Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn)

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Working slowly through the twenty-five classic DVDs given to us by a friend who was downsizing, we decided to watch ‘Sabrina’ last night. We had never heard of this film, which was made in 1954, but we had certainly heard of both Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart who were billed on the cover as the stars, along with William Holden (whom we had not heard of).

We had no idea what to expect from this seventy-year-old film. It was in black-and-white which sometimes bothers me for a minute or two, but no more - I was quickly absorbed in the storyline. 

The main character is a girl called Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn) who must be about seventeen or eighteen at the start of the film. She is the daughter of a chauffeur called Tom Fairchild (John Williams), and they both speak with English accents of the mid-century slightly upper-crust style that was informally known as ‘BBC English’. However they live in New York, at a stately home owned by the very wealthy Larrabee family. There are two adult sons in the family: Linus (Humphrey Bogart) and David (William Holden).

It quickly transpires that Sabrina has been in love with David for as long as she can remember, but he barely notices her. He’s quite a playboy, who has been married and divorced three times already, and is always ready for a flirtation with an attractive girl of his class. Sabrina is almost in despair, feeling that her heart is broken, so her father decides to send her to Paris for a couple of years, to do a cooking course with a celebrated chef. 

There’s a surprising amount of humour in this film, alongside some poignancy and very engaging characters. It could have been a bit schmaltzy but the dialogue is good, and the pace excellent. Some films of this era tend to drag, with over-done shots and lengthy scenes that could have done with some editing. But I didn’t find anything dull or long-winded in this film which, apparently, was one of Audrey Hepburn’s first major successes, launching her as a star. 

David can be quite charming, though he is clearly unreliable. His brother Linus is much more serious, and works every hour possible for the family business. And when Sabrina returns from her course, much more sophisticated and confident than she was two years earlier, both brothers find her rather attractive. I found it very interesting that, despite being set in the theoretically egalitarian United States, it was considered rather shocking that the son of a well-established and wealthy family could fall in love with the chauffeur’s daughter.  

There are some delightful secondary characters in the other staff at the Larrabee home, all of whom adore Sabrina, and think it wonderful that she might marry one of the sons of the house. There are some amusing scenes involving them which we appreciated very much. 

The rating is U, probably due to the lack of any intimacy or bad language, although there’s one potentially disturbing scene near the start of the film, and a few punches thrown between the brothers (with no gore). I can’t imagine it being of any interest to children, but feel that PG would have been more appropriate.

Apparently there was a re-make of this film in 1995, with Harrison Ford, but reviews suggest that it wasn’t as good or as well-made as the black-and-white original from thirty years earlier.

Recommended if you like this style of film, or if you are interested in seeing Audrey Hepburn in one of her earlier roles.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews