Sabrina

Rating:
Summary: The Fresh Appeal Of Audrey Hepburn
Review: SABRINA is a sophisticated comedy with an outstanding cast. It also helps that Billy Wilder serves as both director and producer while assisting with the screenplay of this popular movie.

In many ways the plot reminds me of Wilder's THE APARTMENT. The leading lady has a choice between two men and she finally makes the right decision which is a great relief to all of us.

The fresh appeal of Audrey Hepburn carries the film. Humphrey Bogart proves he still has lots of durability by excelling in a romantic lead opposite a starlet who is at least young enough to be his daughter. William Holden shows his versatility as an actor in the role of an irresponsible playboy.

The movie received three Academy Award nominations including best director for Wilder and best actress for Hepburn. It was also nominated for best screenplay.

Rating:
Summary: Sabrina, An Enchanting, Divine And Charming Misplaced Person
Review: Fairchild, the Larrabee's faithful long suffering chauffeur and Sabrina's loving father sums it all up best with his assessment of the situation. "Sabrina is a misplaced person she doesn't belong in a mansion and she doesn't quite belong above a garage". And no one, positively NO ONE chould have portrayed this poor confused, love struck misplaced creature as enchanting, charming and delightful as Audrey Hepburn. Much has been made of the miscasting of Bogart as Linius, the stuffy, cold, calculating barron of capitalist finance. Cary Grant it is said, would have been the better choice. But, Billy Wilder knew that Bogart would bring a dry acid wit to the character that would play off Holden's light-hearted, craefree persona with just the right balance. Grant, a wonderful comic actor would not work as well opposite Holden.

Sabrina is part of what I like to think of as Wilder's triumphiret. His genius shines brightest as a comic film-maker. And With Some Like It Hot he achieved a masterpice of "screwball comedy". Sunset Blvd has been called "Comedy Noir", a supremely dark and morbid portrayal of a forgotten Hollywood legend, so demented and out of touch, it's actually funny. And of course Sabrina is that wonderfully told story of the Cinderella world of Sabrina Fairchild...A romantic world where a chauffeur's daughter is sought after by the brothers of great family wealth and sophistication. It is the classic love triangle where she must choose between youth frivolity and lightheartedness versus maturity, inteligence and security.

Billy Wilder and only Billy Wilder could have succeeded in conveying Sabrina's dilemma. With his wonderful sense of timing, his intuitive ability to develop rich textured chacters and juxtapose situations, social classes and sensiabilities with a light comic touch. Never over-stated, always subtle and warm Billy Wilder was truly one of Holywood's funniest men.

Rating:
Summary: Fresh, Yet Classic Hepburn and Bogey Romance
Review: Still a fresh story, and still as romantic as when it first hit the cinema in 1954, "Sabrina" is a superb addition to any film collection. The stars in it should be testimony enough to convince you.

The Audrey Hepburn of "Sabrina" brings together the delightful charm of Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and the sophisticated romantic of Eliza Doolittle in the later portion of "My Fair Lady."

The Humphrey Bogart in "Sabrina" is much like many Bogarts. He is a likable, but practical man letting romance confuse him, as especially noticed as Rick in "Casablanca."

Sabrina leaves for Paris for two years, but returns as an ugly duckling-turned darling at age 22. Before unnoticed, she now causes romantic disruption among those in the wealthy estate where she grew up as the chauffeur's daughter.

As in "My Fair Lady," there is a message here of class distinction and its faults, but this hardly overwhelms the delicately fused subplots of a political marriage (to enhance Bogart and Hurt's family company) and what it means to be in love.

I fully recommend "Sabrina." For kicks, check out the Harrison Ford/Greg Kinnear remake. It doesn't compare, but it is interesting to see the efforts to modernize a classic film.

Anthony Trendl

Rating:
Summary: KES Evenstar
Review: A hilarious modern version of Cinderella. It's a clean movie, but an inch away a few times from being vulgar, like "What rhymes with glass?" The cinderella in this is a chaffeur's daughter who longs for the second son of the wealthy family who are her father's employer's. The older brother and parents make plans to keep them apart, only to have it fail in a way they never thought could happen.

Rating:
Summary: Pure delight- Bogie and Audrey
Review: Though it is well known that Bogie didn't much care for this particular Hepburn (Audrey), this movie is absolutely stunning. In fact maybe even more so since the chemistry between Linus and Sabrina is so real even when the real chemistry between Bogie and Hepburn was much less doting.
This is a film about how life never really does take the course you think it will. I just saw the Harrison Ford version of Sabrina and please just don't bother with it. This is the real deal and here you get some very talented actors and one amazing lady.

Rating:
Summary: Not to be confused with the teenage witch
Review: You have to be something of a romantic to fully appreciate this remarkable film. It helps a lot to be enchanted with Audrey Hepburn, as most of us are. Her performance as the daughter of a chauffeur who gets to choose between two very rich brothers, David and Linus Larrabee (William Holden and Humphrey Bogart), is subtle, slightly mysterious and delightful. Much of the enchantment of her character is based on things implied rather than things said or acted out. We know that her metamorphous in Paris is guided by the 74-year-old Baron St. Fontanel (Marcel Dalio), whom she meets at cooking school. We can discern that she learned more than how to crack an egg. The transformation of her heart from one brother to the other is revealed primarily in her facial expressions as she measures kisses and the sharp stab of pleasure in the center of her soul. We are kept in limbo about whom she chooses until the very end.

This is a girl's fantasy for grown-ups, and one of the best of its kind. The script, from the play by Samuel A. Taylor, is well-paced and psychologically true in a way that is not immediately obvious. The dialogue, while clearly dated and somewhat pedestrian at times, nonetheless stands up well. The sets are large, very large (director Billy Wilder loved to give us a sense of the vastness of the American corporate empire at mid-century): the Larrabee offices, the garage where Sabrina starts all the cars (I think her father, sleeping overhead really would have awaken instead of just tossing and turning), the family estate with its indoor and outdoor pools and courts. There's some pleasant diversion with old man Larrabee (Walter Hampden) and his huge cigars and olives. (The way Bogie is able to smash the little jar, swoop up the olive and land it in the mouth of the old guy in quick motion was a nice trick that surely wowed them on the set. Did Bogie cut his hand or Hampden swallow some glass?) The servants as Sabrina's cheering section and her father (John Williams) with his very correct class prejudices divert us as well.

As for "old stone face" Bogart being miscast, I don't necessarily agree, but certainly Cary Grant would have been a better match for Miss Hepburn, as we would see in Charade (1963). William Holden, on the other hand (in blond coiffeur), seemed completely at ease in a comedic role. Nonetheless, the cynical edge that lent depth to his character in, e.g., Sunset Boulevard and Stalag 17, was entirely absent here. I think a scene in which he sardonically justifies his playboy ways might have fleshed him out more.

As for Miss Hepburn, she was entirely involved, subtle, driven, nearly flawless, warm and winning. She is especially gorgeous in black and white. Bogart didn't particularly care for her, I understand, complaining about the many takes in her scenes with him. But she was nearly an ingenue, in her second important film, and he was, in his fifties, the veteran of many, many movies. Somehow they both overcame the lack of chemistry, and in a way, made their relationship "sensible" rather than heated. I think Wilder didn't mind this because he was aiming at something deeper than "happily ever after."

Of course Wilder employs a voice-over, a kind of Wilder signature, almost a joke, because as usual the device is abandoned before long. However it did allow us to hear Hepburn begin the film with the magical words, "Once upon a time..." as she describes the fairyland of her childhood, the Larrabee estate.

She this for Audrey Hepburn, who occasionally played a teenager in film, but was never one.

Rating:
Summary: Sabrina Fair
Review: Sabrina Fairchild is the awkward, romantic chauffer's daughter. David is the shallow, playboy scion of the wealthy Larrabee family. She has worshipped the ground he walks on all her life. Her proper, British father believes Sabrina is wishing for the moon, and to curb her voyeuristic tendencies, he sends her to cooking school in Paris. Note her attempt to avoid going by trying to commit suicide - she's an impetutous child living in a dream.

Paris and culinary school don't do Sabrina much good until she meets a kindly mentor who encourages her to finally grow up and teaches her a few lessons stirred in with the eggs. She returns home in triumph - ushered in by none other than David himself. Though engaged, David pursues Sabrina recklessly, even in front of his future in-laws! David's brother Linus, the consummate businessman, steps in to intervene - David's marriage is also a business merger that means more than his flirtation with the luminous "chauffer's daughter" (a phrase oft repeated by the class-conscious snobs in the film).

Director Billy Wilder handles this film amazingly. If you watch critically, you see how deep the slightest comment, camera shot, actor's position becomes. The early part of the film is brimming with motifs and hints of things to come, using both people and objects as metaphors. It's all executed so seamlessly, so dextrously, it's not even noticable during pleasure viewing. (For example, notice how Sabrina is always physically above the others - in the tree, on the tennis court, living above the garage - as she is above them as a person) The acting, the actors, the story are so witty, light, sparkling, and graceful, it's like watching a perfect dance. Audrey Hepburn, always a favorite, is positively aglow. Givenchy's costumes don't hurt either.

Bogart and William Holden are well-cast as the Larrabee brothers. Bogart's craggy vulnerability and romantic confusion is particularly endearing. Even though some of the film is a bit dated and quaint, it's somehow still classic and relevant. Even the song, "We Have No Bananas Today" is oddly funny and appropriate. The pace meanders a bit, but it's like taking a stroll through a lovely garden - just enjoy the moments because there isn't much film-making like this anymore where each viewing only makes it better than the last.

Also check out Samuel Taylor's enchanting play Sabrina Fair, which this is based on, but don't bother with the shallow remake with Harrison Ford. They left out all the subtleties and produced a shell of this glorious original.

Rating:
Summary: Another classic comedy from the hand of Billy Wilder
Review: I love this movie, despite some of the worst miscasting I have ever witnessed in a film. First, I have to preface what I am about to write by saying that Humphrey Bogart is absolutely my favorite performer in movie history. I have seen every film he made (apart from cameos playing himself) from the Edward G. Robinson vehicle BROTHER ORCHID in 1940 until THE HARDER THEY FALL, the last film Bogart made before his death in 1957, and I have seen seven or eight of the films made before that. But as much as I love Bogart, he was just not right for this role. He himself felt tremendously uncomfortable taking the role, feeling (correctly) that he was too old for the role. Moreover, he and William Holden rather famously hated each other, leading to some extremely rotten onset chemistry. Things on the set weren't helped by the fact that Bogart tried to get Audrey Hepburn replaced by his wife, Lauren Bacall. I love Bacall, but I can't imagine anyone more perfect for this role than Audrey Hepburn.

Bogart was, in fact, a last second replacement for Cary Grant. Would anyone in the history of Hollywood have been more perfect for the role of Linus than Cary Grant? It isn't just that he would have been more convincing in a romantic role, but that he and Holden actually look like they might have been related to one another.

Apart from that quibble, the movie is marvelous. This was Audrey Hepburn's second role after arriving in the US, having made ROMAN HOLIDAY the previous year, and she managed completely to avoid any sophomore jinx. While making this film, she and William Holden had a torrid love affair, and although he was married, he wanted to marry her. Audrey, however, although in love with him, turned him down in part because she gradually learned of the drinking problem that was to plague him all his life (and which eventually led indirectly to his death, in that he died from head injuries sustained when he passed out and hit his head while inebriated), and in part because she learned he had had a vasectomy, and she very much wanted to have children.

The movie makes all movie fans appreciate the enormous talent of Billy Wilder. This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, one of Wilder's greatest efforts. Nonetheless, it is still a memorable film. One can only regret that Cary Grant was not able to play the male lead. Unbelievably, Grant, the greatest romantic comic lead in Hollywood history, and Wilder, one of the greatest comic directors, never made a film together.

Rating:
Summary: It's an Audrey Hepburn Film...
Review: What can you expect? Great film with a fine performance by her. She is one of a kind...nobody can ever be "the next Audrey Hepburn."

Rating:
Summary: "No, father. The moon's reaching for me!"
Review: The Larabees are a wealthy business family in New York. The two sons of the family are David (William Holden) and Linus (Humphrey Bogart). Linus has developed a new, very durable plastic that also invincible (Shooting at it or even putting weight on doesn't hurt it). At the same time, the main story is about Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn), the daughter of the Larabee's chauffeur. Sabrina has had a crush on David since they were children, but David, in all his picking up of other women, doesn't even notice her. Sabrina goes to Paris to get a degree in gourmet cooking. While there, she decides to fight fire with oil. When she returns to New York, she has so changed herself (looks wise) that nobody recognizes her, especially David, who is immediately blown away by Sabrina. However, he is engaged to the daughter of Mr. Tyson (Not related to the boxer), the owner of the second largest sugarcane plantation in Puerto Rico ("The largest don't have a daughter"). The wedding and, thus, the merger of Larabee-Tyson must go through so Larabee can get sugarcane to utilize in the plastic. At the same time, Sabrina finds out that she isn't in love with David as she once was.

"Sabrina" is a charming romantic comedy with a great cast. Audrey Hepburn looks beautiful and is very good in her role. This movie proved not only she was a good actress and great looking but also a bankable star. Humphrey Bogart broadens his horizons by making a comedy. He isn't as romantic in here, I thought, as in some of his previous films. But I guess age takes its toll (Though, probably due to makeup and lighting, he looks younger). William Holden is also great as usual, though His character doesn't seem to change through most of the film (He only begins to love Sabrina because she starts to make herself prettier). And a movie made by Billy Wilder (Who had "Double Indemnity", "The Lost Weekend", "Sunset Blvd." and "Stalag 17" already under his belt) is bound to at least be fair. And this one is close to being one of his best.

However, I do have a few minor quibbles (Plot spoilers). Why did the girl David picks up on in the beginning have to have such irritating way of giggling? (Just looking at her causes her to laugh). And some might point out that Bogart is a bit too old for Hepburn (I don't, however. Marriages like that were and still are common, often by young girls to wealthy old men. And those who say that apparently don't know of Bogart and Lauren Bacall).

That said, this is an entertaining film from 1954, a year that saw several classics. There are several hilarious scenes(Particularly at Holden's misfortune with glasses), but it worked better, for me, as a charming romantic comedy. But, you might see it differently. I don't care. For I still love it.

(On a sidenote, there was a remake done in 1995 with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear. I haven't seen it yet, but it should be good if judged on its own terms).