“(Stanley Donen) shot it better than he ever shot any picture. Everything was shot as though it were a reflection in a Rolls-Royce headlamp.”
- scriptwriter, Peter Stone
In the 1960s, director Stanley Donen delved into the intriguing world of international espionage with two captivating films, CHARADE (1963) and ARABESQUE (1966). Both were box office hits; however, CHARADE was also adored by critics, and over time it has been signled out as one of Donen’s finest films. It is a slick and darkly funny Hitchcockian thriller with a clever script and a terrific cast that includes Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, and George Kennedy. But despite the wide appeal and critical acclaim heaped on CHARADE, I’ve long believed that ARABESQUE is the better film.
ARABESQUE features Gregory Peck as a professor of hieroglyphics at Oxford University. The professor’s life takes a dramatic turn when he is asked to decipher a challenging hieroglyphic that draws him into a complex mystery involving an Arab businessman with a foot fetish (Alan Badel), a respected Middle Eastern political leader (Carl Duering), and a beautiful spy (Sophia Loren). Unlike CHARADE, which seemed to borrow its entire look and plot from Hitchcock, ARABESQUE takes its cues from a variety of sources including Terence Young’s James Bond films and stylish British espionage thrillers such as Sidney J. Furie’s THE IPCRESS FILE (1965) and Jack Cardiff’s THE LIQUIDATER (1965). It also incorporates some Hitchcock-inspired twists, including obvious nods to NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959), but what sets ARABESQUE apart is its willingness to play fast and loose with genre conventions. The film’s combination of imaginative camera techniques, a standout Henry Mancini score, and a striking wardrobe by Yves Saint Laurent, give it a creative edge over many similar films of the era including CHARADE.
Gregory Peck has often been criticized for being rather rigid or wooden on screen but in ARABESQUE he gives one of his most relaxed performances as Professor David Pollock. Despite the role initially being written with Cary Grant in mind, Peck’s lanky frame and stilted manner are well-suited for the role of a banal and befuddled scholar who puts his students to sleep with his teaching methods. His character thinks the best of everyone, which gets him into all kinds of trouble, and this vulnerability lends him a likable everyman quality. When the good professor suddenly finds himself having to outwit spies and outrun assassins his naivety is believable. Peck also displays undeniable chemistry with his female co-star, the stunning Sophia Loren. Their erotic encounters and playful banter, which is peppered with risqué jokes, lend the film a surprisingly adult quality.
Unlike Audrey Hepburn who played a naive and childlike young woman in CHARADE that had no idea what was happening to her and was forced to rely on male costars for support, Sophia Loren is in control of much of the action in ARABESQUE and that’s one of the reasons why I find the film more engaging. Loren is a great screen beauty and her looks often overshadowed her performances but in director Stanley Donen’s hands she gets to show off her comedic abilities, athletic prowess, and sex appeal all while wearing an incredible array of eye-catching costumes.
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Loren’s best moments in ARABESQUE are when she’s forced to get tough and outwit her male costars. In one particularly effective scene, she teams up with two fellow spies (Kieron Moore and Duncan Lamont) who resemble the group of oddball characters that Cary Grant was working with in CHARADE. Loren, along with these bumbling ne’er-do-wells, kidnaps Peck’s character and begins questioning him in the back of a van. The actress’s transformation from a vulnerable sex kitten into a dangerous adversary is startling. As her large almond-shaped eyes narrow and her graceful jaw locks up you quickly suspect she’s capable of anything. It makes you wish Loren had been given more bad girl roles that allowed her to subvert her femininity and explore her darker nature.
Films with simple plots and cookie-cutter narratives rarely hold my interest for long and although I can understand why ARABESQUE is often criticized for its convoluted script and erratic editing, these things add to the film’s appeal to me. When I go to the movies I want to be knocked out by the visuals and in that regard, ARABESQUE is a much more arresting film than CHARADE. Stanley Donen, along with cinematographer Christopher Challis, pulled out all the stops when they were making ARABESQUE, and their everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach makes the film a sensory delight for thrill-seeking viewers.
In the book Dancing on the Ceiling: Stanley Donen and his Movies, the cast and crew discussed their experiences while making the film and Donen is the most critical. He conveys his frustration with the script and is quoted as saying, “We had to make it so interesting visually that no one will think about it.” But scriptwriter Peter Stone added that the director, “shot it better than he ever shot any picture. Everything was shot as though it were a reflection in a Rolls-Royce headlamp.” Gregory Peck also described the film well by observing that, “If you look at the picture, we were always moving, because Stanley just wanted to keep the ball in the air the entire time, and he used every camera trick you could think of.”
Donen’s creative tactics turned ARABESQUE into a pop art extravaganza loaded with memorable images and mod flourishes. The director’s camera effortlessly glides through the air, moves under and over tables, and takes aim at any reflective surface that is handy. He also enjoys playing with light and shadow, which gives the film an artificial atmosphere at times adding to its comic book look and cartoon-like atmosphere.
Another aspect of the film that is so appealing is that the Middle Eastern characters are not all thugs, killers, criminals, and psychopaths despite the fact that most, if not all, were played by European actors wearing dark makeup. Along with Sophia Loren who portrays a smart and sophisticated modern-day Arab woman, Carl Duering is also surprisingly effective as a regal Middle Eastern leader who longs for a peaceful solution to his country’s problems. In fact, the entire plot of ARABESQUE, which contains references to oil and political unrest, gives the film a much more contemporary feel than many of its sixties counterparts.
Lastly, Henry Mancini's impeccable score deserves to be singled out. Mancini was one of the decade's most prolific composers, and he worked with Donen on CHARADE and ARABESQUE. Both scores are terrific, but I particularly admire the way that Mancini infused his soundtrack for ARABESQUE with a Middle Eastern flair and psychedelic undertones giving it a unique and exotic sound. It works incredibly well within the film and adds a layer of mystique to the production.
If you’re ready to immerse yourself in an imaginative depiction of espionage, adult romance, fabulous mod fashions, and an element of exotic mystery set in London during the swinging sixties, you’ll find that the film a great way to waste a couple of hours. But to appreciate the experience you’ll have to set aside expectations, embrace the era's eccentricities, and just sit back and enjoy the wild ride that Stanley Donen and his cast take you on.
I originally wrote this piece for Turner Classic Movies in 2012 but it has been updated and reedited.