Charade (1963 film)
Charade is a 1963 American romantic comedy[1] mystery film produced and directed by Stanley Donen,[5] written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, and starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. The cast also features Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Dominique Minot, Ned Glass, and Jacques Marin. It spans three genres, suspense thriller, romance and comedy.
Charade
The Unsuspecting Wife
1961 short story[2]
by Peter Stone
with Marc Behm
Stanley Donen
Henry Mancini
Song:
Henry Mancini (music)
Johnny Mercer (lyrics)
113 minutes
United States
English
$3 million[3]
$13.4 million[4]
Charade was praised by critics for its screenplay and the chemistry between Grant and Hepburn.[6] It has been called "the best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made".[7] It was filmed on location in Paris and contains animated titles by Maurice Binder. Henry Mancini's score features the popular theme song, "Charade".
In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[8]
Release[edit]
The film was slated for a Christmas release, but Universal consented to a one-time advance showing at the Palace Theatre in Washington, D.C., which was a benefit to raise money to help low-income children stay in school. Singer Ella Fitzgerald performed, and, according to Jet magazine, $50,000 was raised,[1] equivalent to almost a half-million dollars in 2023 money.