Famously described as “the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made“, Stanley Donen’s Charade has spent more than sixty years being either mistaken for the work of another director or measured against his filmography. The comparisons are understandable – there is a dead man, a missing fortune, a glamorous heroine pursued across Paris, a MacGuffin everyone is desperately hunting, and enough twists to keep audiences guessing until the final reel. Revisiting the film through Criterion’s superb new UHD release, though, what makes Charade such an enduring delight is not how closely it mimics Alfred Hitchcock, but the warmth and irreverence that are entirely its own.
Audrey Hepburn stars as the Givenchy-clad Regina “Reggie” Lampert, a young translator whose husband is mysteriously murdered while she is away on holiday. Returning to Paris, she discovers that he liquidated all their possessions before his death, leaving her penniless and pursued by three sinister men, all of whom are convinced that she knows the whereabouts of a missing fortune. Her only ally is the charming, enigmatic Peter Joshua (Cary Grant), although as the body count rises, his presence becomes increasingly suspicious. The more time Reggie spends with him, the less certain she is about who he actually is!
Much of the film’s undeniable charm comes from the chemistry between two screen icons. Hepburn and Grant’s relationship remains surprisingly fresh more than sixty years later, largely because of an inspired production decision. Concerned about the twenty-five-year age gap between himself and Hepburn, Grant reportedly refused to pursue her character romantically, declaring to Donen “I cannot chase this girl – she must be chasing me.” The result feels remarkably modern, as Hepburn actively pursues this older man, she is granted agency and autonomy of her own, and it’s still a striking choice today.
Hepburn is wonderful throughout, effortlessly balancing glamour, vulnerability and comic timing. She clearly relishes performing opposite Grant, and there are certain scenes where it seems like she is barely acting, just enjoying the sillier aspects of Grant’s performance. Grant himself is as charming as ever, but his performance is tinged with ambiguity, keeping both Reggie and the audience uncertain. Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone cannily play on Grant’s established persona in Hitchcock films as both a charming hero (North By Northwest) and a more mercurial, sinister figure (Suspicion). I don’t think, at this point in his career, that anyone would really have seriously believed that Grant was a ruthless killer, but Stone’s playful screenplay keeps his true motivations hidden for much of the runtime, creating just enough doubt to ensure we never completely trust him.
The supporting cast is equally memorable. Walter Matthau makes for a different kind of foil for Hepburn, but just as enjoyable, wringing every bit of fun out of his bumbling CIA agent – his exasperation as Reggie throws away his cigarettes one after another may be the funniest line delivery in the film (“Do you have any idea how much these things cost?”) and Matthau navigates the shifting sands regarding his character deftly.
And then there’s that iconic rogues gallery of villains, all of whom are perfectly cast: the effortlessly cool, drawling James Coburn, the twitchy, nebbish Ned Glass, and the permanently snarling George Kennedy, complete with hook for a hand. Each one brings their own brand of menace to proceedings, and they all get their own moment to stand out – Kennedy with a brilliant fight scene, and Coburn with a genuinely unpleasant interrogation scene where he corners Reggie in a phone booth, flicking lit matches at her while grinning malevolently. As Alan Arkin said when working with Hepburn on Wait Until Dark, “You don’t get nominated for being mean to Audrey Hepburn” but Coburn seems to relish the opportunity to be properly nasty.
Donen directs with a real lightness of touch, bringing an elegance and fluidity to the action sequences, as well as a bright colour palette that recalls his primary talent as a director and choreographer of musicals like Singin’ In The Rain and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. Every move of the rooftop fight scene between Grant and Kennedy is choreographed with the precision of a dance number. The sparks from Kennedy’s hook as he slides down the roof are a particularly nice touch. The film’s iconic set-pieces – particularly a brilliantly staged revelation at a Paris market, a murder in an elevator, and the suspenseful climax inside a theatre – rank alongside the best Hitchcock sequences.
The story itself proves a tricky needle to thread tonally. Stone’s screenplay veers from comedy to romance to murder mystery with alarming regularity, yet Donen handles the transitions with a dexterity that feels effortless. The deaths are often surprisingly nasty, the humour genuinely funny, and the romance completely convincing. Crucially though, the romantic chemistry and humour never detracts from the dramatic tension. The characters might be a bit flippant, but Donen himself takes the material seriously.
Charade might be a lightweight film compared to Hitchcock’s darkest work, but it’s by no means an unimportant one. Donen combines suspense, screwball comedy and star power to create one of the most gripping, purely entertaining films of the 1960s.
Special Features
This restoration is particularly welcome given the film’s unusual history. Due to a mistake in the credits, Charade spent decades languishing in public domain, resulting in a DVD market saturated with horrendous versions of the film sourced from faded, battered prints. The Criterion Blu ray has been available for a while, but this UHD remastered version represents the best version of the film we are ever likely to see. The special features themselves are a little thin on the ground, with the standout extra being the commentary with Donen and Stone’s idiosyncratic relationship laid bare as they bicker and joke throughout the film.
★★★★★
Out on 4K UHD on June 22nd / Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, Ned Glass, George Kennedy / Dir: Stanley Donen / The Criterion Collection, Universal Pictures / PG
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
