Sabrina (1954)

Audrey Hepburn is the delightful young Sabrina, the daughter of a chauffeur who is hopelessly in love with David Larrabee (William Holden), the playboy younger son in the rich Long Island household her father works for. In order to help her forget her woes, Sabrina is shipped off to cooking school in Paris. While there, she befriends a baron who provides a bit of culture--and the encouragement to snip off her childlike ponytail. Upon her return to New York, Sabrina is transformed into a sophisticated woman, and David is entranced by her. However, his older brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart) has arranged David's marriage to Elizabeth Tyson in order to seal a business merger and thus must steer David away from Sabrina. To do this, Linus takes on the task of wooing her for himself. Full of great dialogue ("A woman happy in love, she burns the soufflé; a woman unhappy in love, she forgets to turn on the oven") and wonderful performances, this film is a romantic masterpiece. Also enjoyable is the 1995 remake, starring Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford. --Jenny Brown Amazon.com essential video

Three of the Greatest Actors In One Great Film

Let me start out by saying that if you've seen the remake with Harrison Ford, I am so sorry, but this film will erase that from your memory. You've got Audrey Hepburn, one of the greatest actresses of all time and my personal favorite, as the beautiful title character and Humphrey Bogart, perhaps the greatest actor there ever was and also my favorite actor, and William Holden, another big shot, fighting over her heart as hillarity ensues, in what has to be one of the essential classic Romantic Comedies. December 3, 2008

Greatness...But..

It is certainly time that this film (and especially Roman Holiday) get a more complete DVD. However I dont understand why it is only available in Full screen? There may be a specific reason for this but I am not aware of one.. November 15, 2008

'No Man Walks Alone By Choice'

'Sabrina' is by far one of the greatest romantic comedies ever put on celluloid. Everyone here is pitch-perfect: Hepburn, Holden, Bogie and the incomparable Billy Wilder. This is a classic Cinderella-esque story of a young, poor girl hopelessly in love with the son of her father's employer. After she goes off to live in Paris for a few years, she returns a ravishing young woman. Then the fun ensues.

Not much else to think about here, just a great story for anyone who's ever had a crush on someone that doesn't know you exist. Funny, playful, sweet and romantic, 'Sabrina' is one of the great studio-era films. October 27, 2008

Old Time Favorite

While the remade "Sabrina" with Harrison Ford is okay, this version with Audrey Hepburn, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart is my all time favorite. I can watch it over and over. The fashions are classic, the acting great..some of the lines are memorable and I love the song "La Vie en Rose" Of course, I am a fan of old classic movies, especially black and white. September 30, 2008

Sabrina fair

Everybody loves a good Cinderella story, especially if it has a dash of realism and a sense of humour. And unbaked souffles.

And methinks it also helps the case if you have Audrey Hepburn as the modern Cinderella-with-a-wit, which is the strongest point in the charming little romance called "Sabrina." While the chemistry between Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart is never entirely believable, the movie is as buoyant and whimsical as a summer daydream, but with way better dialogue ("Bounce please, ladies").

Sabrina Fairchild (Hepburn) is the daughter of the chauffeur at the palatial Larabee estate. She's also in love with the ne'er-do-well second son, David (William Holden) -- and even attempts suicide after seeing him with one of his many girlfriends, although she's rescued by David's stiff older brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart). The next day Sabrina is sent away to Paris to attend a cooking school, where she meets a kindly old count who teaches her sophistication, ambition and confidence... as well as the ability to make a souffle properly ("A woman happily in love, she burns the souffle. A woman unhappily in love, she forgets to turn on the oven!").

When she returns to the Larabees' estate, the lovelorn little chauffeur's daughter has become a clever sophisticated Parisian beauty (and a pretty good cook). David is instantly smitten. But even if marrying a chauffeur's daughter were okay with his family, Linus has arranged a business marriage for David for the family's newest innovation, which requires large amounts of sugar. And to make sure David doesn't run off with Sabrina, Linus begins wooing her too... and falling in love for real.

"Sabrina" is one of those shimmering romantic comedies that Hollywood once succeeded in whipping together every now and then, and which they now desperately try to imitate with cutesy scripts and arch performances. No such artificiality is present in this movie, though -- it's just a relaxed little romance that ambles through a predictable little plot, and is content to let itself to be illuminated by Hepburn's presence. No gimmicks, no cutesiness.

Part of "Sabrina's" charm is the way Billy Wilder handles the comedy aspect of it -- rather than playing everything for laughs, he simply lets the laughs fall like a shower of petals. There are some laugh-out-loud moments (David sitting on a pair of champagne flutes, and having to lie in a hammock with a cut-out for his injured bottom) but most of the humour is gentle and mildly mocking, such as Mr. Larabee standing in his son's closet so he can have a smoke. And the dialogue adapted from Samuel A. Taylor's play is no less adorable ("You make it sound so vulgar, David, as if the son of hot dog dynasty were being offered in marriage to the daughter of the mustard king").

And perhaps what makes "Sabrina" a really heartwarming experience is the sunny, hopeful attitude. Despite starting with an attempted suicide (which is thwarted in a very tongue-in-cheek manner), the movie soon decides to "throw open the windows and letting in... letting in la vie en rose." It's all about having dreams come true by refusing to run away from love or life, and being open to the suddenly curve balls that they throw you.

But even so, the movie would only be a sweet featherlight curiosity if it weren't for Audrey Hepburn, who was only in her second major movie. She's absolutely transcendent in her role -- bursting with sweetness, enthusiasm, confidence and an almost gleeful joie de vivre. And while she's never entirely convincing as a plain teenager, she is magnificent as a confident, stylish young lady who sweeps into a moneyed party in a black-and-white ball gown. And steals the show, of course.

And the cast supporting her is pretty brilliant -- William Holden is full of sprightly charm as David, Walter Hampden is hilarious as the brittle henpecked Larabee patriarch, and John Williams is quietly solid as Sabrina's long-suffering dad. Humphrey Bogart's gruff, slightly angular Linus is a nice foil for the exuberant Sabrina, but there's pretty much zero chemistry between the two leads. Perhaps it's because Bogart didn't like Hepburn in real life, or maybe their styles just didn't click.

"Sabrina" is a frothy, romantic little tale about reaching for the moon, filled with sparkling dialogue and still-fresh comedy. But its crowning gem is Hepburn, whose early performances showed what a brilliant actress she was. September 29, 2008

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