Charade
Universal Pictures | Release Date: December 5, 1963 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
83
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Entertainment WeeklyChris Nashawaty
Hepburn doesn’t know whom to trust and neither does the audience, which is what makes this Hitchcock-lite thriller so much fun. The chemistry between the two leads — something surprisingly missing between Depp and Jolie — is electric. Read full review
100
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Charade is a finely crafted thriller that has a lot to offer beyond its clever plot. The radiant Hepburn's romance with the suave Grant is delightfully handled; the Oscar-nominated theme song by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer is superb; the location photography is exquisite and the rooftop fight scene between Grant and Kennedy is truly harrowing. Read full review
100
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
Few thrillers create as much sheer joy and happiness as Charade, in which Cary Grant spoofs his Alfred Hitchcock persona, Audrey Hepburn exudes her usual magnetic charm, and Paris is as scenic as ever. [18 Jan 2018, p.E4]
90
VarietyRobert Frederick
Firsttime teaming of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, a natural, gives the sophisticated romantic caper an international appeal, plus the selling points of adventure, suspense and suberb comedy. Read full review
90
The GuardianMichael Newton
For all of its 113 minutes, 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. Read full review
90
SalonMIchael Sragow
Stanley Donen's classy crime caper has charm, wit -- and Cary Grant. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The sexual chemistry between Hepburn and Grant, when set against Charade's tumultuous backdrop of shifting identities, makes this movie an enduring favorite. Read full review
88
Chicago ReaderDave Kehr
A terrifically entertaining comedy-thriller, perfectly crafted by Stanley Donen from an ingenious screenplay by Peter Stone. Read full review
80
CineVueCleaver Patterson
Ahead of the pack must be the winning duo of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, whose performances in director Stanley Donen’s masterpiece Charade is as intoxicating as a dry martini. Read full review
80
The New YorkerPauline Kael
A debonair macabre thriller--romantic, scary, satisfying.
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen
This sounds a bit like Hitchcock, but Charade—written by Peter Stone and directed by Stanley Donen—isn’t nearly interested enough in humanity’s dark side to qualify. The movie just wants to have fun. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChris Cabin
Shot by Charles Lang, one of the greatest American cinematographers to ever live, Charade is some sort of miraculous entertainment, self-aware and self-parodying yet never distancing or detached. Hepburn is the audience’s funny and flighty proxy, allowing us the great pleasure of being seduced by Grant’s unpredictable charmer. Read full review
70
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
While hardly as sturdy or provoking an entertainment as North by Northwest, say, it remains an entertainment. Read full review
60
EmpireIan Nathan
Perhaps the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made. Read full review
60
TimeStaff (Not Credited)
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. Then he turned the thriller into a sophisticated comedy of murders. Read full review
60
The New York TimesBosley Crowther
There's a lot to be said for it as a fast-moving, urbane entertainment in the comedy-mystery vein. Read full review
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