I did not remember that the movie “Charade” opened just a couple of weeks after John F. Kennedy’s’ assassination.

In his 2013 The Guardian article, Michael Newton writes, “During ‘the dark days’ after JFK's death, ‘Charade’ offered Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn (the two most attractive people ever to appear on screen?), a Henry Mancini score, Givenchy dresses, suspense, glamour and Paris. In the midst of the dislocation and strangeness produced by JFK's assassination, it must have seemed one of the few signs that life was proceeding as normal; the world may have become strange, but Hollywood's illusions were intact.”

As I said, I have no recollection of the proximity of the two events, but what I do remember is going to see the movie with my mother and that being one of the loveliest memories of my early teen years. Years later, during the VHS era, I bought her the video tape for Christmas, and when we revisited the film after Christmas dinner dishes were put away, we agreed that it was just as delightful as we remembered.

We meet our beautiful couple when Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) falls for the dashing Peter Joshua (Cary Grant) on a skiing holiday in the French Alps. She discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband's World War II cronies who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines.

I always thought of “Charade,” as “Hitchcock-light,” a story in the style and tone of “To Catch a Thief.” And like “Thief,” “Charade” throws two very different people together in a series of twists and turns equally scary, comedic, and romantic. And, just to take it over the top, it offers up three perfectly creepy villains.

Adding to the enjoyment of this wonderful escapade will be a video introduction by Dr. Jon Cavallero, Bates Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies. So mark your calendars to join us on Thursday, Feb. 9 or Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. for an enchanting reminder of what comedic thriller and romantic chemistry were in their loveliest, purest forms.

And don’t forget our last two classic films of this season: “Manchurian Candidate” on March 9 and 11, and “The Graduate” on April 13 and 15.

The Harbor Theater is at 185 Townsend Ave. in Boothbay Harbor. For more information, visit https://boothbaycinema.org.