Sabrina (1954)

Directed by Billy Wilder. Starring Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, John Williams, Walter Hampden, Martha Hyer, Nella Wler, Marcel Dallo, Ellen Corby, Marcel Hillaire.

The shy, unassuming chauffeur’s daughter (Hepburn), hopelessly infatuated with affluent playboy Holden—who barely even knows she exists—goes to Paris for a couple years to attend culinary school and returns a sophisticated beauty that he can’t help but notice. But his newfound interests are jeopardizing a lucrative merger for the family business, so older brother Bogart steps in to romance the young woman himself for business reasons. A much-admired but minor effort for director/producer/co-writer Wilder; has its moments of playful wit and breezy romance, but also a few drowsy spells in the second half, and iffy casting decisions. Hepburn’s chemistry with her co-stars runs on the lukewarm side (even though she was briefly romantically involved with Holden offscreen), and Bogart is too old for her and too much the calculated cynic to ever make the leap into romantic hero territory. A cosmopolitan charmer overall, but falls short of its reputation. Edith Head won an Academy Award for her costume design, even though fashionista Hubert de Givenchy was responsible for many of Hepburn’s chic post-Paris dresses, including the little black number that popularized the “Sabrina neckline.” Based on the Samuel L. Taylor play, Sabrina Fair, with he, Wilder, and Ernest Lehman credited for the screenplay.

68/100