A news brief in the 17 Sep 1962 DV indicated that principal photography would start sometime in Oct 1962 in Paris, France. On 15 Nov 1962, the LAT confirmed that filming began 22 Oct 1962. Reporting from Paris, unit publicist Herb Sterne noted that fifty percent of the picture was being shot “on the streets … along the Seine, around Notre Dame Cathedral, through the sewers, and near the Eiffel Tower.” Filmmakers planned to complete interior sequences at Studios de Boulogne.
       Although the story of Charade is set in the springtime, cast and crew were faced with frigid temperatures and falling snow in Paris in Dec 1962, according to a 5 Dec 1962 DV news brief. Snow was a welcome backdrop, however, while filming the sequence that follows opening credits, in which Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn’s characters first meet. Various sources, including the 8 Jan 1963 DV, noted that these scenes were shot over five days in early Jan 1963 at a ski resort in Megève, in the French Alps.
       Seven months later, a 27 Aug 1963 DV news item announced that Charade would premiere at the Palace Theater in Washington, D.C., on 24 Sep 1963. Universal Pictures had already slated the film for a Christmas release, but agreed to a “single-evening advance showing.” Singer Ella Fitzgerald performed on stage prior to the screening, and, according to an account in the 20 Oct 1963 issue of Jet magazine, the event helped raise over $50,000 to prevent low-income children from dropping out of school.
       Prior to the film’s theatrical release, an article in the 10 Nov 1963 LAT recounted the challenges that screenwriter Peter Stone faced in getting his first feature screenplay produced. After showing a script of Charade to several studios and receiving no interest, the writer decided to revise the material, with input from novelist Marc Behm, and seek publication for the “novelette” in Redbook magazine. His strategy was a success, capturing the attention of producer-director Stanley Donen, who quickly secured rights to the magazine story. The LAT speculated that Stone’s final screenplay might be considered an “adaptation” of what appeared in Redbook, rather than an “original” work, even though, from Stone’s perspective, the produced screenplay was “pretty much the same” as the early draft that so many studios had refused. The query, which may have held significance in terms of awards nominations, ultimately became a moot point, as Charade received one Academy Awards nomination in the category of Best Music, Original Song (Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer).
       A 6 Dec 1963 NYT review warned moviegoers of the film’s “ghoulish humor,” but commended Donen’s direction, the stars’ rapport, and entertaining “screwball comedy” elements. In a 2010 essay written to accompany the Criterion Collection’s Blu-ray release of a restored, high-definition digital transfer of the picture, film historian Bruce Elder remarked that, with its quirky mix of “murder, mayhem, romance, and marriage,” Charade won over audiences in the 1960s, as well as those in ensuing decades.