SABRINA

Billy Wilder in a benign mood but then what other kind of mood could he be in when his title character, "Sabrina" is none other than Audrey Hepburn. She's the chauffeur's daughter in this charming Cinderella tale, who leaves Long Island for Paris where she's to learn cooking, (yes, like me, you may think her chauffeur father a tad extravagant when it comes to his daughter's education), only to return, no longer an ugly duckling, (as if she ever was one in the first place), but a fairytale princess. Her Prince Charming is William Holden but he's slightly tarnished, (he's actually something of a heel), and Audrey has been too busy gazing longingly at him to notice it's his older brother, sweet, old-fashioned Humphrey Bogart, that she really loves.

It's based on a play by Samuel Taylor and Taylor, Wilder and Ernest Lehman did the adaptation and it's very fine. Wilder directs with the lightest of touches and his cast responds accordingly. Hepburn, acting and looking more beautiful than ever, is charm personified, Holden displays a rare comic streak and seems much more comfortable than in many of his dramatic roles while Bogart is the revelation here. Of course, he played comedy before, (and won the Oscar for it in "The African Queen"), but he's so good, (and so relaxed), here it makes you wish he had done comedy more often. A huge hit, the film has  remained a perennial favourite. It was remade with Julia Ormond as Sabrina and Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear in the Bogart/Holden roles. It wasn't a patch on the original.