Sabrina (1954)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Samuel A. Taylor (play)
Billy Wilder (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

October 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

. . . the chauffeur's daughter who learned her stuff in Paris!

Plot:

A playboy becomes interested in the daughter of his family's chauffeur. But it's his more serious brother who would be the better man for her.

Plot Keywords:

Chauffeur | Beautiful Woman | Playboy | Carbon Monoxide Poisoning | Telephone Booth

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Linus Larrabee
Audrey Hepburn	...	Sabrina Fairchild
William Holden	...	David Larrabee
Walter Hampden	...	Oliver Larrabee
John Williams	...	Thomas Fairchild
Martha Hyer	...	Elizabeth Tyson
Joan Vohs	...	Gretchen Van Horn
Marcel Dalio	...	Baron St. Fontanel
Marcel Hillaire	...	The Professor
Nella Walker	...	Maude Larrabee
Francis X. Bushman	...	Mr. Tyson
Ellen Corby	...	Miss McCardle

Also Known As:

Sabrina Fair (UK)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Spain:13 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16882, General Audience) | West Germany:12 (bw) | Australia:PG (cable rating)

Filming Locations:

Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "Sabrina Fair" by Samuel A. Taylor opened at the National Theater on Novemeber 11, 1953 and ran for 318 performances.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the beginning of the film, when Linus is explaining his plastic to David, he holds a lighter to the piece of plastic and brags that it cannot scorch. However, as he turns the plastic over, a giant black spot is visible where the plastic was scorched. In the next shot, the spot on presumably the same piece of plastic has disappeared.

Quotes:

Thomas Fairchild: [reading a letter from Sabrina] ... I decided to be sensible the other day and tore up David's picture. Could you please airmail me some Scotch tape?

Movie Connections:

References Casablanca (1942)

Soundtrack:

Isn't it Romantic?

Audrey in Long Island dressed by Givenchy

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.