Stamps also play a key role in the movie Charade , which features Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, where Hepurn's charachter Reggie discovers that her apartment is empty after returning to Paris from a trip to the French Alps. She also finds out that her husband was murdered when trying to leave the city. It turns out that her husband died with an abundant sum of money that he stole during World War II that is nowhere to be found. Her husband’s sketchy wartime compatriots fullheartedly believe that the money has to be hidden somewhere in the dead man’s belongings, but Hepburn has no idea where the money actually is despite all of her efforts to find it.
Her husband’s belongings that were with him at the time of his death include ordinary items such as a passport, a pen, a stamped letter, a comb, and some other small things. Nothing pops out as being worth $250,000. The mystery remains unsolved until Reggie comes across a market selling rare stamps and realizes that the money was there in front of her the entire time! It was the stamps that were worth the $250,000. She then realizes that she had already given the three stamps on the envelope to her friend’s son, Jean-Louis, for his collection, thinking nothing of it at the time. Once she finds Jean-Louis, he brags that he traded the three stamps for a whole bag of them!
With the murderous Carson Dyle on their heels, she desperately attempts to find the stamp collector and soon finds herself face to face with Mr. Felix, the man in question. As she enters the man’s office, he says quite simply, “I was expecting you. I knew you would come. Look at them, madame. Have you ever in your entire life seen anything so beautiful?” Reggie just replies, “I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about stamps.” In a calm and soothing voice Mr. Felix then begins to explain the history of the first of the three stamps. After the explanation, Reggie asks, “What is it worth?” Mr. Felix replies, “The money is unimportant.” Regie replies“I’m afraid it’s very important.” Reluctantly, the stamp collector confesses that the stamp is worth at least $85,000. He goes on to explains that the second stamp is valued at around $65,000.