Sabrina

The master of many genres, Billy Wilder, does his magic here with this delightful comedy. Although maybe not one of his best, it still holds up after over 50 years.

There has been a lot said about the casting of Bogart as Linus, the stuffy businessman and I disagree with most of it. I think that Bogart is perfect for the part of the seemingly humourless, financial wizard older brother. Granted, he is not the prettiest actor....never was.....he's a generation older than Audrey Hepburn.....and reportedly hated the movie and his co-stars. All that aside, he rose to the occasion and his playing of the role is subtle. Seeing him come to the realization that he is falling in love with Sabrina is so well done that it sneaks up on you.

Audrey Hepburn is just magical, as she always was.....there is nothing more to say about her....words fail me.

William Holden is surprisingly good in a comic role but why the blonde hair?

He's breezy, unreliable and thoroughly likable and it becomes obvious that Sabrina is much too good for him. However incongruous it may seem, she belongs with Bogart.

The support in this film is top notch.....John Williams....what a great British character; Walter Hampden is a scream as the drinking, cigar smoking father who just wants an olive for his martini. Look for Nancy Kulp as one of the service staff before her days as Jane Hathaway on Beverly Hillbillys.

This is a wonderful film........watch it, you won't regret it!

Sabrina (1954)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Insanely delightful romantic-comedy from Billy Wilder about Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn), a chauffeur's daughter who has always loved David Larrabee (William Holden), the son of the man her father works for. When she returns from Paris the youngest son begins to have a thing for her but he's promised to another woman and there's a major deal on the line. Older and much more mature brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart) decides to take Sabrina out until the deal is complete but soon he finds himself falling in love.

Wilder made so many great movies in his career that it's easy to overlook some of the ones that are meerly "good" or very good. SABRINA is a film that often gets overlooked when one discusses the director's career and that's a little shocking because this is an extremely good movie that works on all levels. Not only is the film extremely funny but it's incredibly romantic, charming and the director's master touch is scattered throughout the material. Not to mention you've also got three legends in the picture!

To me the film shows what a brilliant director Wilder was because it's true that the story is pretty much a small fairy tale that Hollywood did every year. There was always some sort of romance dealing with a dreaming girl and an overworked man who put love on the back burner. Wilder's touches throughout the film are obvious and it's really remarkable to see how well this material works. As I said, there are some very funny moments scattered throughout the picture but there's also a bit of intensity because you really do want to see the story work in the favor of the Bogart character. The way Wilder managed to make the romance work so well is a real strong inducator to what type of director he was.

As far as the cast goes, rumor has it that Bogart hated this role and the movie because he felt he was too old to be romancing such a young girl. You know, he was probably right but the film is so well-made and the performances are so great that this here really isn't an issue as you watch the picture. Bogart really comes across well here and he manages to play the broken-hearted quite well. Hepburn is wonderfully charming in a type of role that she is best remembered for. Bogart and Hepburn certainly have a burning chemistry that jumps off the screen. Holden is also extremely funny in his bit as the playboy. There's also some great supporting performances from John Williams, Walter Hampden and Francis X. Bushman.

SABRINA does run on a bit too long but there's still no question that Wilder does a fantastic job, the romance is perfect and the three leads are simply divine.

Billy Wilder, a genius when it came to adapting films from another medium, teamed up with Samuel Taylor, who wrote the play, "Sabrina's Fair", and Ernest Lehman, to create a a delightful comedy that will remain an old favorite because of the great charm the creative men imbued this movie with.

Some comments on this forum remark about the disparity of age between Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn. They all seem to forget that Ms. Hepburn played opposite with men much older than her, namely, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, Fred Astaire, Gregory Peck, just to name a few. The actress was always effective and showed she had an enormous charisma no matter who was her leading man.

"Sabrina" looks as good today, as when it was first released thanks to the timeless black and white photography of Charles Lang. The big asset of the film was the unusual pairing between Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn. Both actors were wonderful together, as we witness in the film. William Holden, as the younger Larrabee, is excellent as well.

The film is a delightful comedy that, in comparison to Sidney Pollack's misguided and undistinguished attempt to bring it to the screen can't even compare with the witty and elegant film Mr. Wilder gave us.

The romantic comedy genre isn't one I usually gravitate towards but since it did star two of my all time favorite actors, Bogart and Holden, it was required viewing for me. I enjoyed the movie immensely despite some issues I had with the plausibility of Sabrina's transformation. The film is moving, thanks mostly to Linus's restrained courting and Sabrina's relationship with her father, and there are wonderful comic moments, thanks to Holden's perfectly timed wise quips and lighthearted nature which clash with the senior Larabee's pragmatism. Hepburn is as charming here as she is in Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany's. The ending makes perfect sense given David's commitment problems and the fact that in my opinion Elizabeth seems more alluring than Sabrina, though our heroine is perfect for Linus. Terrific film, 9/10.

Sabrina is a movie that was made for Audrey Hepburn. She is simply charming as the title character. The story is Cinderella like in that Sabrina, a chauffeur's daughter with a crush on the playboy son of her father's employer, goes to Paris and returns as a mature sophisticated lady who charms everyone she meets.

The picture is enhanced by the direction of Billy Wilder and the casting of Humphrey Bogart and William Holden (Why did they make him blond?)as the Larabee brothers who vie for Miss Hepburn's affections.

But the film is clearly Miss Hepburn's and one can see why she was one of the most beloved actresses of her time. Watch Sabrina and you too will fall in love with her. A marvelous film.