Charade (1963)

Some of you may recall seeing Director Stanley Donen tap dance at the Oscars a few years ago at age 80+. The tap dance was a hearkening back to his days as a choreographer and director of musicals. However, he was also one of the most versatile directors ever. With Charade he made what I'd call the only non-Hitchcock directed Hitchcock movie. This is an excellent thriller worthy of Hitch, but it's not a clawing homage like many of Brian DePalma's movies or a direct copy like that ridiculous Psycho remake from a few years ago.

Synopsis:

Charade begins with Audrey Hepburn, as Regina Lampert, has just decided to divorce her husband. Unfortunately by the time she returns from the vacation where she makes this decision - he has clearly left her and then been murdered. Even more unfortunately for Regina, it turns out that the men who killed her husband failed to get what they wanted from him first. He allegedly stole money from a motley group of them (played by George Kennedy, James Coburn and Ned Glass) and since he didn't have it on him when he was attacked the reason that she must have the money and they go after her. Her only allies are Cary Grant and Walter Matthau. As allies go, of course, They're pretty good, but they may not be what they seem.

This movie will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time you are watching. For one thing there is a constant question mark about Cary Grant and whether he is really on Regina (Reggie's) side. In addition to the suspense this is a very funny and fairly romantic movie - great for date night. And did I mention the whole thing is shot in Paris! What more could you want? Speaking of the romantic aspect, when the movie was just being put together, Cary Grant felt that it would be unseemly for him at age 59 to pursue Audrey who was then 34 (and age difference that sadly wouldn't cause today's male leads a moment's hesitation), so he, Donen and screenwriter Peter Stone solved the problem with a rewrite that had her pursuing him romantically. Her pursuit includes arguably the best lines ever about Cary Grant - I'll leave it to you to find out what that is.

A Little Romance (1979)

Diane Lane's first movie and one of Laurence Olivier's last, this sweet romantic adventure is really worth renting. Diane Lane is a brilliant young American girl, Lauren, living in France with her flighty (maybe slutty) mother (Sally Kellerman) and her rich stepfather (Arthur Hill). Despite the attractions of Paris, she's pretty bored with her life until she meets a cute French boy named Daniel who's as smart as she is. It's puppy love at first sight. During one of their outings together, they meet an elderly man with a gift for storytelling (Olivier). One of his stories involves the legend that if a couple kisses under the Bridge of Sighs in Venice at sunset, their love will last forever. When Lauren's parents announce that they will be moving back to America, she decides and convinces Daniel that they must go to Venice so they can be assured that their love will last despite the distance. How they manage this, with the help of Olivier makes up the bulk of the movie.

This is another small, non-action-packed movie, showing my clear bias, but I think you will really enjoy it nonetheless. Olivier's performance is fantastic, and the kids are adorable. The love triangle among, Kellerman, Hill and David Dukes is a little swingin' seventies, but it's a small side plot. For those of you too young to remember mainframe computers and punch-cards this will be something of an education. A friend of mine used to get mad at me for saying that this was Diane Lane's best movie - and she's right that really isn't fair, but it is delightful. The boy who plays Daniel is up to starring opposite Diane Lane although he did only one other movie and now, according to IMDB is a dentist!? Plus his name is Thelonious - how great is that! Both manage to stand up to the acting genius of Olivier. The movie also has wonderful locations of Paris, other parts of France, Italy and especially Venice. If you rent this movie and Summertime (watch this space) you can feel like you've seen Venice without ever having to smell a canal. One more tidbit - Broderick Crawford has a cameo as himself that is worth the price of admission all by itself.