Curnow kicked three of his team's six straight majors leading into three-quarter-time as the Blues seized control and powered away with a 17.15 (117) to 15.8 (98) victory at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
Patrick Cripps (39 disposals, 13 clearances) and Sam Walsh (35, six) were also hugely influential in the third-quarter blitz, which was decisive in Carlton's fifth win from six games.
It was the Giants' first defeat of the year after a club-best five-match winning streak to start the season.
Curnow kicked four consecutive behinds during the second term as Carlton dropped 22 points behind, but found his target after the break and finished with 3.4.
Charlie Curnow (left) kicked three goals and four behinds as Carlton rallied to see off GWS. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)
Tom De Koning kicked a career-best three majors and Harry McKay added three of his own, all in the second half.
George Hewett (31 disposals, six clearances) and Matt Kennedy (27, three) also stood up as the latter celebrated his 100th AFL game against his former club with a goal in the dying stages.
But Zac Williams was substituted out at halftime following a knock to his right achilles and Jacob Weitering was forced to soldier on after copping an accidental kick to his left hamstring late in the second term.
Carlton dominated the clearance count 48-32, including a landslide 22-8 advantage out of the centre, and were well on top in contested possession (151-121).
Tom Green and Lachie Whitfield, each with 29 disposals, were busy for GWS as Jesse Hogan, Jake Riccardi and Josh Kelly all kicked three goals.
But the Giants had few winners after halftime and face a nervous wait for the match review officer's assessment of Toby Greene's aerial collision with Jordan Boyd in the final quarter.
There were four lead changes in an entertaining opening term and the Giants trailed at quarter-time for the first time this season - 5.1 to 4.1
Three of the Blues' five goals came direct from centre bounces as they ran rampant out of the middle, winning centre clearances 7-1.
Cripps' hot start featured 10 disposals and five clearances in the first quarter but Curnow didn't have a single touch in that period.
The Blues' spearhead injected himself into the contest in the second term but missed four consecutive goal-scoring chances as the Giants piled on six straight majors to build their 22-point buffer.
That advantage evaporated in the third term as Curnow, McKay and De Koning all hit the scoreboard, and Carlton piled on 10 goals to six in the second half to run away with an impressive victory in front of 40,474 fans.
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