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!

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.

If you're wondering the Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn film Charade is not a remake of this. This Charade is a collection of three short stories where would be film producer James Mason and his Pamela Mason discuss some film projects and they are short stories she's written and filed away in a trunk. Some of them should have stayed there.

The Masons play the leads in all three stories. Of the three the best was the second where Mason who is a crack duelist is goaded into a duel by Scott Forbes over Pamela Mason. Only Forbes has a diabolical scheme in mind since as the challenged party Forbes gets to choose, time, place, and method.

The other two are of lesser quality, but they do show that James Mason was an actor of great versatility. Like I didn't already know that, still this is within a less than 90 minute time frame.

Mason didn't think much of it according to the Citadel Film Series book on his career. But I rather liked the second story and he underrated himself here.

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

Episodic British film about a couple (James and Pamela Mason) who go through three scenarios as possibilities for a film, with them taking the lead in each scenario.

The best one by far was the first, about a woman who sees her neighbor's killer but doesn't tell anyone. Later he shows up to romance her, and she falls for him.

The second one is a period piece about a soldier challenged to a duel, and the third is about a man with the Midas touch who gives it all up to look for what he really wants in life.

All in all, very good.