Arabesque (1966, Stanley Donen)

I thought Stanley Donen’s very Hitchcockian comedy-thriller Charade (with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn) was downright silly but Arabesque, Donen’s second foray into the territory of the master of suspense, is great fun. Gregory Peck is quite funny as a bumbling college professor who finds himself in the midst of international intrigue. Sophia Loren is the definition of window dressing but she looks stunning in a series of gorgeous outfits designed by Christian Dior. Henry Mancini’s (The Pink Panther) music score is a true delight. Christopher Challis’s (Two for the Road) inventive camera angles make Arabesque look like a live-action cartoon. Maurice Binder (James Bond franchise) created the great title sequence. But it is Peck (in a role written specifically for Cary Grant), who surprised me with a hilarious performance; he does have the funniest lines in the film. Arabesque is indeed very goofy but I didn’t care that it was really a mindless piece fluff because the jokes are great and Peck and Loren have great chemistry.

~ by gelpi2008 on Saturday, November 14, 2009.