Roman Holiday: Maybe it doesn't quite live up to its sterling reputation, and maybe the leading man and director were slightly miscast. But who cares?
Roman Holiday is the film that brought Audrey Hepburn to prominence, and the world movie audience went weak at the knees. The endlessly charming Hepburn had her first starring role in this sweet romance, playing a European princess on an official tour through Rome. Frustrated by her lack of connection to the real world, she slips away from her protective handlers and goes on a spree, aided by a tough-guy news reporter (Gregory Peck).
Roman Holiday is great fun, the location shooting is irresistible and Hepburn embodies an image of chic style that would rule for the rest of the fifties. No coincidence that she won an Oscar, and so did veteran costume designer Edith Head. --
Robert HortonBreakfast at Tiffany's: No film better utilises Audrey Hepburn's flighty charm and svelte beauty than this romantic adaptation of Truman Capote's novella. Hepburn's urban sophisticate Holly Golightly, an enchanting neurotic living off the gifts of gentlemen, is a bewitching figure in designer dresses and costume jewellery. George Peppard is her upstairs neighbour, a struggling writer and "kept" man financed by a steely older woman (Patricia Neal). His growing friendship with the lonely Holly soon turns to love and threatens the delicate balance of both of their compromised lives. Composer Henry Mancini earned Oscars for the hit song "Moon River" and his tastefully romantic score. Director Blake Edwards's elegant yet light touch, George Axelrod's generous screenplay and Hepburn's mix of knowing experience and naiveté combine to create one of the great screen romances and a refined slice of high-society bohemian chic. --Sean Axmaker
Sabrina Fair: Audrey Hepburn is the delightful, young, eponymous 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. --Jenny Brown
Funny Face: Fred Astaire plays a fashion photographer based on real-life cameraman Richard Avedon, in this entertaining musical directed by Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain). The story finds Astaire's character turning Audrey Hepburn into a chic Paris model--not a tough premise to buy, especially within this film's air of enchantment and surrounded by a great Gershwin score. Based on an unproduced play, this is one of the best films from the latter part of Astaire's career. --Tom Keogh
Paris When It Sizzles: Filmed on location in Paris, this belaboured comedy stars Holden as a screenwriter who enlists his secretary's help in gathering ideas for an unfinished script. Marlene Dietrich makes a cameo appearance.
A box set featuring; 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' which is the story of an eccentric playgirl who becomes involved with a writer, 'Roman Holiday' is the story of a princess who whilst on holiday in Rome falls in love with a newspaperman. 'Funny Face' is the story of a fashion photographer and a magazine editor who set about making a woman a famous fashion model, In 'Sabrina Fair' a chauffeur's daughter becomes popular with her employer's sons when she returns from a trip to Paris and 'Paris When It Sizzles' which finds Alexander Meyerheimer, a Hollywood producer, hiring writer Richard Benson to help him with his latest film. But instead of spending constructive time working on the film Benson has been living the high life...