Some movies are so sweet and so fun that we find it easy to overlook their basic implausibility; Sabrina is such a film.
Audrey Hepburn plays Sabrina Fairchild – a young servant’s daughter at the home of the wealthy Larrabee family. She’s smitten by the younger of two Larabee brothers, David (William Holden looks to be having a lot of fun playing the irresponsible playboy), but he barely even notices Sabrina. That’s until she heads off to cooking school in Gay Paris. That’s where Sabrina makes some changes, becomes infinitely more sophisticated, and returns equally good-natured, but a thousand times more stylish, and to David, more alluring. Now things get complicated, as David zeroes in on Sabrina, while big brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart, who replaced Cary Grant a week before filming began) works to extract him from the relationship so David can marry another woman, whose family offers certain business benefits. But Sabrina bewitches more than just David, so life gets complicated for everyone – in a light and playful way.
Sabrina is certainly vulnerable to being picked apart if one is inclined to find weaknesses in the plot or Sabrina’s sudden transformation from bumpkin to style-queen – and the likely outcome is clear fairly early on (David is far too self-centred to be the ultimate match for our dear Sabrina). But who’s going to feel like getting picky with this delightful movie? Director Billy Wilder has stitched together a fluffy and sometimes hilarious piece of candy that you know just isn’t going to disappoint. The leads are fun to watch – especially Bogart getting the chance to play comedy – but it’s the supporting players who really make it work, and it’s the wackiest scenes that work the best. They supporting cast members are hilarious; especially Walter Hampden – whose acting career mainly took place in the five years leading up to his death three weeks short of his 76th birthday – as the perplexed senior Larabee, and the actors playing the gaggle of servants that cheers on Sabrina’s Cinderella-like rise. Beverly Hillbillies fans will note Nancy Kulp (Miss Hathaway in the ‘60s sit-com) playing the maid.
Hepburn – whose big break had come a year before with Roman Holiday (a film that pretty nearly reverses her role in Sabrina – in it, she plays a princess trying life as a pauper) – is charming and sweet, although her perpetually bubbly smiling countenance post-Paris is almost too much of a good thing. Her smile is so big that you almost expect her head to break in half.
Ultimately, what we’ve got is a light comedy that’s super-charged by a strong cast, excellent direction (Wilder keeps things moving at an excellent pace) and a sharp script (Wilder co-wrote the screenplay with Samuel Taylor – who wrote the play on which it’s based – and Ernest Lehman, of North By Northwest, West Side Story, The King And I fame).
This is the kind of film that’s perfect for those days when you want something light, stylish, smart and not too demanding.
Ultimately, what we’ve got is a light comedy that’s super-charged by a strong cast, excellent direction (Billy Wilder keeps things moving) and a sharp script.- Brian Webster
