The Dean of Cinema

Is anyone really who they seem to be? After Regina Lampert falls for the dashing Peter Joshua on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, she discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband’s World War II cronies, Tex, Scobie and Gideon, who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines.

Written by Dean Zarbaugh II

Charade has all the hallmarks of a classic. Exciting plot, great performances, incredible directing, and Ms. Hepburn’s stylish wardrobe graciously provided by Givenchy. What more could you ask for? Toss in some laughs, some surprises, a fun score from Henry Mancini and a few dashes of danger and you got yourself a recipe for one of the best comedic thrillers of all time. It’s fast-paced, breezily moving from one scene to the next and never wasting a single moment of its runtime.

Charade features a great script from writer Peter Stone, filled with crackling dialogue, playful humor, edge of your seat suspense, and some of the best on screen chemistry ever put on celluloid in the form of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Stone doesn’t waste any time getting into the story, beginning with the body of Charles Lampert being tossed from a moving train. What follows is one of the most funny, thrilling, and exciting movies of the 1960s. Tonally, it regularly bounces between light-hearted comedy, and vicious spy thriller, fully embracing both genres to maximum effect. One minute you’re laughing, the next you’re on pins and needles waiting to see what happens next.

No stranger to cinematic spectacle, director Stanley Donen brings his trademark stylish touch to Charade. Having previously helmed classics like Singin’ In the Rain, Funny Face where he worked with Charade star Audrey Hepburn, and Indiscreet with star Cary Grant and the incomparable Ingrid Bergman, Donen gives audiences an electrifying ride through the France that feels like a love letter to the maestro of suspense himself: Alfred Hitchcock. Charade has all the makings of one of Hitch’s best films: a murder mystery fraught with multiple twists and turns, a cast of Hollywood royalty, and one of the best cities in the world to set a film, Paris. This isn’t the first time Donen had cosplayed as Hitchcock, to borrow a term from modern lexicon, having also directed the film Arabesque, which also has many Hitchockian tones to it. Donen expertly builds suspense and releases it with humor like in Regina’s introduction where we find a gun pointed at her from the bushes. Is her appearance nothing more than a glorified cameo, and she’s about to be the next victim? Don’t be silly. She’s simply doused in water from a child’s water pistol. Moments like these ease the undercurrent of tension running throughout the film, and keeps the audience coming back for more.

Donen and cinematographer Charles B. Lang masterfully frame and block the film, constantly showing Hepburn in closeups, giving a more claustrophobic feel as all sides come closing in on her. The final sequence with Grant, Hepburn and an exquisite Walter Mathau, showing Hepburn in between Grant and Mathau is a like a painting moving at 24 frames a second. Donen insisted on using actual locations for a majority of the film, and it pays off in droves. Paris is inarguably one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and Donen and Lang use it to their advantage.

Lang also lensed the original Magnificent 7, knows how to use scale and scope to help tell a story visually, and brings those skills to Charade. The link in the picture above directs you to a conversation with Lang about the differences in lighting the harsh western characters versus the more dramatic characters that require a more delicate touch. He was one of the most versatile cinematographers in the business and Charade is some of his best work in a highlight reel of a career. He blends the elegance and brutality of the story together with his use of light and shadow, and how he composed his shots. Hepburn’s Regina often lit with beauty lighting that enhanced her natural beauty, sometimes casting her in shadows as a visual metaphor for her being in the dark about her husband’s money. The film’s three “heavies” getting more harsh lighting in their shots. The final duel between George Kennedy’s Scobie and Cary Grant feels lifted right out of a Hitchcock film, evoking films like Vertigo and North By Northwest. There’s a real sense of danger with every step they take.

Audrey Hepburn is one of my favorite actresses. She is incredible to watch, not just for her sheer beauty, but how she expresses herself as different characters. From her jaw-dropping introduction as Regina Lampert, you’re unable to take your eyes off her. She is truly at the top of her game in Charade, giving as good as she gets in her scenes with Cary Grant, and her comedic timing is on point. Her reactions to the antagonists and their various threats to her to give up the money are delightful. Regina is no James Bond, often fumbling her “missions” throughout the film. Regina is a character full of contradictions, which Hepburn excels at playing. Sure, she has the chique Givenchy wardrobe, but underneath it all, Reggie is an awkward character. She’s clumsy, sometimes foolish, and one hell of a nervous eater, but Hepburn gives it all an endearing quality that sticks with you long after the film has finished. She floats through her scenes with effortless grace, and makes it look easy.

Cary Grant is rather easy on the eyes for that matter. Whether he’s Peter Joshua, Alexander Dyle, or someone else, he’s unmistakably Cary Grant, and that’s not a bad thing. Suave, sophisticated, and smoother than Teflon, he breezes through his scenes with all of the ease and geniality he was famous for. He didn’t like the age gulf between himself and co-star Audrey Hepburn, and worked on adding some lines that showed that their chemistry is more familial than romantic, with Grant attempting to come off like a fun uncle. Despite all of this, the romantic dynamic between Grant and Hepburn is the unmistakably the centerpiece of the entire film.

Walter Matthau hadn’t quite developed his reputation for comedy in 1963, and was often cast as more unsavory characters. He is put to particularly good use in Charade where he plays Hamilton Bartholomew, a member of the US government who is after the money Regina’s husband allegedly stole from them. There’s something off about him when he’s first introduced and Stone and Donen do a wonderful job of springing it on you when you least expect it. Matthau is a superb actor as evidenced by roles in films like The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Hopscotch, and A Face In The Crowd (also in the Criterion Collection, and featuring an amazing out of character performance by the one and only Andy Griffith) and he really shines in Charade, widely considered one of his best performances. I’m always partial to Dennis the Menace*, but that’s neither here nor there.

The trio of unsavory characters after the money that Charles Lampert hid are instantly recognizable: James Coburn, George Kennedy and Ned Glass. Coburn and Kennedy are especially seedy characters, hellbent on getting that money. Growing up, I was familiar with Kennedy from the Naked Gun franchise so it was particularly fun to go back and see how different his performance is in Charade as the brash, violent and unstable Scobie. I knew James Coburn from his roles in The Magnificent 7, and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, and it was fun seeing him outside of those types of roles he was famous for. His scene threatening Regina with the matches is a standout for me showing Regina how far he’s willing to go to get the money. Coburn chewed through the scene with great effect.

Charade often gets compared to some of Hitchcock’s best work (even here in this review by yours truly), but that’s not to say that it doesn’t have its own identity, as director Stanley Donen once said, “who said only Hitchcock had the right to make mysteries?” I get where he’s coming from. I’d be pretty sour too if everyone said I was simply copying someone else’s work. Charade absolutely stands on its own merit thanks to the marvelous work behind the camera from Donen, Lang, Stone and the crew, as well as the work in front of the camera by the entire cast. It’s a beautiful work of art that keeps you guessing until the credits the roll.

Charade is available on 4K UHD and blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.

GRADE: A

* Author’s note: Criterion absolutely needs to do a 4K edition of the masterpiece that is Dennis the Menace.