Charade (1963)

Charade (1963), directed by Stanley Donen.

New widow Audrey Hepburn discovers her husband was into some shady business. Several of his dangerous associates show up and demand "Where's the money?" Is dreamy Cary Grant one of them, or is he the one she can trust?

A witty romantic thriller, if not quite as lively as Hitchcock, who owned the genre. We have good leads and colorful villains. Grant is 60 here and although as suave as always, the age difference with Hepburn bothered him and he insisted that she chase him so he wouldn't be a dirty old man. And with all of Paris to use, we spend most of the time in some hotel rooms.

Curiously, the writer and director deny that this is a Hitchcock genre film. They say it harks back to romance/adventure films of the 30s, but couldn't remember any titles.

My wife did not want to see it again; "too 60s", she said. I can see her point. Maybe it's Hepburn's fashions.

Henry Mancini score with a famous theme song.

Available on a Criterion Blu-ray with a light commentary track by the director and writer. They tend to squabble in a friendly way. A story: they were filming in Paris during the Cuban missile crisis, suspended the picture and retired to a bar to watch it on TV to see if there was any point in continuing.

Another story: Donen got Grant to imitate an impersonator and say "Judy Judy Judy" but then lost the film.

The Blu-ray is available from ClassicFlix but not from Netflix.