Charade

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

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!

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.

The odd trio of James Mason, Pamela Mason and director Roy Kellino (Pamela's first husband prior to James) made this obscure 3-part feature, which IMDb omits any mention of an American release. It's quite poor and merely a curiosity.

In-joke throughout is that Mason has decided to produce a movie, and this is it. He was riding high as a major movie star at the time, fresh off playing Rommel in "The Desert Rats", Brutus in "Julius Caesar", Captain Nemo in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and with "A Star Is Born" on tap. Unfortunately, while hardly a home movie, its sense of the Masons indulging themselves is palpable.

Kellino was doing a fine job directing segments of "Four Star Playhouse" on TV at the time, and this one plays like three reject segments of same, stuck together, with the Masons starring, sort of a Two Star Playhouse.

Worst one is a comedy in which Jame plays a modern King Midas character, uncannily able to make a fortune effortlessly, but unsatisfied with his empty life taken up entirely by wheeling and dealing. He opts to give it all up and goes to England to seek some purpose in life, yet oddly spending his time working in menial jobs ranging from window washer to a butler. He fall in love with a Cockney style maid played by Pamela, and ends up back in New York running his former empire again -strictly a shaggy-dog story written by Pam & James without an ending.

Better is a Dumas adaptation by Scott Forbes of an Alexandre Dumas story, with Forbes starring as the bad guy opposite James. It's a one note affair about them duelling, with Scott the cad. Typically, in the movie's wraparound footage, James regrets not taking the villain role himself instead of the hero.

He gets to be a sterotypical, egotistical villain in the other vignette, a two-hander for himself and James. It's a tedious suspense story minus suspense, as she witnesses a murder but falls in love with the murderer, who of course is James. Their verbal sparring is boring, and the material goes nowhere.

When I saw that James Mason was both starring in and producing Charade I was very interested to check it out. It was interesting in that his wife was the female lead playing opposite him throughout all three shot films. I really wanted to like Charade, and I did to a certain degree, but generally speaking it was a rather disappointing viewing experience. For starters I felt that Pamela Mason has a limited acting range and was not able to convincingly adapt her talents to all three of the short films showcased here. She wasn't bad, but for me she was a weak link overall. Still, it was kind of interesting and if you're curious then check it out and see what you think.