Charade (1963).

The Scoop:
Two of Hollywood's classic romantic leads, Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, team up for this great suspense thriller, their only cinematic pairing.

Hepburn is Regina Lampert, a widow who discovers that her dead husband had a secret past and a big stash of hidden loot. Pretty soon, all his old cohorts are chasing her through Paris and it's up to Grant to save her -- if she can trust him. Where's the money hidden? Who will the killer strike next? The viewer is kept guessing right up to the end and Hepburn and Grant keep the romantic sparks flying. The supporting cast is filled with familiar faces, including James Coburn, George Kennedy and Walter Matthau.

Produced and directed by Stanley Donen, best known for his musicals, "Charade" is smart, witty and stylish. The script by Peter Stone is great, as is the music by Henry Mancini. Top notch all the way. This is one of the best films Hitchcock never made.

Best Bit:
Just pick any bit of banter between Hepburn and Grant. It's all great.

Side Note:
At the British Academy Awards, this performance earned Grant a nomination for Best Foreign Actor -- even though he was born and raised in London.

Companion Viewing:
"Suspicion" (1941) and "The Usual Suspects" (1995).

Links:
IMDb.
Sweet Sunday Mornings.
The screenplay.

Take a Look:
The deadpan trailer:


Time for a shower!

The Gorilla (1939).

The Scoop:
I watch this crap so you don't have to.

Why should you bother watching "The Gorilla"? This one is only for the morbidly curious who want to see Bela Lugosi's career in mid-decline. Here he plays straight man (as does the similarly-declining Lionel Atwill) to the tragically unfunny Ritz Brothers who are trying to solve the mystery of a serial killer in an old mansion.

They don't get much more boring than this. Even eight hours of Andy Warhol's camera trained on the Empire State Building will entertain you more than "The Gorilla."

Seriously, I can't recommend this movie to you less. I shouldn't even be writing about it, and you shouldn't even be reading about it. As it is, we've all just wasted a few precious minutes of our finite lives on it, not to mention all the irreplaceable fossil fuels we've just burned up by using our computers to deal with it. Let's all just cut our losses now and move on. Please, just move on.

Best Line:
"But how could a monkey write those notes to Uncle Walter?"

Side Note:
The costumes were designed by Gwen Wakeling, who would go on to create Barbara Eden's iconic costume for "I Dream of Jeannie."

Companion Viewing:
"The Bat Whispers" (1930).

Links:
IMDb.
1,000 Misspent Hours.

Take a Look:
Here's a taste. Now imagine 66 straight minutes of this:


You best watch out. Bela regulates the fridge:

Topaz (1969).

The Scoop:
Much like he did with "Saboteur" years earlier, Alfred Hitchcock eschewed big box office stars to make this Cold War espionage tale. A pair of spies -- one American (John Forsythe) and one French (Frederick Stafford) -- team up to hunt for Soviet nuclear secrets in Havana during the Cuban Missle Crisis. The film is based on a Leon Uris novel (adapted by Samuel A. Taylor), which in turn was based on a true story.

Thanks to the changing times, Hitch was able to take advantage of Hollywood's looser restriction on sexual content, being more explicit with many of the things he only hinted at in his earlier films. And there are some good sequences detailing the nuts-and-bolts of espionage work. But beyond that "Topaz" cannot quite be considered the highlight of his late (post-"The Birds") period, and it is certainly not on par with his classics. This film is a must only for Hitchcock completists and Cold War spy buffs -- for everyone else, this is strictly optional.

Best Bit:
The cinematography during Juanita's death scene.

Side Note:
Hitchcock, a notorious perfectionist about his preproduction, continued to fuss with the script and storyboards during shooting. In fact, he shot three different endings, the only time he ever did so.

Companion Viewing:
"Saboteur" (1942) and "Torn Curtain" (1966).

Links:
IMDb.
Associated Content.
This Distracted Globe.

Take a Look:
I love the vintage "swinging" look of this trailer:


We found Hitch's cameo, so you don't have to: