Movies from the Heart—Charade

Last week’s look at the classic romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s showed us how quickly character traits were revealed—and then how the movie spent time with the characters coming to terms with their own, and the other’s, true nature. This week’s film would most easily be classified as romantic suspense, but is also a comedy—and one that keeps you guessing as to just who one of the characters IS.

Charade [1963], by Peter Stone, story by Marc Behm, tells the story of a woman, Regina, caught up in a mystery totally not of her own making. Her husband is killed right at the beginning of the film before we get to know him or her. They were separating, but still, she’s sad for him, of course.

Then she learns that he had a double—or triple—life and the mystery begins as to why he was killed and who killed him.

Helping her along the way is a handsome guy named Peter who met her at a ski resort just before she learned of her husband’s death… and he turns out to be a thief, but a charming one, so she doesn’t know where to turn.

Intrigue. Suspense. Who to trust… all these things work together to make for a truly memorable movie.

Take a look at a trailer for the film

This film—over 60 years old—looks almost as fresh and fast-moving today as it did in the 60s, which is no small feat.

Part of what makes it work is the script’s use of the element of surprise. And it’s not always big plot points that are surprising. It’s the smallest moment sometimes, the tiniest bit of unexpected dialogue or an unanticipated action. Watch the first 10 minutes of the film—if you don’t see 10 surprises, watch it again.

The enemy of riveting stories is predictability. Don’t you get just a bit bored with the romantic comedy where you know before the film begins how it’s going to turn out—who the girl is going to end up with? Shoot, you can often tell that from the poster for the film!! Any script—frankly, no matter the genre—needs to constantly surprise the viewer. And sometimes those surprises are so small they’re almost unnoticed, but they add dimension to a character.

For example, in the scene where she’s talking to the police at the beginning of the film, the officer asks her if she minds if he smokes and she says “I’d rather you wouldn’t” but in the next scene, we see her smoking. A small thing, but it opens a tiny window into her.

In the end, for Regina, the question becomes ‘who do you trust?’ and the answer is ‘follow your heart’—and the payoff is both heartwarming and funny.

Next week, the beloved musical, My Fair Lady.

Copyright © Diane Lake

10Mar24

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com