3.25.2010

charade


the year: 1963

the genre: suspense - the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made.

the cast: Audrey Hepburn (Regina Lampert); Cary Grant (Peter Joshua); Hamilton Bartholemew (Walter Matthau)


the plot: Regina Lambert returns to Paris from a ski holiday in Switzerland to find that her husband has been murdered. She is told by CIA agent Hamilton Bartholemew that Charles Lambert was one of five men who stole $250,000 in gold from the U.S. government during World War II, and the government wants it back. The money was not found among his possessions, and Regina can shed no light on its whereabouts. When her husband's former partners in crime (who were double-crossed by Charles) start calling her looking for the money, Peter Joshua (whom Reggie met briefly while on holiday) offers to help her find it. And thus begins the elaborate charade.


count: Charles Lampert's passports.

don’t miss: the tongue-in-cheek reference to "On the Street Where You Live" from My Fair Lady (which Audrey starred in and would be released the next year).

check out: the scene where Reggie spills ice cream on Adam's suit. It was based on the real-life accident where Audrey spilled red wine all over Cary Grant's suit at the dinner where they first met.

listen for: "We'll have lots of boys and name them all after you." and Henry Mancini's fabulous score.

2 comments:

Erika said...

You stumped me! I'm gonna have to watch it again for the "My Fair Lady" allusion.

my word verification is 'arave': what people do after seeing "Charade"

B Porter said...

Lambert has always stuck out to me, and is actually in written in ironwork on one of the ranch gates between Plainview and Lubbock. Always interested me how they were related when I was littler.