Sabrina (1954), produced and directed by Billy Wilder.
On a vast Long Island estate, the chauffeur's daughter has a life-long crush on the playboy younger son of the house. After she's been to Paris and become all elegant, she has a chance with him. How far will his business-like older brother go to keep her away from him?
This has Wilder's usual bitter-sweet dark comedy, but is a weaker effort. The romantic chemistry between Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn just never ignites. He is written to be a cold fish and that's an obstacle. We watch them separately: she for her luminous charm and beauty, he for unaccustomed ironic comedy.
I never noticed before: Bogart is a good listener.
Misc notes:
"Blonde" is a startling look for William Holden.
As in Funny Face (1957), I think Hepburn's hair and clothes are prettier before she becomes fashionable. Of course, she's never hideous and is a walking dream in a bare-shouldered ball gown.
Popping a champagne cork is often a sexual metaphor. What's Wilder mean when the cork hits the window in front of her face?
The 1995 remake -- Sabrina (1995) -- with Julia Ormond, Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear uses the same screenplay. It drains even more comedy from the story and tries to be something of a romantic drama with comic elements.
Father: "The 20th century? I could pick a century out of a hat, blindfolded, and get a better one."
Edith Head costumes.
Available on Blu-ray. The image quality is never really excellent, but seems better in the close-ups than in the long shots. Maybe because of the prominent grain?