sddavis63 You certainly can't complain about the cast. Headed by two very big names (Carey Grant as Peter Joshua, etc. and Audrey Hepburn as Regina Lampert) and supported by folks like Walter Matthau, James Coburn and George Kennedy, you expect fine performances all round, and basically you get that. "Charade" is a mix of suspense and comedy. Regina's husband is found murdered as the movie starts, and it turns out that he has $250000 stashed somewhere, stolen with some accomplices during World War II. Those accomplices now want their money and they assume Regina has it. And the story goes from there, the question being : who has the money?The mystery slowly (very slowly - in a good way) reveals itself, and along the way there's a good dose of humour mixed in (Grant taking a shower while wearing his "drip dry" suit; the passing the orange game; the funeral scene.) While the mystery around who has the money is the hinge around which the film turns, it's the humour that I found most appealing in this - and that probably makes me rate this down a little bit. Most of the truly humourous scenes take place in the first half or so. After that, it becomes much more dramatic and suspenseful, and this movie just doesn't work as well in that genre. The humour really needed to be a little more evenly spread out in my opinion. The budding relationship between Regina and Peter was at times very sweet, but Grant being 25 years older than Hepburn also had the potential to make it a bit uncomfortable. That was overcome (perhaps deliberately) by having the relationship sweetly romantic, but also a hesitant and even protective relationship, and in fairness I thought Grant and Hepburn worked together very well. The final revelation of who was actually who didn't come as a huge surprise, but that was probably because the story had set us up to expect pretty much anything.In all honesty, though, this did run out of steam after a while. Enough had happened by that time, though, that there was no way I was going to stop watching to find out where the money was and who really wanted it, mind you. (6/10)

classicsoncall This is probably the only movie you'll find with stars of the caliber of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn who begin the story by getting hit in the face with a squirt gun! I'd have to say they took it pretty well in stride to create an entertaining comedy/mystery that more than a few viewers on this board compared to an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. My thoughts were in agreement as the film started out as well, the train sequence was a regular Hitchcock motif.What was distracting to me though was the age disparity between the fifty nine year old Grant at the time, romantically paired with Hepburn who was thirty two. This wasn't uncommon for the era, but it comes across as rather unrealistic today. Grant's shower scene with his suit on would have played much better with a younger actor, and probably more credible. But in relation to the main story, I think they more than pulled it off with Grant's constant change of identity right up until the surprise reveal at the American embassy. What the picture did more than anything for me was to wish that we had gotten a look at the 'real' Charles Voss. He must have been quite the character if all three of his funeral attendees felt it necessary to test the integrity of the corpse. Reading some of the other reviews for this picture, and even though I enjoyed it quite well myself, I would have to agree that there's a somewhat dated quality to the writing, most notably at the finale with Regina Lampert's (Hepburn) gushing over the idea of a marriage license. That's something that was all too typical Fifties and Sixties that wouldn't pass muster with today's audiences.

arfdawg-1 The Plot. Regina Lampert, a Paris based American, has decided to divorce her Swiss husband, Charles Lampert, because of the secrets and lies that have pervaded their marriage, she coming to the conclusion that she no longer loves him and really knows nothing about him. Before she can make that request to Charles, he is found dead, seemingly pushed off a Paris to Bordeaux train. While Regina was on holiday in Megève, Charles sold all their possessions making $250,000 in the process, and seemed to be on his way to the coast to leave the country for South America probably for good. The money, however, was not among his possessions on the train, those possessions which are returned to Regina. Regina further learns from Hamilton Bartholomew of the CIA that they were after him, Charles Lampert only the primary alias he has been using of late.So first of all, this is a VERY 60's film. The music and costumes are all "mod." which makes the movie rather dated. Cary Grant was pushing 60 when he made this movie. But he's never dated. The issue with the movie is the dialog which is snappy and out of place. It's as if they wanted to make this a pithy comedy drama instead of a straight dramatic presentation. It doesn't really work.Plus it's a rather slow and talkative movie low on action. And Audrey Hepburn is a think of the past. Her "acting abilities really don't fit today. As I said earlier, VERY 60's.

mark.waltz A captivating and outrageously funny spy spoof, this is one of the great romantic comedies of all time. While Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn are about 30 years apart, this gives a new twist to "Bringing Up Baby", Grant's comedy classic with the other Hepburn. Grant got to work with practically every younger actress of his day, often having more chemistry with them than the young actors of the time did with actors the same age. Hepburn herself had her share of older leading men, and Grant is perhaps the best for her as she was perhaps the best for him. She's a recent widow, shocked to find out that the husband she was about to divorce was a thief, allegedly having stolen a huge amount of cash from the C.I.A. Now an agent of theirs (Walter Matthau) wants the money back, warning Hepburn that dangers involving two stalkers (James Coburn and George Kennedy) are out to get her to get their hands on the money as well. The charade going on keeps making Hepburn doubt Grant's honesty, even after he risks his life for her. Grant, charming as ever, takes a shower fully dressed, fights with hook armed Kennedy on a rooftop, and even parodies himself in "To Catch a Thief". His attempts to grab an orange from the double chinned neck of a society matron is hysterical. Hepburn, as lovely as she was in "Breakfast at Tiffany's", is a stylish and elegant comic, but not afraid of taking the brunt of a pratfall or spoofing her princess like image. They are just perfect together, with Matthau, Coburn, a creepy looking Kennedy and "West Side Story's" Ned Glass in excellent support. In an ironic reference to "My Fair Lady", Cary Grant responds to Audrey's inquiry of where they are with "On the Street Where You Live". She also mentions Gene Kelly dancing by the river in "An American in Paris" and several other iconic Parisian cultural references as well, a touch obviously of director Stanley Donen's, a major factor in many of the great 1950's MGM movie musicals. In fact, the elegant touch of MGM and the stylish look of Hitchcock's recent hits is very evident. You'll not soon forget the Henry Mancini theme, either.