
Bernard Musson	...	Hotel Receptionnist (uncredited)
Antonio Passalia	...	Italian Representative in the URESCO (uncredited)
Jacques Préboist	...	Ice Cream Salesman (uncredited)
Peter Stone	...	Man in Elevator / Voice of Marine (uncredited)
Anthony Stuart	...	British Representative in the URESCO (uncredited)
Michel Thomass	...	Embassy Driver (uncredited)
André Tomasi	...	Subway Passenger (uncredited)
Roger Trapp	...	Mortuary Employee (uncredited)
Louis Viret	...	Hallmark Employee in the Subway (uncredited)

Directed by
Stanley Donen

Writing credits
Peter Stone		(screenplay)
Peter Stone		(story) and
Marc Behm		(story)

Produced by
Stanley Donen	....	producer
James H. Ware	....	associate producer (as James Ware)

Original Music by
Henry Mancini

Cinematography by
Charles Lang		(director of photography) (as Charles Lang Jr.)

Film Editing by
Jim Clark		(as James Clark)

Art Direction by
Jean d'Eaubonne		(as Jean D'Eaubonne)

Costume Design by
Hubert de Givenchy		(gowns: Miss Hepburn)

Makeup Department
Alberto De Rossi	....	makeup artist (as Alberto de'Rossi)
John O'Gorman	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Edward Muhl	....	in charge of production
Léopold Schlosberg	....	production manager (as Leopold Schlosberg)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marc Maurette	....	assistant director

Art Department
Auguste Capelier	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Jacques Carrère	....	sound mixer (as Jacques Carrere)
Bob Jones	....	sound mixer
Allan Morrison	....	dubbing editor

Special Effects by
Wally Armitage	....	special effects supervisor (uncredited)
Brian Gamby	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Garth Inns	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Stunts
Paul Stader	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Henri Persin	....	second unit cameraman
Henri Tiquet	....	camera operator
Vincent Rossell	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Animation Department
Robert Ellis	....	animator

Music Department
Rolly Bundock	....	musician: bass (uncredited)
Larry Bunker	....	musician: vibes (uncredited)
Gene Cipriano	....	musician: saxophone (uncredited)
Dominic Frontiere	....	musician: accordion (uncredited)
Douglas Gamley	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Ronnie Lang	....	musician: reeds (uncredited)
Henry Mancini	....	conductor (uncredited)
Richard Nash	....	musician: trombone soloist (uncredited)
Ted Nash	....	musician: saxophone (uncredited)
John Scott	....	musician: flute, saxophone (uncredited)
Jack Sheldon	....	musician: trumpet (uncredited)
Jack Sperling	....	musician: drums (uncredited)
John Williams	....	musician: piano (uncredited)

Other crew
Maurice Binder	....	title designer: main title
Arthur Carroll	....	production executive

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (presents) (as Universal) (as A Universal® Picture also)
• Stanley Donen Films (as A Stanley Donen Production)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (as A Universal Release)
• J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1963) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal (1963) (France) (theatrical)
• Universal Films Española (1964) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Väinän Filmi (1964) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1963) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1968) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MCA Home Video (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (re-release 2002 new 35mm print)
• United American Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Action Gitanes (1998) (France) (theatrical) (2002) (2003) (2007) (re-issues)
• VCI Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• D3K Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• UAV Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Madacy Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Madacy Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Gotham Distribution (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Unicorn Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• VCI Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Laserlight Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport International Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Weton Wesgram (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Bach Films (2006) (France) (DVD)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Phoenix Bild- und Tonträger Vertrieb (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (DVD) (Jahr100Film)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Cinema International Corporation (C.I.C.) (1973) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1963) (Japan) (theatrical)
• ARC (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• ASP (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• CIC Victor Video (2001) (Japan) (DVD)
• Comolife (????) (Japan) (DVD)
• Cosmic Publishing (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• First Trading (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Forfeited Films (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• GoodTimes Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Grasshopper (2009) (Japan) (DVD)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1979) (Finland) (TV) (as MTV1)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Pioneer LDC (1988) (Japan) (VHS)
• Pioneer LDC (1993) (Japan) (VHS)
• Pioneer LDC (1994) (Japan) (video) (laserdisk)
• Startime Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Tone (2005) (Japan) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2003) (Canada) (DVD)
• ViewCave (1963) (worldwide) (all media) (Internet) (non-exclusive)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2005) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Berliner Synchron  German dubbing (uncredited)
• Givenchy  Miss Hepburn's clothes by

Also Known As:

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | UK:PG (video rating) (1991) (2001) (2002) (2003) (2007) (2011) | West Germany:16 (nf) | Australia:G (alternate rating) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certificate #20428) | Finland:K-15 (new rating: 2001) | Netherlands:6 | Canada:G (Québec) | UK:PG (tv rating) | USA:Not Rated | Germany:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

24 Rue Censier, Paris, France

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Cary Grant initially turned down the movie because he felt he would be too much of a predator pursuing the much-younger Audrey Hepburn. In a last-ditch attempt to sign Grant, Peter Stone worked all night on the script and presented it to Grant to look over just once more. Grant gleefully accepted the role, prompting producers to demand to know what Stone had done. Stone had simply moved all of the romantically aggressive lines from Grant's character to Audrey Hepburn's, making her the predator.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The sign outside the embassy would not read "American Embassy" it would read "Embassy of the United States of America" or "Ambassade des États-Unis d'Amérique".

Quotes:

Reggie Lampert:Is there a Mrs. Joshua?
Peter Joshua:Yes, but we are divorced.
Reggie Lampert:Oh, that wasn't a proposal. I'm just curious.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Daria: Murder, She Snored (#4.4)" (2000)

Soundtrack:

Charade

The Best Hitchcock Movie Hitchcock Never Made!

CHARADE is the best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made! With romance, sophisticated comedy, and stylish suspense (including a smattering of graphic-for-its-era violence) balanced out deftly, CHARADE is the movie that made me a fan of both Peter Stone and Stanley Donen (yes, I actually saw this before I ever saw one of Donen's musicals!). Every other line is sparklingly quotable, and Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn are among my favorite screen couples; pity this was their only big screen teaming (I liked the wry way they kidded the age difference between them, too). James Coburn, George Kennedy, and Walter Matthau (all Oscar winners now!) are in top form in these early screen appearances of theirs. Both Hepburn and Paris look their sophisticated best, and the theme is my favorite by Henry Mancini next to the PINK PANTHER theme. Do try to get ahold of the marvelous Criterion Collection DVD of CHARADE; it's well worth seeking out, with nifty extras including an utterly delightful commentary track by Stanley Donen and the late Peter Stone. By the way, CHARADE is also piggybacked onto the DVD of Jonathan Demme's well-meaning but disappointing remake, THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE. On a related note, Donen's second Hitchcock spoof/homage, ARABESQUE, was released as part of a Gregory Peck boxed DVD set. I'm glad ARABESQUE is available on DVD, but I wish they'd recorded a commentary track by Donen and Sophia Loren while they're both still alive and reasonably well. But I digress...watch CHARADE today! :-)