Charade

What a cute movie! Real life spouses James and Pamela Mason are shown talking in their living room, discussing what it would be like to produce a movie. Pamela insists James is an actor at heart and he'll never produce anything, and James suggests, to make things easier, they gather three short stories for their make-believe film and act in it themselves. Then, they do!

Split into three vignettes, with scenes of the Masons in-between, Charade has something for everyone to love. If you like murder mysteries, rags-to-riches stories, romances, period pieces, French love, humor, drama, or suspense, this movie has it all. Plus, it's very cute to see them together with four different types of chemistry. You can only imagine how fun it was for them to create and film these love stories together. James Mason fans will adore seeing him "at home"-all that's missing are a couple dozen cats walking around!

I bought a video of this Charade months ago and was almost afraid to watch it after reading Sheridan Morley's comments about it in the biography he wrote about James Mason. (If Morley's account of Mason's life is to be believed, he threw opportunity for real Hollywood stardom away with both hands.) I was pleasantly surprised as it was a delightful film, perfect for the small screen. The stories were charmingly portrayed, the acting was fine, but I doubt Pamela would have had much of an acting career without James' coattails to ride on. I actually liked the last story the best. James as Jeeves was particularly funny to me. You could see him switch gears and Viola - there was Diello from Five Fingers.

Having said that, it is clear to me that James and Pamela really had a desire to be creative above any desire for James to be a Hollywood star. One of their early efforts was an independent film James and Pamela wrote, produced (with her ex-husband, Roy Kellino), starred in and distributed. It's called "I Met A Murderer" and despite the hokey title, it's very good.

This is an elegant and very professional film made by Mr. and Mrs.James Mason with themselves acting (together with others) in three very different stories, one involving a heinous murder, the other (the most interesting one) made on a story by Alexander Dumas about Austrian military discipline and code of honour put to the severest possible test, and the third being a comedy about a workaholic business man. The dialogue is extremely sharp and pregnant all the way, so that it's difficult sometime to keep pace with the intelligence, but above all it's great entertainment. It is very akin to the three films made on Somerset Maugham's short stories a few years earlier, Trio, Quartet and Encore, it's the same kind of sustained story-tettling with intensive dialogue and action, so this is a film you undoubtedly will return to some day.for refreshment of your intelligence.

1st watched 2/24/2002 - 6 out of 10(Dir-Roy Kellino): Whimsical and well-made trio of short films made by the husband & wife team of James and Pamela Mason. This movie plays out like a pet project of the couple which it probably was and shows how well-rounded an acting talent James Mason is. His wife isn't bad either which I'm surprised I haven't seen her in other things. The first short is kind of a murder mystery, the second is kind of a romantic drama, and the third is a sort of light comedy piece. They all are done well with the last being the weakest and the in-between sketches discussion between the husband and wife add kind of a commentary feel to the movie. On DVD with 1963(Charade) movie put out by Madacy Entertainment despite the lack of similarity between the two except the title.

I watched this on DVD as a bonus track to the Charade (1963, starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn). The James and Pamela Mason Charade(1953) is the main reason I bought the DVD because I have already watched the other Charade many times. I must say this is a very good production. Small budget it may be. Nevertheless, it offers as much suspense as the well-known Charade 1963.

This is a trio of unrelated short stories all starred by James and Pamela Mason. The Mason couple were there to introduce each short story and give comments after it, as if they were talking to each other in a living room. The first is a murder mystery of a divorced painter in Paris, followed by a duel with a twist between two 18th century Austrian Officers and last but not least, a man who is troubled by his wealth. The Masons acted well and the stories well-told. It is a pleasure to see, every once in a while, unsophisticated set and the plot and characters really in the spotlight. There are no distractions - colour, props, special effects, big stars. This could very well be a stage play. The fact that James Mason produced and Pamela Mason wrote the stories lent authenticity and deep understanding to the movie. The Masons proved that they are talented, original thinkers who could bring their brainchild on screen competently.

Among the trio, I like the last one best. Murders and duels might have been too often repeated on screen. Something out of the ordinary as the third one keeps one guessing about its ending.

I strongly recommend the movie, if not for the acting, then for a tribute to the talents of James and Pamela Mason. 9/10