Fran Assa: I would argue that matters of "charm" are akin to matters of "grace".[ Epstein, on the theme of "Charm" in the movies, mentions Cary Grant (impersonating an American) and Robert Colman.For the French, Charles Boyer and Maurice Chevalier. For the Italian, Marcello Mastroianni.  An example of Russian charm is George Balanchini's & "Vladimir Nabokov had almost the same type of charm."]. The final word on the attribute of "grace" has to be Elaine's of Seinfeld:  See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENgJZlmgI6U

 

JM: What intrigues me is why Epstein's chapter about the motion pictures and Fred Astaire brings in V.Nabokov's singular charm. I wish I had W.S.Gilbert's imagination (covertly allied to that other WS's verbal genius*)to positively perorate on this matter.

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* If we agree with Polonius that ''Brevity is the soul of wit"