Film | Charade

I never thought much of this 1963 film starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. It was on my list of movies to see, but if I had known how good it was... I would have seen it much sooner! From beginning to end when you weren't amazed at how many outfits Audrey Hepburn was able to wear throughout the film, you were kept busy trying to figure out who the bad guy was. Well there were a few 'bad guys', but once you see the film you will understand what I mean.

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

The story is about Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) who's late husband had a lot to hide... in particular $250,000 that was stolen from the government. On her trail are a few men and the US Government wanting their piece of the money. Poor Regina didn't stand a chance because she had no idea who her husband really was or who these men were. She confides in Peter Joshua (Cary Grant), a man she met on Holiday, only to find isn't as trustworthy as she hoped. We are taken through Paris on the search for the missing loot, and in the end you'd be quite surprised where it is found!

This almost seemed like a Hitchcock picture because of the suspense and plot changes. And on top of all of that we get to see Audrey wearing many beautiful Givenchy designed outfits. I was a little worried about the age difference between Grant and Hepburn's character, but apparently so was Cary Grant. He asked the filmmakers to change the script and they did. They gave all of the romantic predatory lines to Audrey... making her the one pursuing the relationship. Even if they hadn't the 59 year old Cary Grant still looked and acted as debonaire as ever.

A great film with great acting and a great story... made for a very entertaining time. As a side note, I learned this film went into 'public domain' when it was released and was able to find a nice copy of it on online.