Bogart's a little too old, Holden's a little too blond, but Audrey is just right.
Intro.
I think everyone is familiar with the story of Sabrina. An ordinary girl falls in love with a rich man who doesn't know she exists, she goes away and transforms into a lady and upon her return, he falls in love with her. There's more to it, of course, but at its heart, Sabrina is in every sense a Cinderella story. With a seemingly perfect combination like Billy Wilder, William Holden, Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, Paramount was excited to see what a great film would be created. They were right, though the off-screen story was far from a fairy-tale. Overview
"Once upon a time, on the North Shore of Long Island, some thirty miles from New York, there lived a small girl on a large estate." So begins the story of Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn), the timid young daughter of the chauffer employed by the very wealthy Larrabee family. She is in love with the younger of the Larrabee sons, David (William Holden), who is a playboy with three divorces to his name and no work ethic. That ethic is instead present in his older brother, Linus (Humphrey Bogart), who is a regular workaholic with no time for fun. Distraught because David doesn't know she exists, Sabrina tries to commit suicide, only to be stopped by Linus. Her father has saved his money and sends her to Paris the next day to cooking school. Over the next two years, she not only learns how to cook, but also how to live and returns to Long Island as a sophisticated, knowledgeable and absolutely beautiful lady. David is quick to notice her now and finds himself ignoring his fiancee in favor of Sabrina. Linus won't stand for that, though, as David's marriage is part of a company merger in a multi-million dollar plastics manufacturing deal. So Linus decides to distract Sabrina so that she'll forget about David; he'll even pay her off it that's what it takes. None of them expect what happens next, as Linus learns to loosen up some and winds up falling for Sabrina himself. When Sabrina gets two tickets to sail back to Paris, just who will accompany her?
Highlights
Sabrina has all of the charm and humor of a classic romantic comedy. It is one of the best examples of the genre and I believe a lot of that has to do with the fine writing and even finer performances. You can tell Bogart and Holden are well versed in acting, and even though this was only Audrey Hepburn's second film, she is captivating and ideal for the role. I know I wouldn't want to be in her shoes as Sabrina, having to choose between Linus and David. What a sweet, funny movie. Sabrina proves my point that a great film doesn't need violence, awful language or sex to be entertaining. I swear if you don't at least smile when David is getting broken glass removed from his rear end (yes, he sat on two champagne glasses) and Linus calls out "goodbye, Scarface," you don't have a sense of humor.As I mentioned above, the back-stage story is even more interesting than the one on the celluloid. I have a DVD of Sabrina, and watched the short documentary for the first time. Like the film it was upbeat, innocent and featured a voice-over that sounded more like a trailer introduction than a documentary. Originally Cary Grant had held the role of Linus, but had to back out one week before shooting began. Paramount needed an older, well-established star and turned to Bogart. This was unlike any role he had previously held, and he was excited for it. He even remarked during production that "if I were as handsome as Bill Holden, I wouldn't have any doubts as to why Bacall married me." That's all well and good, but I knew something was a bit off, so I pulled out my copy of Bogart by A.M. Sperber and Eric Lax (a fabulous book that I highly recommend!) and checked into it.
There's a very funny story from Bogart. In 1939, Bogart was a bit upset that he took fourth billing after much younger William Holden in a film called Invisible Stripes. On set, Holden insisted on doing a stunt by himself, where he drove a motorcycle with Bogart as the passenger. The book has it written this way: "Bogart objected - 'That S.O.B., he'll crack it up!' - but Holden insisted. He promptly ran the bike into a wall. Only egos were injured. (pg. 103)" No wonder Bogart was a bit leary when he worked with Holden again.
According to Sperber and Lax, Bogart was excited to do Sabrina, but that excitement faded once he realized that Holden and director Wilder were already buddies (they had just made Sunset Boulevard and Stalag 17 together), and along with young Hepburn, they formed a sort of clique that left the older star out in the cold. As they wrote in their biography, Sperber and Lax talked about the private meetings and lunches between the others. "Evidently no one thought of inviting Bogart. Then again, probably no one observing one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, with one of the loveliest women waiting for him at home, would have guessed the wells of insecurity tapped by this exclusion." (pg. 492) He just wanted to be asked, to be recognized. He became difficult to work with, arguing and throwing tantrums, though he wasn't the only difficult one - Wilder was just as difficult, and would sometimes get Hepburn to pretend to be sick because he didn't have the day's script finished yet. None of those problems show in the finished film, however. Bogart and Wilder made peace a few years later, but what happened during the filming of Sabrina is still a part of Hollywood history.
One last point I should make is that the Paramount costume and wardrobe designer was Edith Head, whom I adore. She designed all the gowns in What a Way to Go! and those absolutely jaw-dropping dresses for Grace Kelly in Rear Window. So when Audrey Hepburn decided to ask new fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy to make her clothes for the post-Paris part of the film, I was a bit disappointed. Not by the gowns, because they are gorgeous. Still, I should say it must have been harder to make dresses for Audrey Hepburn that made her pretty but still a bit school-girlish. And those were entrusted to Edith, who did as wonderful a job as ever. I think I have a bit of a crush on her, or at least on her work.
Review and Recommendation
Sorry to make this such a long post! All in all, Sabrina is a true classic. Funny, charming and sweet, it's a perfect example of a romantic-comedy. I highly recommend it for the great acting, the beautiful Audrey Hepburn, and those early dresses from Edith Head. Can I say the obvious tagline? Let your heart be stolen by Sabrina!
P.S. Bogart really is one of the best biographies I've ever read. Maybe even the best. It's by A. M. Sperber and Eric Lax, published by William Morrow and Company, New York, 1997. No copyright infringement intended.
