On This Day...Charade (1963)

 Charade was Cary Grant's 70th full length film and was released today back in 1963.

Synopsis:

Regina Lambert(Audey Hepburn) is the wife of a man named Charles Lambert. Upon her return to Paris from a ski holiday, in Megève, she finds her husband's been murdered, and their apartment stripped bare.

She is told by CIA agent Hamilton Bartholomew (Walter Matthau) that Charles Lambert was one of a group of men who stole a quarter of a million dollars in gold from the U.S. government during World War II, and the government wants it back.

The money was not found among his few possessions, and Regina can't shed any light on its whereabouts. She's soon visited by Peter Joshua (Cary Grant) whom she'd briefly met whilst in Megève. 

When her husband's former partners (in crime), who were double-crossed by Charles, begin to terrorise her for the money, Peter offers to help Regina find it. So begins an elaborate charade, in which nothing - and no one - is who, or what they seem to be.

With George Kennedy,

"Hepburn, an elegant apparition in her Givenchy gowns, gives her usual distinctive performance, but Grant, skillfully handling some of the best material he's worked on in a long time, comes up with one of the happiest high-comedy performances." - Richard Whitehall, Films and Filming

"More credit, then, to producer-director Stanley Donen who has brought to the screen an absolute delight in which Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn schottische about with evident glee." - Newsweek

Did You Know?

After finishing this film, Cary Grant was quoted as saying, "All I want for Christmas is to make another movie with Audrey Hepburn." Although it never happened, Grant was offered the role of Higgins in My Fair Lady (1964), and requested Hepburn as his co-star in Father Goose (1964).


According to Audrey Hepburn, the scene where Regina spilled ice cream on Alex's suit was based on a real-life accident where Hepburn spilled red wine on Cary Grant's suit at a dinner party.


This film is in the public domain, due to the failure to put the then-required copyright notice in the released print. The attempt at a copyright notice in the film failed to include the text "Copyright", "Copr.", or "©", as was needed by pre-1989 U.S. law; only the year and supposed copyright holder were listed.


Audrey Hepburn was several years older than actresses who had already played Cary Grant's love interest back in the 1950's, such as Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield, which makes the fact that this movie often gets cited as an example of age gap relationships all the more peculiar. Hepburn was already in her mid-30's here, and "only" 25 years younger than Grant.

When looking at the receipt of Charles' possessions, the date was May 4, 1963, which was Audrey Hepburn's thirty-fourth birthday.

Cast:

 Cary Grant ... Peter Joshua
 Audrey Hepburn ... Regina Lambert
 Walter Matthau ... Hamilton Bartholomew
 James Coburn ... Tex Panthollow
 George Kennedy ... Herman Scobie
 Dominique Minot ... Sylvie Gaudet
 Ned Glass ... Leopold W. Gideon
 Jacques Marin ... Insp. Edouard Grandpierre
 Paul Bonifas ... Mr. Felix
 Thomas Chelimsky ... Jean-Louis Gaudet

With Audrey Hepburn, James Coburn, Jacques Marin and Ned Glass.

On location.

Lobby Cards:

Alternative Posters:

Directed by Stanley Donen.

Distributed by Universal-International.

Running time: 113 minutes.

My Life In A Month With Archie...September Review (2020).

Well September like every other month this year seemed to fly by!!

So what happened? Well among other things there were eight 'On This Day' film releases.

September 1st:

The first 'On This Date' film releases...The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer(1947) was Cary Grant's 50th film.

September 2nd:

Following close on the heels of yesterday was, 'On This Date' for I Was A Male War Bride (1949) and People Will Talk (1951), Cary Grant's 54th and 56th films.

 September 3rd:

Now that I'm back at work, I was thinking of getting into a routine and learning a language...like Italian!

September 4th:

Today I went to watch the original Jurassic Park at the cinema. Dinosaurs roaming free in a park was always going to have issues.

September 5th:

As it turned out the Trafford Centre felt exactly like this! I love this posed for picture though. It's great to look at how it was staged and how it captures the classic scene.

September 6th:

Inside of me there is a thin person struggling to get out!!! Be more left than right...right!!

September 7th:

New weeks coming around far too quickly, I always approach reluctantly.

September 8th:

Today my blog hit 2,000 views so it only felt like the right thing to do to say thank you. This also gave rise to the opportunity to post about Cary Grant and the Oscars.

September 9th:

Challenging days at work always make me feel a little bit...meh! A slow walk home helped to reset.

September 10th:

So today saw the doctor calling me to take me off some tablets...which was great news! It's now down to me to change my lifestyle enough in 3 months so that I don't have to go back on to them!!

September 11th:

9/11 2001...The day an iconic city and skyline was changed forever.

September 12th:

Tennis at this time of year was a welcome surprise!

September 13th:

Very, very tired today...so it was simply goodnight!

September 14th:

The weather this year has been remarkable. So, today was no exception...mid September and ice cream?

September 15th:

Monkey Business (1952) was the 4th film of the month to feature as 'On This Date'...Cary Grant's 58th film.

September 16th:

Blonde Venus (1932) was the 5th film of the month for the 'On This Date' slot and was Cary Grant's 5th film too.

September 17th:

It's always sad when someone passes away, whatever their age. Today was a funeral to attend and a reminder that we should do our best in this fragile life.

September 18th:

The roads were remarkably quiet today, so driving to work meant that I got there way too early!!

September 19th:

The 6th 'On This Date' feature, for the month, was taken by The Howards of Virginia (1940) and Cary Grant's 37th film.

September 20th:

Nothing like a nice relaxing drive out. And the bonus of another sunny day in September. It's a great picture too.

September 21st:

World Peace Day today and the thought that peace and quiet isn't just for libraries!

September 22nd:

None But The Lonely Heart (1944) was Cary Grant's 46th film and the 7th 'On This Date' post for the month.

September 23rd:

One of my favorite Cary Grant films and one of his least favorite. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) was Cary Grant's 47th film, released just one day after his 46th. The reason? It had been made two years earlier, but had to wait until the stage production had finished it's run! The final 'On This Date' post of the month.

September 24th:

Day off and typically the sun wasn't out...but I was ready!

September 25th:

Autumn now here...wrap up warm and don't forget your sunglasses.

September 26th:

I just loved the expression on both of their faces.

September 27th:

One of those days where every yawn is epic.

September 28th:

Moving into another week, time is flying, and the Hope that it would be better than previous ones.

September 29th:

It's time to start exercising. I've put it off long enough, so I'm going to start off gently.

September 30th:

Today sees the start of a 10 day break from work. Strangely, I'm ready for it! But do I allow my face to have a rest from shaving? That's the dilemma!

So, get ready for October...!!