Sabrina (1954)

A playboy becomes interested in the daughter of his family's chauffeur. But it's his more serious brother who would be the better man for her.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder, Samuel A. Taylor,

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden

Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Humphrey Bogart	...	Linus Larrabee
Audrey Hepburn	...	Sabrina Fairchild
William Holden	...	David Larrabee
Walter Hampden	...	Oliver Larrabee
John Williams	...	Thomas Fairchild
Martha Hyer	...	Elizabeth Tyson
Joan Vohs	...	Gretchen Van Horn
Marcel Dalio	...	Baron St. Fontanel
Marcel Hillaire	...	The Professor
Nella Walker	...	Maude Larrabee
Francis X. Bushman	...	Mr. Tyson
Ellen Corby	...	Miss McCardle

Storyline

Linus and David Larrabee are the two sons of a very wealthy family. Linus is all work -- busily running the family corporate empire with no time for a wife and family. David is all play -- technically employed in the family business but never showing up for work, spending all his time entertaining, and having been married and divorced three times. Sabrina Fairchild is the young, shy, and awkward daughter of the household chauffeur, who has been infatuated with David all her life, but whom David hardly notices till she goes away to Paris for two years and returns an elegant, sophisticated, beautiful woman. Suddenly, she finds she's captured David's attention, but just as she does so, she finds herself also falling in love with Linus, and she finds that Linus is also falling in love with her.

---

Plot Keywords:

love | chauffeur | playboy | jar | blockbuster | 

---

Taglines:

All's fair in love . . . with Sabrina Fair and her men!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

October 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Glykeia mou Sabrina

Filming Locations:

Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,238,813 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The estate on which the film was shot actually belonged to Paramount Pictures chairman Barney Balaban.

---

Goofs

Near the beginning of the film, when Linus is explaining his plastic to David, he holds a lighter to the piece of plastic and brags that it cannot scorch. However, as he turns the plastic over, a giant black spot is visible where the plastic was scorched. In the next shot, the spot on presumably the same piece of plastic has disappeared.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Sabrina Fairchild: [voiceover] Once upon a time, on the north shore of Long Island, some thirty miles from New York, there lived a small girl on a large estate. The estate was very large indeed, and had many servants. There were gardeners to take care of the gardens, and a tree surgeon on a retainer. There was a boatman to take care of the boats: to put them in the water in the spring, and scrape their bottoms in the winter. There were specialists to take care of the grounds: the outdoor tennis court ...

---

Connections

Referenced in Dynasty: Samantha (1983)

---

Soundtracks

"La vie en rose"
(uncredited)
Music by Louiguy
Lyrics by Édith Piaf
Sung by Audrey Hepburn and played often throughout the picture

User Reviews

A Fine Cast & A Well-Crafted, Worthwhile Story

A lot of things work together to make this an entertaining and satisfying picture. With Billy Wilder's story-telling skill, Audrey Hepburn's unsurpassed charm, plenty of talent in the rest of the cast, and a worthwhile story, there is a lot of credit to go around.

The story is based the kind of interesting but slight premise that Wilder handles masterfully, and as a result the story is filled with both funny moments and thoughtful moments, all of which work well. There is a variety of well-chosen settings, always interesting but never pretentious.

Bogart and Holden both play their roles flawlessly. The two of them make an interesting combination with Hepburn, and it works even better than you could hope. John Williams also plays the proper English chauffeur as few others could have. There are also a number of good moments for the others in the supporting cast.

With all the other strengths, it may still be Hepburn's picture most of all.

In "Sabrina", she has a role that allows her quite a variety of scenes as her character grows and changes. It plays to all of her strengths, and makes Hepburn herself the most appealing aspect of an enjoyable and well-crafted picture.