Arabesque (1966)

Directed by Stanley Donen. Starring Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Alan Badel, Carl Duering, Kieron Moore, John Marivale, George Couloris, Duncan Lamont, Harold Kasket.

Big-time let-down from director Stanley Donen as he returns to Charade territory for this lightweight mystery-spy-thriller. The roles are basically gender-swapped with Gregory Peck as the innocent dupe swept up into danger with deceitful enigma Loren. The script is weak despite being co-authored by Charade screenwriter Peter Stone—under a pseudonym (Pierre Marton) to hide his despondence—and even though the twisty action rarely slows down, it keeps the viewer at arm’s length instead of yanking him or her along. Donen tries to shake things up with flamboyant camera angles and stylized visuals, but that kind of filmmaking was never his bread-and-butter for a reason. In a part clearly written for Cary Grant (the light quips and comic reactions might as well be patented with his name on ‘em), Peck is all wrong here, and although she’s certainly photogenic, Loren doesn’t have the light, inscrutable touch for the superficial yet convoluted material. This pretty bauble is all glass, and it breaks easily. At least one good thing came out of it: renowned and prolific stuntman Vic Armstrong got his start in feature films here.

39/100