Charade review

 Number 280 on the top 1000 films of all time is Stanley Donen's romantic comedy mystery 'Charade.'

Regina "Reggie" Lampert is a translator holidaying in the French alps when she receives the news that her husband Charles has been murdered while leaving Paris. He is also accused of stealing $250,000 during World War 2. Together with the handsome, morally duplicitous Brian Cruikshank (Cary Grant) she must solve the mystery. George Kennedy, James Coburn and Walter Matthau all co-star.

Charade has been described as the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made and it certainly has all the hallmarks of a Hitchcock film: plenty of plot twists, a knife-edge atmosphere, ambiguous characters and, of course, Cary Grant. But Charade was a formidable effort from Stanley Donen. And it deserves to be reviewed on its own merits.

Thrillers, like any other genre, can tend to be formulaic. Attractive female lead is embroiled in a mystery which she can't possibly solve without the help of an attractive male lead. There's a deformed villain in the shape of the hook-handed Herman Scobie played by the gigantic George Kennedy, and throw in a Henry Mancini score for good measure. Yet Donen kept things refreshing by obscuring Cruikshank in shades of grey. He is not your generic, clear-cut hero, but something far more mysterious. The audience is trying to figure out his identity at the same time as Reggie. And considering his identity changes multiple times, there is a detective work to do. The title 'Charade' has never been more appropriate.

Cary Grant also turned his hand well to the comedy. The tense atmosphere threatens to be a bit stuffy, but he kept things light with his comedic timing and goofy facial expressions. Audrey Hepburn was also a very likeable protagonist. She is just an innocent woman who is inadvertently embroiled in a mystery and it's easy to want her to succeed.

Overall, I absolutely enjoyed this film. Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn were great as the leads. As for being the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made, I would certainly agree with that.