CHARADE, 1963
CHARADE, 1963
CHARADE, 1963
1 More
CHARADE, 1963
4 More
These lots have been imported from outside the EU … Read more
CHARADE, 1963

Details
CHARADE, 1963
Audrey Hepburn's working script for the 1963 Universal Pictures production Charade, dated 1 October 1962, the revised draft script comprising 137 loose pages of mimeographed typescript, with 32 pages printed on coloured paper representing revisions to the script with varying dates December 1962 - January 1963, the majority of the parts for the character of Regina "Reggie" Lampert marked in pencil or Hepburn's signature turquoise ink, with words underlined for emphasis, deletions to directions and approximately 13 pages annotated in Hepburn's hand with copied out lines and minor amendments to the dialogue, including:
- p. 50 verso when Reggie describes the character she believes to be Carson Dyle [Cary Grant] Hepburn adds the description ...going grey actually, you see he's not young but he's not too old either...
- Additionally five pages have been annotated verso with pencil diagrams in an unknown hand, possibly working out the positioning for the confrontation at the Colonnade in the Jardin du Palais Royal
11 ½ x 9 ¼ in. (29.2 x 23.5 cm.)
Special notice
These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Adrian Hume-Sayer
Adrian Hume-Sayer

Lot Essay

Immediately after shooting finished on Paris When It Sizzles, Audrey extended her lease on the Bourbon chateau she had been renting when the irresistible opportunity to star opposite Cary Grant in the Paris-based Hitchcockian comedy-thriller Charade turned up on her doorstep. The screenplay had been written specifically with Grant and Hepburn in mind, though Grant was at first reluctant to accept the part due to their 26 year age difference, having previously turned down the part of her love interest in Love In The Afternoon for the same reason. Together with screenwriter Peter Stone, Grant made revisions to the script to flip the romantic dynamic and make Audrey, as recent widow Reggie Lampert, do all the chasing, highlighting the age gap as part of the comedy with witty lines such as I could already be arrested for transporting a minor above the first floor.

The delightful film is packed full of tricks, twists and double bluffs, following Reggie's slow realisation that her late husband was a liar and a thief, as she is routinely terrorised by his one-time criminal associates in their search for the money they stole from the U.S. government during the war, while all the time kept bouyant by the flirty repartee and developing romance between Hepburn and the identity-shifting Grant who comes to her aid as Peter Joshua, Alex Dyle, Adam Canfield and finally Brian Cruikshank.

With a dream cast, witty dialogue, chic setting and thrilling storyline, Charade was Hepburn's biggest hit yet, hailed by The New Yorker as the best American film of the year.

More from Audrey Hepburn: The Personal Collection

View All
View All