Critics reviews

One of those special films - I try to keep them to a bare minimum - which I love out of all proportion to their objective quality, though in fact the way it manages to be simultaneously light and dark for 113 minutes is a quite miraculous bit of tightrope-walking.

Charade presents us with a temporary entry into that brighter place, into the possibility of adventure, the vicarious possession of beauty. Acted by two Europeans in a mythic, dangerous, beguiling Paris, it remains a quintessential Hollywood film...

Donen choreographs the action in a fleet style which never drags or risks heavy-handedness. Also not to be overlooked is Henry Mancini's score. He was the only composer in filmdom capable of such delightful cues as "Latin Snowfall," "The Drip-Dry Waltz," and "Mambo Parisienne."

There are few occasions in cinematic history, when you can say without fear of contradiction, that perfection was attained. One such occasion however is Donen’s Charade, a sophisticated mix of romantic thriller and caustic comedy.

This is what happens when the director of Singin’ In The Rain chances his skillful arm at a Hitchcockian thriller. It’s glossy, charming, silly, and far too self-aware to be at all thrilling. If he’d added songs it would have been magnificent, as it stands it’s a slight piece of star-caressed capering.

Treading into murky waters where death dared to be handled lightly, Donen succeeds in keeping focus not on the particularly vicious demises but rather on composition, performance, and montage.

Screenwriter Peter Stone's clever blend of love story, crime caper and black comedy allows Donen to showcase not only Grant's effortless suavity and wicked timing but also his unexpected emotional conviction and goofy faces.

Consistently better than ordinary without ever being extraordinary, but in this blighted season we moviegoing beggars can't be choosers. The inevitably invidious comparisons with Hitchcock do not really apply here, although I would hate to bet that director Stanley Donen and writer Peter Stone have not seen the master's To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, North by Northwest, and both versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much.

What's going on is sort of confused. Director Stanley Donen (Indiscreet) apparently started out with a sensible idea: with Grant and Hepburn on the payroll and Paris for a setting, why not tell a love story? But somewhere along the production line, he decided to make a thriller instead... But what the heck. The color is nice and Christmassy, especially in the murder scenes.

I tell you, this light-hearted picture is full of such gruesome violence.That much explained, however, there's a lot to be said for it as a fast-moving, urbane entertainment in the comedy-mystery vein.

“Charade” has all the ingredients of success, some in spades, blended into a tasty dish that spells ticket-selling ambrosia.