I just couldn’t kick the hankering for a classic spy movie, and since James Bond wasn’t available, I figured Charade was the next best thing. WRONG. It was the BEST thing. I forgot how much I love this movie! It’s packed full of mystery, style, quirky characters (the quirkiest!), intrigue, and romance. It’s well deserving of the movie promoter’s favorite phrase: There’s somethin’ for everyone!

Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) has escaped with a friend to a mountain resort where she confesses she’s been considering leaving her husband Charles. After all their years of marriage, she hardly knows him and it seems to her that he’s living a double life. But Regina doesn’t get the chance to divorce her husband. When she returns home, she discovers he has been killed, and learns from an American CIA agent (Walter Matthau) that Charles was actually a spy and had hidden a fortune from a group of rough-and-tumble war buddies who were out to find the money no matter the cost.

A mysterious man (Cary Grant) whom she had met during her vacation seems to be the only one she can trust as she launches her own investigation to find Charles’s money and evade the scary men who are also after the fortune. But soon she begins to suspect his motives as well.

Charade is often mistaken for a Hitchcock film, and though directed by Stanley Donen, it does bear the marks of what we all love about a good Hitchcockian thriller- amiable characters, edge-of-your-seat suspenseful moments, witty dialogue, and two people who fall in love during the midst of personal crises. Hepburn’s character is delightfully doused with the perfect amount of quirkiness (she never stops stress-eating throughout the entire story), innocence, and remarkable drive to delve into a dangerous investigation. Cary Grant is charming as usual, albeit a bit too old to be playing Hepburn’s romantic counterpart. But enjoyable nonetheless. They don’t have the best chemistry in this movie, but not everyone can be Grace Kelly, I suppose!

All-in-all, Charade is a tremendously enjoyable film I always recommend, even to those who aren’t usually into “old movies.” I promise, it will not disappoint. Charade is available to watch instantly on Amazon right here.

Sometimes I stumble on an old movie I’ve never seen before, and strike gold! What a Way to Go is definitely a gold strike. Starring Shirley MacLaine, who was perfectly cast in a role that could’ve easily gone to someone like Doris Day, and with a slew of leading men I just adore- Paul Newman, Dick Van Dyke, Robert Mitchum, Dean Martin, Gene Kelly, and Robert Cummings- this movie couldn’t go wrong. And not just with the cast. The plot is a hilariously bright and fun dark comedy that hits the right spot. A bright dark comedy? I promise, it’s a real thing. And you won’t want to miss it.

The story begins with a rich lady who is turned away from the IRS headquarters after she tries to write a check for millionaires of dollars, simply as a donation. She is sent to a psychiatrist to be analyzed, and so begins to tell him about her curse.

Louisa May Foster (Shirley MacLaine) was just a simple girl who wanted to marry a simple man. She would have nothing to do with the rich and handsome Leonard Crawley (Dean Martin), because she was more interested in quoting Thoreau and falling in love with a man who had no ambition and would get nowhere in life- Edgar Hopper (Dick Van Dyke). After Edgar promises never to work hard and raise their station in life, they got married and lived an idyllic life in a dingy little cabin by the lake. Until one day, Edgar did’t come home from fishing at the Lake, and Louisa May caught him working at his general store. Edgar worked so hard that they became multi-millionaires, but incidentally, he worked so hard, that it suddenly killed him. So Louisa May was left all alone with millions of dollars she doesn’t want.

After running away to Europe, she meets another poor man and falls in love with him, only to have him become rich and die. This happens to her two more times, until she is scared to ever fall in love again, because she seems to have this awful affect on men- she makes them rich, and then they die.

Oh what a fun movie! From the hilariously silly plot to the amazing cast, and let us not forget the set and costumes! Edith Head (of course!) designed Shirley MacLaine’s wardrobe, which varied greatly depending on which husband she had at the moment. She wore all pink while married to Pinky, and wore dramatic gowns painted by her artist husband when she lived in Europe. Each outfit is a treat for the eyes. The homes she lived in were immaculately designed as well, and I particularly loved the scene when a crazed painter covers the entire pool lounge area in pink paint, and proceeds to chase Louisa May with his bucket of pink paint. The humor in the film doesn’t stop at wardrobe and set design, and I love that!

It’s no surprise that What a Way to Go was nominated for two Oscars in 1965- best art direction and best costume design. But it lost out on both of them to another lavish film I love- My Fair Lady. Maybe I never saw it because it was overshadowed by the classic Audrey Hepburn musical? But I’m so glad I finally discovered What a Way to Go! Be sure to check it out- I think you’ll love it! You can rent or buy it on Amazon instant view here.

The swinging ’60s is remembered as a time when free love began and antiquated sexual mores loosened up. It’s heralded as a time when a long awaited social shift loosened our chains and ushered in the modern culture we appreciate today. But Alfie shows us a different side of things. A sociopathic ladies’ man is out to take advantage of anything, and everyone, to make himself feel good. But in the end, he’s just left with loneliness behind a string of hearts he broke.

Alfie (Michael Caine) is just a humble chaufeur who doesn’t ask for too much out of life. Just that his ladies live and breath to serve him and consider his wants above all else. He’s developed a habit and using and then discarding women of all walks of life- He doesn’t discriminate. Constantly absorbed with thoughts only of himself, he leaves behind wreckage wherever he goes. Finally after having lost his son, causing an abortion of another child, and missing out on every chance at real happiness, he decides he wants to change. But he doesn’t know how. What is life really all about?

Alfie fools people into thinking the movie is sort of a romantic comedy, but it’s certainly not that. It’s more of a dark drama with a narrarator who tricks himself into thinking it’s all just comedy. Alfie guides you through his story by turning to the screen and talking to the audience about himself. It’s a unique narrative style, and really works to convey how diluted Alfie’s character really is. Sort of Woody Allen before Woody Allen was, well, Woody Allen.

As I mentioned before, Alfie does a great job of showing us a different side of 1960s swinging London- the male-dominated, female-objectifying side that was only a more perverted version of ’50s male chauvinism, because it presented itself as a new, better lifestyle where woman could feel free. This story shows the kind of brokenness that this selfish kind of lifestyle brings, though, and while it’s a bit of a depressing look at a sad man’s life, it’s definitely a great, realistic look at humankind.