Charade (1963)

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

Director:

Stanley Donen

Writers:

Peter Stone (screenplay), Peter Stone (story)

Stars:

Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cary Grant	...	Peter Joshua
Audrey Hepburn	...	Regina Lampert
Walter Matthau	...	Hamilton Bartholomew
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
Thomas Chelimsky	...	Jean-Louis Gaudet

Storyline

When Regina Lampert's husband, Charles is found alongside a train, murdered, in no time she's left broke, homeless, and with the French police, the American government, and 3 rather insistent men all thinking Regina knows where the money they say Charles stole, is. Gorgeous Audrey Hepburn and debonair Cary Grant sparkle in the film, which has been called 'the best Hitchcock film he never made'. It's fun, suspensful, and stylish. Fall in love with Paris and a wonderful cast in this well-loved Stanley Donen film.

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Plot Keywords:

investigation | assumed identity | deception | rare postage stamp | bound hand and foot | 

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Taglines:

Is Anyone Really Who They Seem To Be?

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German Italian

Release Date:

5 December 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charada

Filming Locations:

24 Rue Censier, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$13,474,588

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,Stanley Donen Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The young man in the Embassy elevator telling the story about the poker game was Screenwriter Peter Stone, with the dubbed voice of Director Stanley Donen.

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Goofs

Scobie is covering "Dyle" with a gun held in his artificial hand, so there's no way that he can pull the trigger.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jean-Louis Gaudet: Oh, la!
Reggie Lampert: Don't tell me, you didn't know it was loaded. Sylvie! Oh. Can't he do something constructive, like start an avalanche or something?

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Alternate Versions

When first released, Hepburn's line "at any moment we could be assassinated" was dubbed over to become "at any moment we could be eliminated" due to the Kennedy assassination. Subsequent releases have "assassinated" restored to its place in the film.

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Connections

References An American in Paris (1951)

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Soundtracks

Charade
Lyric: Johnny Mercer,
Music: Henry Mancini

User Reviews

Do you need anything more?

You've got the dream pairing of two of the classiest and most charming stars ever to grace the screen, a suspense thriller that IS worthy of Hitchcock, despite what other reviewers would ahve you think, a very witty script by Broadway librettist Peter Stone, some hilarious comedy, sexy romance, direction 'with flair" by Stanley Donen, a wonderful supporting cast, and music that (As in just about any Henry Mancini film score) is almost as entertaining as the film. From the psychedelic opening credits set to Mancini's Bond-esque theme music, you know "Charade"'s going to be an entertaing movie, and it is! Cary Grant is delightful and suave as ever, audrey was probably never sexier or more chic, (Though some individual "bits" of her acting are unconvincing at times, overall she is great), and Walter Matthau (In an unconventional role for him), James Coburn, George Kennedy, and Ned Glass (The one who was allergic to Hepburn's husband) couldn't be better. The two stars have delightful chemistry and a wonderful repartee going, and the funeral sequence, among others, is truly hilarious. There IS plenty of suspense, too, as you never really are sure whom to trust and who not to, and the climatic chase sequence is almost as exciting as anything Hitch ever came up with. Pardon the cliche, but they really don't make 'em like this any more.