Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Truman Capote (novel)
George Axelrod (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 October 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Audrey Hepburn plays that daring, darling Holly Golightly to a new high in entertainment delight!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

New York | Apartment | Writer | Party | Neighbor

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Audrey Hepburn	...	Holly Golightly
George Peppard	...	Paul 'Fred' Varjak
Patricia Neal	...	2-E (Mrs. Failenson)
Buddy Ebsen	...	Doc Golightly
Martin Balsam	...	O. J. Berman
José Luis de Villalonga	...	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
Mickey Rooney	...	Mr. Yunioshi
Orangey	...	Cat
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alfred Avallone	...	Spieler at Stripjoint (uncredited)
Janet Banzet	...	Woman (uncredited)
Henry Barnard	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Henry Beckman	...	Narcotics Detective Cronberger (uncredited)
Nicky Blair	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Mel Blanc	...	Holly's Drunk Visitor (voice) (uncredited)
Bill Bradley	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Florine Carlan	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Sue Casey	...	Party Guest in blue & green dress (uncredited)
Roydon Clark	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Marian Collier	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Christine Corbin	...	Sing Sing Prison Visitor (uncredited)
Dick Crockett	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Tom Curtis	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Tommy Farrell	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
James Field	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
George Fields	...	Harmonica player (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Joseph J. Greene	...	Mr. O'Shaunessy (uncredited)
Barbara Kelley	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Kip King	...	Delivery boy (uncredited)
Frank Kreig	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Gil Lamb	...	Gil (party guest with Harriet) (uncredited)
Hanna Landy	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
James Lanphier	...	The Cousin (uncredited)
Mary LeBow	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Paul Lees	...	Floorwalker (uncredited)
Leatrice Leigh	...	Telephone Operator (uncredited)
Mel Leonard	...	Cab Driver (uncredited)
Mike Mahoney	...	Police Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Frank Marth	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Fay McKenzie	...	Party Guest laughing in mirror (uncredited)
Joyce Meadows	...	Party Guest shaking derrier - white dress (uncredited)
Hollis Morrison	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Kate Murtagh	...	Policewoman (uncredited)
Bill Neff	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Miriam Nelson	...	Harriet (party guest in gold dress) (uncredited)
Chuck Niles	...	Sing Sing Prison Guard (uncredited)
Peggy Patten	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Robert Patten	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
John Perri	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Michael Quinlivan	...	Party Guest with eyepatch (uncredited)
William Benegal Rau	...	Hindu at party (uncredited)
Joe Scott	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	Reporter at Policed HQ (uncredited)
Annabella Soong	...	Chinese Party Guest (uncredited)
Helen Spring	...	Party Guest with hat on fire (uncredited)
Joan Staley	...	Blonde - low-cut cream dress (uncredited)
Nino Tempo	...	Customer (uncredited)
Towyna Thomas	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Glen Vernon	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Linda Wong	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Wilson Wood	...	Party guest with cat on shoulder (uncredited)
Richard Wyler	...	Party Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Blake Edwards

Writing credits
Truman Capote		(novel)
George Axelrod		(screenplay)

Produced by
Martin Jurow	....	producer
Richard Shepherd	....	producer

Original Music by
Henry Mancini

Cinematography by
Franz Planer		(director of photography) (as Franz F. Planer)
Philip H. Lathrop		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Howard A. Smith		(as Howard Smith)

Casting by
Marvin Paige		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Roland Anderson
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Ray Moyer

Makeup Department
Nellie Manley	....	hair styles supervisor
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William McGarry	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Hugo Grenzbach	....	sound recordist
John Wilkinson	....	sound recordist
Richard Gramaglia	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects

Stunts
Jesse Wayne	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Jesse Wayne	....	stunt double: Mickey Rooney (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Hubert de Givenchy	....	gowns: Miss Hepburn
Edith Head	....	costume supervisor
Pauline Trigere	....	gowns: Miss Neal

Editorial Department
Richard Mueller	....	color consultant: Technicolor

Music Department
Bob Bain	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)
Jack Sheldon	....	musician: trumpet (uncredited)

Other crew
Frank Inn	....	trainer: Cat

Production Companies

• Jurow-Shepherd

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1961) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1966) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Paramount Home Video (1979) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1994) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Home Video (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2000) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Seven Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical) (reissue)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (19??) (Australia) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (19??) (UK) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (Canada) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Post Logic Studios  digital film mastering (uncredited)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Hungary:14 | Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | South Korea:12 | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:AL | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Jurow-Shepherd

Trivia:

According to the screenplay, 2-E's real name is Emily Eustace, hence the nickname "2-E."

Goofs:

Continuity: After Holly enters Paul's bedroom through the window, stockings appear on her legs.

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!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Making of a Classic (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Mr. Yunioshi

One of Audrey Hepburn's premiere films...

"Breakfast At Tiffany's", from Truman Capote's acerbic novella, is so lushly produced and plushly designed it seems to take place in a New York City dream-world. Audrey Hepburn plays party-girl Holly Golightly with flaky flair, yet she never has to force herself to be a groovy extrovert--she encompasses all of Holly's faults and dizzy highs with just one of the deep little laughs that seem to well up from her chest. I didn't mind Mickey Rooney as Mr. Yunioshi (I forgot it was him) and since the movie's edge softens a bit as the film goes on, it needs Yunioshi for some of that low-down comedy inherent in the film's first hour. George Peppard as neighbor Paul is perhaps too smooth and a ready-match for Holly (he only bristles a bit early on), but Peppard as an actor is suitable for Hepburn, he allows her room to sparkle while keeping the film grounded. His frequent bemused looks are charming, and I thought his scenes with Patricia Neal were very good (the filmmakers are a little tough on Neal: she's made to seem decadent and lascivious, and when Peppard calls her on it, I'm not sure if we're supposed to feel sympathy for her, though I did). The opening moments with Hepburn standing in front of Tiffany & Co. are as miraculous as any scene from any movie of this era, and the rest of the film effortlessly emulates that early magic.