This "Charade" Seems An Awful Lot Like Hitchcock to Me...

 Who do you trust?


The Story:

Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) is on vacation.  She is contemplating leaving her husband, and she bumps into a handsome stranger named Peter Joshua (Cary Grant).  She returns to Paris, to find her apartment empty, everything they owned is gone!  The police come calling, and inform her that her husband is dead!  At the funeral, several strange men (including James Coburn and George Kennedy) come by, just to make sure that he's dead.  When the CIA agent (Walter Matthau) informs Regina that her husband stole $250,000 from these men, and they want it back, Regina doesn't know what to do or who to trust.  Then when she finds out that Peter Joshua may not be who he claims to be, things begin to become even more confusing.

This movie is often mentioned as the greatest Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made.

I'd have to say, that's a pretty close argument.

It follows very much in line with what Hitchcock was doing at the time.  You've got action, suspense, plot twists, mistaken identity and a little romance.

Throw in Cary Grant in one of his final roles just a few years removed from his turn in North by Northwest, and you can see the similarities are very striking between this and other Hitchcockian fare of the time period.

However, this film was directed by Stanley Donen, probably better known for his musicals (Singin' in the Rain) than for something more Hitchcockian in nature, but he does a fine job.  In fact, looking at his credits, the man made a ton of movies, yet to be fair, probably is completely under the radar as far as "Best Directors" in Hollywood.

The movie holds up rather nicely for being a 50 year old film, and I'm glad I finally got around to seeing it after owning it for probably over a decade, unwatched!
Who can you trust?


For those that don't own a copy, it is available for streamable viewing on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'm sure I'll see it again in the future... just not sure when. ;)

Sunday Streaming Classics: The Odd Couple

After the play, but before the tv show...

The Story:

Neat-freak Felix Unger (Jack Lemmon) finds out his wife wants a divorce after 12 years of marriage.  Despondent, he heads out to kill himself, but is unsuccessful.  Luckily for him, one of his best friends, Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau) offers him a place to stay while he gets back on his feet.  Also divorced, he's got tons of room, or at least so he thinks.  Oscar is a bit of a slob, and it won't be long before the two friends come to blows in this comedy based on the stage play by Neil Simon.

I have mixed feelings on this one.

It's a lot like M.A.S.H. for me, sort of.

With MASH: I grew up watching the television show, enjoyed it, still have fond memories of it and catch the occasional rerun.  Saw the movie finally when I was older, and was underwhelmed.  I liked the show better.

With the Odd Couple, I know I watched it, I still remember the opening theme, and watching Tony Randall pluck that cigar with the end of his umbrella.

Other than that...  not a whole lot of memories.

Saw the movie, and there was the theme song, other than that...meh.

It was okay.  Lemmon and Matthau are great at what they do, they always were.  They do a great job with what they are given.  Some of the bits are inspired. 

Otherwise, it simply...was.

I see how they were able to get the tv show going, keep the boys together and keep letting the boys duke it out verbally.


Here, there is definite closure, with both being better off for having lived together for a short period of time.

End of story, curtain.

Just like a play.

Final Grade: C+  (I know, I feel like a heel for giving it such a low grade...)

Would I Own It:  Nope, this viewing was good enough for me.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.