"love-in-the-afternoon"

A Hollywood truism: some of the happiest sets yield some of the worst pictures, and vice versa. Billy Wilder’s “Sabrina” from 1954 is proof positive of the latter scenario. The plot in a nutshell: beautiful Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn) returns from Paris after learning how to be a “sophisticated” lady, settling on the estate where her father works as chauffeur for the wealthy Larabee family. She immediately attracts the younger Larabee son, David (William Holden), a playboy already promised to a rich heiress. When David cancels his arranged marriage, his responsible older brother Linus (Humphrey Bogart) must woo Sabrina to force David’s hand. On screen, it appears even the notoriously gruff Bogie can’t help melting in front of the gamine Hepburn. In truth, Bogart wasn’t a fan of the newcomer. For starters, Bogie believed his wife, Lauren Bacall, should have won her part (I disagree, and so did Wilder). When asked how he liked working alongside the young Hepburn, Bogie replied, “It’s fine, if you don’t mind... 20 takes.” Ouch. In Hepburn’s biography, "Her Real Story," it’s written that Bogart would literally snarl during her close-ups.