Charade is Fun to Look at

The review:

I’ve seen bits of Stanley Donen’s Charade here and there,* but hadn’t watched the entire movie until now. What I found was the usual falling-in-love-for-no-reason** and a very low-key thriller.*** I find the doe-eyed enthusiasm of Hepburn trying at times (and especially in this film) but when I ignored the romance aspect, it was fun to try and figure out what was going on, plus there’s a great wardrobe to look at.

The verdict: Good

Cost: $3.99 via Google Play
Where watched: at home to catch up with Filmspotting’s Stanley Donen marathon.

Consider also watching:

• Witness for the prosecution
• High Noon
• Tell No One

Further sentences:

*I suspect that the bits I remember were part of commercials advertising this movie’s run on television in the 80s. I know I watched the first few minutes when I was 12 or so, but found the pacing not great, plus the commercials had told me there were some disturbing parts that my younger self wasn’t quite ready for.
**I mean seriously, I have no idea what caused Hepburn to go gaga over Grant and get all kissy with him. He was super sketchy to me. I suspect this can be blamed on male writers and directors. (“Oh those ladies will fall for any good looking man, no matter how much older or how much his story changes.)
***The things that scared me as a pre-teen barely raised my 40+-year-old heartbeat.

Favorite IMDB Trivia Item:

Seven studios rejected the original screenplay. Screenwriter Peter Stone turned it into a novel which was serialized in Redbook, which in turn sparked interest from all seven studios.