Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

A young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building.

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Truman Capote (based on the novel by), George Axelrod (screenplay)

Stars:

Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal

Won 2 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Audrey Hepburn	...	Holly Golightly
George Peppard	...	Paul Varjak
Patricia Neal	...	2E Failenson
Buddy Ebsen	...	Doc Golightly
Martin Balsam	...	O.J. Berman
José Luis de Vilallonga	...	José da Silva Pereira (as Vilallonga)
John McGiver	...	Tiffany's Salesman
Alan Reed	...	Sally Tomato
Dorothy Whitney	...	Mag Wildwood
Beverly Powers	...	Nightclub Stripper (as Miss Beverly Hills)
Stanley Adams	...	Rusty Trawler
Claude Stroud	...	Sid Arbuck
Elvia Allman	...	Librarian
Orangey	...	'Cat' - a Cat (as Cat)
Mickey Rooney	...	Mr. Yunioshi

Storyline

Holly Golightly is a flighty Manhattan party girl, who expects "money for the powder room as well as for cab fare" for her companionship. She has even gotten a lucrative once weekly job to visit notorious convict Sally Tomato in Sing Sing, she needing to report back to Sally's lawyer the weather report that Sally tells her as proof of her visits with him in return for payment. Her aspirations for glamor and wealth are epitomized by the comfort she feels at Tiffany's, the famous high end jewelry retailer where she believes nothing can ever go wrong. Her resolve for this wealth is strengthened, if not changed slightly in focus, upon news from home. Into Holly's walk-up apartment building and thus her life is Paul Varjak, a writer who Holly states reminds her of her brother Fred, who she has not seen in years and who is currently enlisted in the army. The two quickly become friends in their want for something outside of their current lot. Paul's situation is closer to Holly's than he ...

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Plot Keywords:

writer | typewriter ribbon | manhattan new york city | bare chested male | urban setting | 

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Taglines:

The Fairest Lady of All - Audrey Hepburn in One of her Most Delicious Delights!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese

Release Date:

12 January 1962 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Frühstück bei Tiffany

Filming Locations:

167 East 71st Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jurow-Shepherd

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Contrary to popular belief, the movie follows Truman Capote's original novel quite closely. The character of Mag Wildwood, the Amazon-like model who crashes Holly's party in the film, is a major character in the novel. Capote describes her as having a stutter. In the film, Mag does indeed stutter though this isn't explained. During the shoplifting sequence, Holly briefly dons a The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958) mask, mirroring the line "my Huckleberry friend" in her song, "Moon River." Although Audrey Hepburn's performance of "Moon River" is unsurpassed, it would not be officially released until after her death. Holly's "bad date" prior to her first visit to Paul's apartment is only heard behind a door. The man who provides this voice is uncredited, but he sounds a lot like Mel Blanc, who at the time was working with film co-star Alan Reed on The Flintstones (1960).

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Goofs

When Holly sneaks into Paul's apartment to visit the night after they first meet, he is wearing a watch on his right wrist. However, when he states, "They bought what's in that box," while pointing to a box filled with copies of his novel, the watch disappears. It reappears in the next shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sid Arbuck: [seeing Holly enter her building] Hey!
[he chases her inside]
Sid Arbuck: Hey, baby, what's going on here?
Holly Golightly: Oh, hi!

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Connections

Featured in The O'Reilly Factor: Episode dated 13 May 2008 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Moon River
(1961)
By Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini
Played during the opening credits and often in the score
Performed by Audrey Hepburn (uncredited)
Whistled by George Peppard (uncredited)

User Reviews

Great Art or Guilty Pleasure?

I am never sure which Breakfast at Tiffany's is. I can certainly think of movies which more accurately portray the human condition, but of few that are more fun.

Neither Holly nor Paul seem to represent real people. Their attraction, which is the focal point of the movie, is a character unto itself. Paul sees Holly as scared, vulnerable, and in need of rescue and enjoys his role as potential knight in shining armor to her damsel in distress. She is drawn to him because he sees beyond her facade of fabulousness to the scared little girl she is inside and which she tries (not that hard really at all) to hide. Adding to her attraction to him is the fact that he stands up to her when she treats him shoddily. This probably does not happen to her too often, and it intrigues her.

These are mostly the tricks a romance novelist uses to keep readers baited and rooting for a fictional, possibly doomed romance to work and do not reflect the real nature of love. There is, however, enough chemistry, genuine affection, and respect between the two characters to keep the story from seeming utterly implausible.

Of course, a movie doesn't have to be realistic to realistically portray what is right and what is wrong with the world we live in. Breakfast at Tiffany's doesn't do a whole lot of that either, though. After watching I can never pinpoint one solid message from it.

What it does have a lot of, as many others have pointed out, is stylish, witty, good fun. This is almost always the movie I choose on the rare occasions when my husband is working late, my son is asleep, I have energy to spare and good bottle of wine just begging to be uncorked. Believable or not, it is well-told and compelling, and remains one of the better movies a gal can lose herself in.