As noted many times before,ARABESQUE is a rehash,if virtually not a sequel,to the same director's CHARADE made several years earlier.It is not as good as the previous effort,a superbly scripted and cast comedy thriller with the incomparable Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn.Grant was apparently intended for the lead here,and although he would have been in his early sixties if this casting had gone ahead,he would have been a more assured lead than his replacement Gregory Peck.Peck,a fine straight actor,seems a little uncomfortable handling the various wisecracks and witticisms abound in the script,something which the ever-youthful Grant would have handled with more aplomb.That said,at 50,Peck's performance is perfectly acceptable,and he is a credible,handsome romantic lead to the alluring Sophia Loren,whose English by this time was fluent enough for her to give a more charming,rounded performance than in previous UK or US films.The best performance though comes from Mancunian actor Alan Badel,who despite an excess of gravy-stained make-up and dark shades,remarkably manages to make his villainous,suave Arab character almost entirely convincing.Badel wisely doesn't give the part a cod foreign accent which would have turned the role into a crude caricature but a deliberate,carefully modulated standard English accent which gives the part a depth and menace it didn't necessarily have in the script.Badel dominates the film,but oddly enough another Mancunian actor,George Coulouris,also plays an Arab character in the opening scene.
The script by Peter Stone has much similarity with CHARADE with it's various twists and turns,but tends to lack it's predecessor's surprises and cleverness,though amusing lines and incident do usually compensate.Stanley Donen's direction is commendably brisk and pacey,though by this time(the mid 1960's),directors of spy thrillers like this thought it was the right thing to add flashy,kaleidoscopic camera tricks and angles to it's content.Donen is no different here,filming many scenes behind various pieces of furniture,glass,etc. which were somewhat pointless even four decades ago and date such films pretty badly now.It's main technical achievement is sumptuous photography by Christopher Challis,one of the best colour cameramen of his day if not the best.
If Donen hadn't fallen into the trap of trying to be trendy and directed ARABESQUE in a more restrained,yet effective way like CHARADE,it would probably have been rather better,but despite it's flaws,ARABESQUE is still a largely enjoyable,fast-moving and amusing comedy thriller.
The script by Peter Stone has much similarity with CHARADE with it's various twists and turns,but tends to lack it's predecessor's surprises and cleverness,though amusing lines and incident do usually compensate.Stanley Donen's direction is commendably brisk and pacey,though by this time(the mid 1960's),directors of spy thrillers like this thought it was the right thing to add flashy,kaleidoscopic camera tricks and angles to it's content.Donen is no different here,filming many scenes behind various pieces of furniture,glass,etc. which were somewhat pointless even four decades ago and date such films pretty badly now.It's main technical achievement is sumptuous photography by Christopher Challis,one of the best colour cameramen of his day if not the best.
If Donen hadn't fallen into the trap of trying to be trendy and directed ARABESQUE in a more restrained,yet effective way like CHARADE,it would probably have been rather better,but despite it's flaws,ARABESQUE is still a largely enjoyable,fast-moving and amusing comedy thriller.