Charade (1963) Call us an overly sentimental softie, but around this time of year, we plan our own personal Christmas movie festival........
No, it doesn't automatically include 'White Christmas' and 'It's A Wonderful Life'.....though we own a DVD with both those films on it that's been sitting on our 'Must Watch This Season' pile for the last five years......(sigh...) ok, maybe this year.....we promise.....hopefully.
What our holiday festival does include - a list of our favorite movies that we first encountered as Christmas time releases.......back in the Jurassic days when theaters often didn't get their huge pile-up of movie goodies until December 25th itself.
"Charade" opened in selected theaters for the holiday season of 1963.......and it's known primarily for two main factors.....
Factor # 1. - Hailed and cherished as one of the most skillful imitations of an Alfred Hitchcock romantic thriller......complete with the Master of Suspense's blend of mystery, sexual chemistry and some creepy thrills and accompanying violence.
Factor # 2 - Notorious for a massive mistake on the part of its studio, Universal - forgetting to include a copyright notice on the film's credits......which eventually led to the film's falling into the Public Domain, degraded and cheapened by its inclusion on who knows how many terrible transferred copies in ultra tacky, dollar store DVDs.
Since we're reviewing 'Charade' strictly on the basis of a pristine, digitally remastered Universal Studios disc, we'll only concentrate on the movie itself and why we love it so.
What a delight this movie is from start to finish...... watching it always makes us feel like we're gobbling a six course meal made up of nothing but sweet desserts. Slickly directed by MGM musical master Stanley Donen, the only thing missing from its expert, sparkling mix of Hitchcockian elements is that extra bit of nasty perversity that Hitchcock brought to his projects.
(By the time "Charade" came around, Hitchcock had left behind frothy entertainments like "To Catch A Thief" and "North By Northwest".... he was busy indulging his weird Tippi Hedren obsession with "The Birds" and "Marnie".....)
Though a planned Hitchcock project with her fell apart, here we can adore Audrey Hepburn in the next best best thing.......playing an ultra-fashionable, suddenly widowed woman in Paris who's menaced by three dangerous associates of her late, mysterious husband - one of whom might be the one who murdered him by throwing him off a speeding train.
To her rescue come two separate men who couldn't be more different, a dashing suave stranger (Cary Grant) with multiple identities and hidden agendas,.....and a rumpled, avuncular CIA official (Walter Matthau) who enlists Hepburn's help in recovering a long lost boodle of cash stolen by her hubby and coveted by the trio of thugs threatening her.
Everything's in place here for a delicious comedic thriller and the movie constantly delivers all the way through. Even with Cary Grant's efforts to tamp down the romantic sparks because of the age difference between him and his co-star, the sparks still fly naturally.
And was there ever a more perfect trifecta of three supporting villains than James Coburn (the drawling good ole boy Texan who delights in throwing lit matches into Hepburn's lap), the weasel-like gnomish Ned Glass, (using massive sneezes as his main weapon) and the hulking, physically powerful George Kenney (armed with a hook on one hand and a red hot temper).
Toppin all this off.....Henry Mancini's bouncy, sprightly score with its memorable main theme and when called upon, ominous strings and urgent percussion. What more could anyone ask for.......twists, surprises, a finale with multiple reveals? They're all there.
Forever a top of the line effort, "Charade" made our 1963 Christmas a lot more fun.....and keeps on doing so every subsequent year......a 5 star (*****) FIND OF FINDS.
No comments:
Post a Comment