Sabrina (1954) - Adelei Idlewild

Appreciating the Contrasts in Sabrina (1954)

  In Billy Wilder’s 1954 film Sabrina, romance meets comedy in a perfect blend of contrasts: gritty, American film noir actor Humphrey Bogart and wispy, European beauty Audrey Hepburn; in terms of matrimonial ideals, we see Victorian-esque “classing off” versus twentieth century democracy; a world-weary bachelor and his world-embracing playboy brother, and the list continues. It’s a simple Cinderella story wrapped up in a post-war “La Vie en Rose” on Long Island, New York, and along with Edith Head’s delicious costumes, we “the last of the Romantics” eat it up with a fork and spoon.

 

  But what I view as “perfect” contrasts weren’t always on the menu for Sabrina. For instance, how many of us would have guessed that Cary Grant was initially supposed to play the part of the great financier and confirmed bachelor Linus Larrabee (he strikes us as more a David Larrabee, I think)? Or that without the generosity of certain Paramount film executives who lent their homes to the cause, the luxurious Larrabee estate would never have existed? History will always be grateful to them, for although the film was shot in black-and-white, it comes to life colorfully through excellent sets and good casting. 

         For the first and possibly last time, I actually prefer Bogie to Grant – who else could have better lived up to David Larrabee’s line, “He’s a dull fellow, but one can’t help loving him”? (Grant is anything but dull, in my opinion.) David Larrabee (played by William Holden) couldn’t have been more wrong about his brother, however. And therein lies another of the great contrasts in Sabrina: Linus, though perhaps not easy on the eyes, is every bit as witty and well-spoken as his charming brother, and we cheer him on until he finally realizes that his brother need not win every woman’s heart. He proves to be the down-to-earth, steady character that a flighty, young romantic like Sabrina needs (after all, “you’d think a chauffeur’s daughter would know better” than to attempt suicide by carbon monoxide). 

  Of course, it’s off to Paris, the “City of Lovers,” for the new couple, and for the rest of us, a deep satisfaction in the perfectly completed story arc, clever dialogue, character development, and dramatic tensions. It’s so rare these days to see a film that matches Sabrina in both humor and romantic tension (even familial tension). For my part, I must owe it to the lack of sex, or even overt and obscene allusions to it. It’s old school, but as a woman, I much prefer watching the pursuit than the capture, and from a writer’s perspective, it makes the story more worth watching. Wipe the smirk from your faces, gentlemen! Even among my male acquaintances, Sabrina is appreciated for its “classiness,” comedy, and excellent directing, on which I could expound for several more pages. But I will refrain, except to say, Trés bien, Billy Wilder!