Tagged: Charade
Walter Matthau’s Navy Striped Suit in Charade
Walter Matthau as Carson Dyle in Charade (1963)
Vitals
Walter Matthau as Carson Dyle, posing as CIA administrator Hamilton Bartholomew
Paris, April 1963
Film: Charade
Release Date: December 5, 1963
Director: Stanley Donen
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today commemorates the 99th birthday of the great Walter Matthau, the New York-born actor and comedian. After playing heavies in movies like the Elvis vehicle King Creole (1958) and his self-directed Gangster Story (1960), Matthau got a chance to exercise his versatility and comedic chops with a delightfully duplicitous role in Stanley Donen’s romantic comedy thriller Charade (1963).
James Coburn’s Corduroy Suit in Charade
James Coburn as Tex Panthollow in Charade (1963)
Vitals
James Coburn as Tex Panthollow, larcenous former OSS commando
Paris, April 1963
Film: Charade
Release Date: December 5, 1963
Director: Stanley Donen
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
As portrayed by the brilliant and versatile James Coburn, Tex Panthollow makes his dramatic introduction in the beginning of Charade as the second of three mysterious men who show up to “pay respects” at the funeral of their one-time brother-in-arms Charles Lampert, each one increasingly perplexing his widow Reggie (Audrey Hepburn) with their behavior. Par examplum: Tex draws a hand-sized mirror from his inside breast pocket and holds it directly under the deceased’s nose to ensure that he’s really passed from this world before sneering: “Arrive-derci, Charlie.”
Cary Grant’s Green Pajamas in Charade
Cary Grant in Charade (1963)
Vitals
Cary Grant as Brian Cruikshank (aka Peter Joshua, Alexander Dyle, or Adam Canfield), U.S. Treasury agent
Paris, April 1963
Film: Charade
Release Date: December 5, 1963
Director: Stanley Donen
Background
Take your relaxing Saturday a step further during Cary Grant’s birthday weekend with a tasteful loungewear ensemble and a charming Archie Leach classic like Charade, one of the legendary actor’s final films before his retirement and the only one for which he was nominated for both a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe.
After yet another death in Paris, Reggie Lambert (Audrey Hepburn) and a man she now refers to as “Adam Canfield” are mustered from their sleep by the industrious Inspector Grandpierre (Jacques Marin), setting the two back on their search for the film’s MacGuffin in the middle of the night. Continue reading
Cary Grant’s Charcoal Flannel Suit in Charade
Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in Charade (1963)
Vitals
Cary Grant as Brian Cruikshank (aka Peter Joshua, Alexander Dyle, or Adam Canfield), U.S. Treasury agent
Paris, April 1963
Film: Charade
Release Date: December 5, 1963
Director: Stanley Donen
Background
Heading back to business for the first day in the new year, nothing is more appropriate for a winter’s day in the office than a charcoal flannel suit similar to the one that Cary Grant’s multi-named hero wore to the office for the finale of Charade. Continue reading
Cary Grant’s Ski Attire in Charade
Cary Grant in Charade (1963).
Vitals
Cary Grant as Peter Joshua (maybe), mysterious government agent
Megève, France, Winter 1963
Film: Charade
Release Date: December 5, 1963
Director: Stanley Donen
Background
The first scene of 1963’s Charade finds its two romantic leads – Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn – engaged in a flirtatious tête-à-tête at a ski resort in southeastern France. The tone of the film is excellently set in this first scene with the immediate danger of a Luger aimed at our heroine… and the immediate comedic relief that follows when it turns out to be a boy’s insanely realistic water pistol. Grant then swiftly comes onto the scene to trade barbs with Hepburn, although she nicely deflects each of his charming attempts with a witticism of her own.
What’d He Wear?
For his mountaintop introduction to Reggie Lambert, Cary Grant’s abundantly-named character – here introduced as “Peter Joshua” – is dressed for a day on the slopes… or at least a chilly day very near the slopes. Continue reading
Charade – Cary Grant’s Dark “Drip Dry” Suit
Cary Grant as the multi-named hero in Charade (1963)
Vitals
Cary Grant as Brian Cruikshank (aka Peter Joshua, Alexander Dyle, or Adam Canfield)
Paris, April 1963
Film: Charade
Release Date: December 5, 1963
Director: Stanley Donen
Background
Referred to as “the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made”, Charade is a well-made blend of espionage thriller, screwball comedy, romance, and whodunit mystery. It was one of Cary Grant’s final movies before his retirement after Walk, Don’t Run in 1966.
In the film, Grant plays the well-suited hero or foil (depending on the scene) to Audrey Hepburn’s character, housewife Regina “Reggie” Lampert, who is gradually learning the layered criminal truth about her recently deceased husband. Although he was 59 years old when the film was made, Grant makes a convincing action hero, spending most of the final third of the film running, jumping, and shooting.
As to be expected, Grant is immaculately suited through most of the film.
On the 109th anniversary of Grant’s birth—when he entered the world in Bristol, England, as Archibald Leach on January 18, 1904—please enjoy… Continue reading