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Charade Overview:

Charade (1963) was a Comedy - Mystery Film directed by Stanley Donen and produced by Stanley Donen and James H. Ware.

The film was based on the novel The Unsuspecting Wife and also Redbook Magazine Serial Story written by Peter Stone published in publication unknown (novel); year unknown (magazine).

SYNOPSIS

An innocent young Parisienne widow is aided by a handsome American stranger when a cadre of hoodlums shake her down for a supposed "fortune" plundered in WWII by her late husband. Hepburn and Grant are appealing; Donen and the locations add a dash of sophistication. Based on the story "The Unsuspecting Wife" by Marc Behm and Peter Stone.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1963 --- Ceremony Number 36 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Music - SongMusic by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Johnny MercerNominated
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Charade BlogHub Articles:

Arabesque: Stanley Donen's Follow-up to Charade

By Rick29 on Sep 14, 2020 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

Sophia Loren as Yasmin. Oxford University professor David Pollack (Gregory Peck) is ill-prepared for spies, murder, and abduction when he agrees to translate a hieroglyphic message. On the plus side, he rather enjoys spending time with an exotic beauty named Yasmin (Sophia Loren), who may be workin... Read full article

From the Archives: Charade ( 1963 )

By The Metzinger Sisters on Jun 15, 2019 From Silver Scenes - A Blog for Classic Film Lovers

Mrs. Lambert ( Audrey Hepburn ) just received the news of her husband's death from the French police inspector ( Jacques Marin ) in this scene from Stanley Donen's comedy-thriller Charade ( 1963 ). Marin, a native of Paris, was a popular character actor both in Europe and in America. In 1966, he was... Read full article

AUDREY AT 90: THE SALUTE TO AUDREY HEPBURN BLOGATHON: Charade (1963)

on May 5, 2019 From Caftan Woman

Sister Celluloid salutes Audrey at 90 with a blogathon running from May 4 to May 7, 2019. Click HERE to share the love for the actress and humanitarian. When a young widow (she doesn't know it yet) with a killer wardrobe (Givenchy) meets an older and intriguing (he knows it) man with a killer... Read full article

Charade (1963)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 5, 2017 From 4 Star Films

It’s easy to yearn for the days where they made stylish, amusing films like Charade which were equal parts charm, class, and wit all stirred together to perfection. Those were the days when two stars as beloved as Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn could carry a picture no questions asked because p... Read full article

Charade (1963)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Dec 5, 2017 From 4 Star Films

It’s easy to yearn for the days where they made stylish, amusing films like Charade which were equal parts charm, class, and wit all stirred together to perfection. Those were the days when two stars as beloved as Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn could carry a picture no questions asked because p... Read full article

See More Charade Articles

Charade Quotes:

Tex Panthollow: She batted them pretty little eyes at you, and you fell for it like an egg from a tall chicken!
Peter Joshua: How about making me vice president in charge of cheering you up?
Tex Panthollow: Oh, poor old Herman. It seems like him and good luck always was strangers. Well, maybe now he'll meet up with his other hand some place.
Hamilton Bartholomew: [watching Reggie light another one of his cigarettes, immediately after snuffing one out she had barely puffed] Do you know what these things cost over here?
Leopold Gideon: Well, you know I'd tell you if I had it.
Tex Panthollow: Oh *naturally*, just like I'd tell you if I had it.
Leopold Gideon: *Naturally*. And that goes for Herman too.
Tex Panthollow, Leopold Gideon: *Naturally*.
See More Quotes from Charade
Charade Facts
The voice of the Marine in front of the Embassy is dubbed by screenwriter Peter Stone.
After finishing this film, Cary Grant was quoted as saying, "All I want for Christmas is to make another movie with Audrey Hepburn," Although this sadly never happened, Grant was offered the role of Higgins in My Fair Lady, and requested Hepburn as his co-star in Father Goose..
While much is/has been made about the age difference between the Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn characters, If one does the math, (her husband - who never appears in the film - had some rank in the Second World War - nearly 20 years earlier), and looks at the characters who played her husband's contemporaries, it is clear that Hepburn's character had a thing for older men.
Cary Grant initially turned down the movie because he felt he would be too much of a predator pursuing the much-younger Audrey Hepburn. In a last-ditch attempt to sign Grant, Peter Stone worked all night on the script and presented it to Grant to look over just once more. Grant gleefully accepted the role, prompting producers to demand to know what Stone had done. Stone had simply moved all of the romantically aggressive lines from Grant's character to Audrey Hepburn's, making her the predator.
Seven studios rejected the original screenplay. Peter Stone turned it into a novel which was serialized in Redbook, and it was then turned back into a screenplay - which had interest from all 7 studios.
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