Scharade (1963)

Scharade: Directed by Stanley Donen. With Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn. 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?

“Letu0026#39;s see: what we got here is one of the best romantic-comedy/thriller scripts ever made, one of the best Hollywood directors from 50u0026#39;s and 60u0026#39;s, the more elegant and classy actress ever (Audrey Hepburn), the more elegant and classy actor ever (Cary Grant), two of the best u0026quot;tough guysu0026quot; from the big screen (G. Kennedy and James Coburn), one of the best comedy actors ever (Walter Matthau), and the city of Paris. Nothing could possibly go wrong, donu0026#39;t you think? u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAudrey Hepburn is Reggie Lambert, an American girl married to a swiss guy called Charles Lambert (at least thatu0026#39;s what she thinks)… Sheu0026#39;s spending her holidays in some ski resort with her best girlfriend Sylvie and the son of hers. Reggie has decided to divorce her husband, so she gets back to Paris. Once there she found out that her husbandu0026#39;s been killed. From this moment on she gets involved in the funniest spy plot ever.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWatching Charade youu0026#39;ll have an smile on your face from the beginning till the very end. And youu0026#39;ll burst out laughing in many moments of the movie. Stanley Donen gets out of every sequence very skillfully and, as he did before in Seven Brides or Singinu0026#39; In The Rain, he probes heu0026#39;s an outstanding filmmaker. Thereu0026#39;re two names that come into my mind every time I watch this movie: Alfred Hitchcock and Blake Edwards. In Charade, Stanley Donen merged suspense and romantic-comedy in the best possible way. Actoru0026#39;s selection is just perfect, the chemical between Hepburn and Grant is simply unbeatable. One more perfect couple to add to Hollywoodu0026#39;s Coupleu0026#39;s Hall Of Fame: side by side with Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn-Cary Grant (him once again!), Lauren Bacall-Humphrey Bogart… Itu0026#39;s not easy to find two actors so compatible. What to say about George Kennedy or James Coburn? Best known for their roles in action movies, they do their best as CIA agents. And least but not less, we got Walter Matthau, one of the best comedy actors ever (I shouldu0026#39;ve put Walter Matthau-Jack Lemon in my Coupleu0026#39;s Hall Of Fame!) doing the best he can (that is a lot!) as (in principle) an American Embassy employee. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo if you liked North By Northwest or Breakfast At Tiffanyu0026#39;s, if you think that thereu0026#39;s never been a more classy actress than Audrey Hepburn, if you do believe that Cary Grantu0026#39;s been one of the more talented actors ever (and one of the funniest ones)… please, donu0026#39;t miss Charade. Youu0026#39;ll spend one of the times of your life. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAur Voir, Mon Amis!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy Rate: 10/10 or even higher.”