Charade (1963)
A woman returns to Paris to find her husband murdered, his fortune missing, and three of his wartime associates certain she is hiding it. A charming stranger offers to help, though his name keeps changing. Donen plays it as sparkling comedy and genuine menace at once, with Mancini's score gliding underneath.
“The best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made” — and, thanks to a printer’s slip on the title card, one you can watch here for nothing.
Background
Charade was directed by Stanley Donen, who had made Singin’ in the Rain, and written by Peter Stone. Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn play the leads, with Walter Matthau, James Coburn and George Kennedy as the men who want a fortune Hepburn’s character never knew her husband had. The story goes that Grant insisted on changes so that the woman was the one who chases the man, to avoid the age difference looking awkward.
What to watch for
The film is a blend of thriller, romance and comedy shot on location in Paris, with a witty script and a score by Henry Mancini, and the titles by Maurice Binder are a classic of the era. Its public-domain status comes from a copyright notice error that meant the film was not properly protected, which is why it can be shown here. Watch for the scene on the Seine, the fight on the rooftop and the exchange that begins “Do you know what’s wrong with you?” It was remade in 2002 as The Truth About Charlie.
