{Charade}

One of my favourite movies is Charade--it has been a favourite since High School. I was crazy about Audrey ever since I can remember...I was captured by her elegance and her poise...and her fashion sense.
When I was in High School, my older sisters were living in Vancouver, attending university & one weekend when they were visiting we decided to rent Charade. 

Audrey (Regina or "Reggie") returns to Paris only to discover her beautiful apartment is in disarray and her husband is dead.

{note the LV luggage in the first shot}

 She also discovers that she really didn't know her husband or his identity and that there are numerous men who are after funds, it seems, that he has stolen. She is summoned to the US Embassy where she meets CIA agent Hamilton Bartholomew (or so she thinks). He informs her Charles was involved in a theft during WWII--Charles, "Tex" Panthollow, Herman Scobie, Leopold W. Gideon and Carson Dyle were parachuted behind enemy lines to deliver $250,000 in gold to the French Resistance. Instead, they buried it, but were then ambushed by a German patrol. Dyle was badly wounded and left to die; the rest got away. Charles double-crossed them, digging up the gold and selling it. He was killed but the money remains missing – and the U.S. government wants it back.

All she is left with is his Lufthansa travel bag, which contains a wallet (with no sign of the 250,000), a notebook, & an unsealed envelope with some stamps. She is now confronted with this unsavoury, yet hilarious cast of characters.

 Who can she trust? To begin with she confides in Cary Grant, only to discover that his identity keeps changing every 15 minutes or so, and all those involved seem to end up dead (& in their pyjamas). After the third murder, Inspector Grandpierre notes, "Three of them. All in their pyjamas? C'est ridicule! What is it, some new American fad?"
 If the plot sounds familiar, it's because the Truth About Charlie (2002) starring Thandie Newton follows the same plot.

The fashion in Charade is great. Check out this outfit housed today at the Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons :

{An evening ensemble by Givenchy: two-piece cocktail outfit comprising a fitted sleeveless top and corresponding skirt of black wool moss crêpe trimmed with imitation jet pailletes, lined in black silk -- made for and worn by Audrey Hepburn as Regina "Reggie" Lampert in the 1963 Universal film Charade.}

The soundtrack is pretty great too. The theme song "Charade" is one of my favourites--I love Harry Connick's version of it, on his album Come by Me. You can listen to it here. Or you can watch the original on YouTube. 
I also love the part in the movie when Audrey has to play spy. She's not sure the true identity of this man that she's been hanging out with (Cary Grant). What girl doesn't like the idea of being a spy? As a kid, I'd keep a little 'spy book' with me, recording all the funny details of people around me. It's what, in the end, gave rise to Tiddley-Bits, my own comic strip of hilarities recording happenings of interests from travels & everyday life in the Clark family.

{Audrey in disguise}

Check out these outfits inspired by Audrey's sleek & chic looks:

{Available on Polyvore}

There are some pretty hilarious moments...some pretty funny sayings. Some that have now become common use in the Clark household (& by extension, by my nieces & nephews). To begin with, when Audrey asks Cary Grant "How do you shave in there?"

Or the hilarious "Tex" who is a constant source of laughter with his expressions like "jumpin' frijoles"; "She batted them pretty little eyes at you, and you fell for it like an egg from a tall chicken!"  Or the words he uses in a fight: "You greenhorn. Why you thick skulled, hairbrained, half-witted, greenhorn." You can hear it here .

{Tex}

{Sylvie: "It is infuriating that your unhappiness does not turn to fat!"}

 The marionette scene is also fantastic--I just love marionettes:


{Punch & Judy in the Jardins des Champs Élysées, Paris}

How does it end?  Well I won't spoil it for you.
 You can watch Charade on liketelevision or you can also see it on Hulu
But to give you a hint, & another favourite quote from the movie (also seen in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts is watching TV): "Oh, I love you, Adam, Alex, Peter, Brian, whatever your name is, I love you! I hope we have a lot of boys and we can name them all after you!"