A viewer’s delight. This movie had two of the great movie stars seen on screen, which marked the first time they starred together. This is Stanley Donen’s romantic-suspense drama ‘Charade.’ A movie that could have been a Hitchcock thriller or a James Bond movie.

The first time when I heard about this movie was in a local quiz competition. Our team didn’t get the answer to the introduction scene of this movie. The movie title always fascinated me. That was just one of many reasons to watch this movie. Little did I know then, it would star Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn?

Cary Grant was 59 and hence wasn’t convinced about romancing Audrey Hepburn, who was just 33 at that time. He did refuse the offers made to him because of the age difference.

Finally, Cary Grant did agree because of Peter Stone’s script’s specific change, the writer. It was decided that Audrey Hepburn would be pursuing him, and promptly the romantically aggressive lines were shifted to Audrey Hepburn’s character.

This film also reiterated the fact of Cary Grant playing action roles with ease. He refused James Bond owing to age. Apart from these legendary actors, Walter Matthau plays a pivotal character.

Audrey Hepburn plays the character of Regina Lampert, who would lose her husband through murder. Many of his friends would come to take the money, which was stolen in gold from US Government during WW II. She is ignorant about his past, and the plot continues when three of her husband’s ex-partners in crime, the US Government, all chase her in search of money. The screen name of Cary Grant changes every 20-minutes in the movie, who has a protective and selfish motive in the film. The film is shot mainly in Paris and Switzerland.

This movie, made in 1963, was a box office hit, and this movie happened to be the only time Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn appeared together on screen. Cary Grant had refused ‘Roman Holiday’ earlier, which ended up being listed in Time’s 100 Greatest Movies.

Apart from Audrey Hepburn’s lines, I love the last scene where Cary Grant chases Audrey Hepburn. Why does he pursue? Watch the movie and find it out yourself.