CHARADE

Having recently watched 'Arabesque' which was an unsuccessful attempt by director Stanley Donen to replicate the success of this earlier film I decided to go to the OG, which I had seen before, some time ago.

It has so much going for it compared with the follow-up, notably a twisty plot yet one with a simple and intriguing premise. Audrey Hepburn's husband has died in mysterious circumstances, and then three sinister figures turn up claiming that he had stolen money from them which she must now have.  They were comrades of her husband in the war who together stole some gold from the US government.

It’s a frightening situation for her but thankfully handsome Cary Grant turns up like a white knight to help her. Except that she soon discovers that he is not who he says he is and that he is not a disinterested party.  A lot of the pleasure in the film is in the ups and downs of their relationship and whether she can trust him, whilst all the time they are falling for each other.

Admittedly the film sags a little in the middle as we get a little too much bickering between the three ex-comrades of Hepburn's husband, and a contrived and unexciting rooftop fight between one of them and Grant.  

We also get a couple of peculiar comic turns by Grant, one involving apples and the other a shower, which feel unnecessary.

No matter, the climactic scenes make up for any false steps.  First, the mystery of how the money has been hidden is solved, and although it doesn’t stand up to too much scrutiny it’s certainly clever and leads to my favourite scene of the film, involving a stamp collector. 

Then there’s an exciting escalation leading to a dramatic scene in which Hepburn has to decide who to trust: Grant or a CIA manager drolly played by Walter Matthau (spoiler alert: he’s not all he seems)

And then after she has made the right decision, and Matthau is despatched, there is a final scene which wraps the whole confection up very neatly.

Plus it's in Paris, with a score by Henry Mancini.   What's not to like?