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Charade
(1963)
In this Hitchcock-like thriller (similar to To
Catch a Thief (1955) and North
by Northwest (1959)) and mystery-romance by director
Stanley Donen - a tale about the search for missing and stolen
gold treasure worth $250,000 by five survivors of WWII who were
in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) together, and were
now threatening the newly-widowed and estranged wife of one of
the accomplices:
- in the opening, the tongue-in-cheek sequence set
at a swanky ski resort at Mont d’ Arbois in Megeve, Switzerland,
in which a gun was pointed at lovely Regina ("Reggie")
Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) on her holiday - held in the grip of the
young son of her friend - it was a water pistol!
- upon her return to Paris, Reggie's shock to find that
her husband Charles, who she was planning to divorce, had been brutally
murdered during her absence, by being thrown from a train; she was
given his possessions in a Lufthansa travel bag: a letter addressed
to her, a ticket to Venezuela, passports in multiple names and other
items
- the scene of the funeral of Reggie's murdered husband
Charles, when three strange men (three of the accomplices) - later
identified as Tex Panthollow (James Coburn), Herman Scobie (George
Kennedy), and Leopold W. Gideon (Ned Glass), sternly paid their respects
by staring into the casket to assure themselves that the man was
dead
- Reggie's reaction to CIA administrator-agent Mr. Hamilton
Bartholomew's (Walter Matthau) warning at the American Embassy that
the three men were probably coming after her: ("If you're trying
to frighten me, you're doing a first-rate job!")
- the often witty (and goofy) dialogues between
"Reggie" and charming American stranger 'Peter Joshua'
(Cary Grant), such as: (Reggie: "Do you know what's wrong with
you?" Peter:
"No, what?" Reggie: "Absolutely nothing")
- the violent fight scene on a slippery Paris rooftop
(with a backdrop of neon lights) between Peter and hook-handed Herman
Scobie
- the revelation to accomplice Tex Panthollow who suddenly
realized (in a creatively-filmed sequence) at a Thursday outdoor
stamp fair market that Charles must have bought expensive rare stamps
there and placed them on an envelope to hide his $250,000 worth of
treasure
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Tex's Sudden Revelation
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Valuable Stamps
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- Reggie's visit to a kindly rare stamp dealer Mr.
Felix (Paul Bonifas) with a large magnifying glass, who revealed
that the stamps torn off an envelope (addressed to her from her
husband) were extremely valuable
- the concluding tense chase through the streets of
Paris and onto Metro cars and subway stations - when Reggie was pursued
by the enigmatic and seemingly-untrustworthy thief 'Adam Canfield'
(one of 'Peter Joshua's' four aliases or identities; he also falsely
claimed he was Carson Dyle's brother, Alexander)
- the scene of the anxiety-producing, chase and tense
stand-off between 'Adam' and gun-wielding 'Mr. Bartholomew' - when
Reggie had to decide who was telling the truth: (Adam: "Reggie,
stop! That man is Carson Dyle...I tell you, he's Carson Dyle....If
you take him those stamps, he'll kill you, too..." Bartholomew:
"Mrs. Lampert, he wants the money for himself. That's all he's
ever wanted" Reggie:
"He's with the CIA. I saw him at the embassy" Adam: "I
tell you, he's Carson Dyle"); she became exasperated with both
of them: "Oh, I don't know who anybody is"; they continued:
(Adam:
"Reggie, I beg you. Just trust me once more" Reggie: "Why
should I?" Adam: "I can't think of a reason in the world
why you should")
- the final plot twist revelation came to light when
Bartholomew admitted that he was actually one of the accomplices
(a fifth individual named Carson Dyle, who was thought to have been
fatally wounded in a German ambush) - and that he had vengefully
murdered the others: ("...it takes a lot of bullets to kill
me. They left me there with five of them in my legs and my stomach.
Mrs. Lampert, they knew I was still alive, but they left me there.
I spent 10 months in a German prison camp with nothing to stop the
pain. They left me there, Mrs. Lampert. They deserved to die...You've
got the money now. It belongs to me. Mrs. Lampert, they knew I was
still alive, but they left me there. That's why I had to kill them,
all four of them. Please believe me, Mrs. Lampert. I'll kill you,
too. It won't make any difference. It's no use. You're running out
of time. I've come too far to turn back. I swear, I'll kill you")
- the confrontation continued into an empty theatre,
where 'Adam' calculated where Bartholomew/Dyle was standing above
him on the stage and was threatening to kill Reggie: ("The game
is over, Mrs. Lampert"); 'Adam' pulled a lever to release the
A-4 trap door, that propelled the killer downward to his death; after
being saved, Reggie apologized to 'Adam': "I'm sorry I thought
you were the murderer, but how was I to know he was as big a liar
as you are?" - he quipped: "Is that all the gratitude I
get for saving your hide?"
- the denouement the next morning, when "Adam" and
Reggie joined together and visited the Treasury Department, but he
insisted that she enter alone into the second floor office; to her
shock and amazement, she found him in an inner office, sitting at
a desk - he was revealed to be a good guy - none other than undercover
agent Mr. Brian Cruikshank
- the closing discussion between Reggie and Cruikshank
about marriage was interspersed with his demands for the hidden fortune
(stamps), and her continuing torment and confusion about his real
name and identity:
- Reggie: "...Marriage license! Did you say marriage license?"
- Cruikshank: "Now don't change the subject. Just give me the
stamps."
- Reggie: "Oh, I love you, Adam... Alex... Peter... Brian... (his
identities were seen in split-screen) Whatever your name is. Oh, I
love you. I hope we have a lot of boys and we can name them all after
you."
- Cruikshank: "Well, before we start that, may I have the stamps?"
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Opening: Water Pistol
Funeral: Scobie Checking Out Reggie's Husband's Dead Body
in Casket
Peter on Rootop vs. Scobie
Reggie Pursued
The Chase and Tense Stand-off in Theatre
The Revelation of "Adam's" Identity
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