Audrey / Sabrina

Another joyous look at SABRINA, that Billy Wilder perennial from 1954, cementing Audrey Hepburn's stardom after her ROMAN HOLIDAY sensation of 1953. Here are some comments of mine from a previous review on it:

She has some great looks in SABRINA, where she seems one of the most gorgeous creatures ever put before a camera, whether at the start up in that tree watching the Larabee's party, or on her return from Paris when David Larrabee (William Holden) zooms up to the station to drive her home with her new French chic, or that dress she wears to the Larrabee party, or that black dress with the little hat, against the New York skyline. Is there anything more chic, even after 60 years practically - well of course there is Audrey's look in FUNNY FACE, the whole BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS thing, the various Sixties looks she adopted for CHARADE (the mustard yellow coat!), TWO FOR THE ROAD, HOW TO STEAL A MILLION, as Givenchy and Edith Head gowned her for those movies, which are still adored today.

I love how in SABRINA (of course Bogart is too old for her, as Linus - but it doesn't matter, just like it doesn't that Fred Astaire could practically be her grand-father in FUNNY FACE) Mrs Larrabee tries to put the chauffeur's daughter in her place at the party by telling her that she must come up to the house to cook something special for them to show them what she has learned in Paris. The way Sabrina says "Oh, I've learned a lot" is perfect ...SABRINA is a marvellous black and white film too, and remains a Billy Wilder perennial. Oddly enough, I hate his other one with Audrey: 1957's LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON, another Audrey in Paris movie and a supposed tribute to Lubitsch, but a collapsed souffle for me, much as I love Gary Cooper he is simply to old with Audrey here and the film is just a damp squib. Billy regained his touch though with his next one - the funniest comedy ever made: SOME LIKE IT HOT. Indeed.

Most tributes to Audrey (like ballet dancer Darcey Bussell's recent television documentary) focus on fashion icon Audrey, but she was a marvellous actress too, as in THE NUN'S STORY, THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, THE UNFORGIVEN, and I loved her later THEY ALL LAUGHED, all at Audrey Label.