Charade is a 1963 American romantic screwball comedy mystery film produced and directed by Stanley Donen, written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, and starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. The cast also features Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Dominique Minot, Ned Glass and Jacques Marin. It spans three genres: suspense thriller, romance and comedy.
Charade was praised by critics for its screenplay and the chemistry between Grant and Hepburn. It has been called “the best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made”. It was filmed on location in Paris and contains animated titles by Maurice Binder. Henry Mancini’s score features the popular theme song “Charade”.
In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. Take a look at these fabulous photos to see portraits of Audrey Hepburn during the filming of Charade in 1963.
This movie was too sophisticated to be labeled "a screwball comedy." Charade is darker and far more violent than traditional screwball comedies. It includes multiple murders and genuine suspense.
ReplyDeleteIt’s also a mystery-thriller, with plot twists and a sense of danger that would feel out of place in a pure screwball comedy.
The tone constantly shifts — one moment playful, the next tense — which gives it a genre-blending quality more complex than a standard romantic comedy.