Spring Has Sprung 2- Sabrina (1954) & a Melancholy Coming Of Age

 

With Spring popping it's head through the atmosphere more days than not now, I am in the mood for a different kind of film than what I have been hunkered down with all winter. Several days I made my first post of this series about Bells Are Ringing, you can find that post here. 

Today, I wanted to talk about Sabrina starring Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, and Humphrey Bogart. Beautifully directed by Billy Wilder, with absolutely luscious gowns by Hubert Givenchy. Audrey Hepburn plays the titular role of Sabrina, a young woman coming of age as the daughter of the chauffer of a wealthy and old monied family. She and her father live above the garage and Sabrina is dreaming of a different life that seems far out of her reach. It doesn't help that she thinks herself in live with the feckless but dashing playboy son at the main house a good deal older than her who has no time for school girls (a good thing I would say!) and likely not time for chauffer's children either based on the models and socialites he seems to date. After a close call with meeting her maker, fortuitously interrupted and which Sabrina tries to unconvincingly explain away, she is off to Paris to study at Le Cordon Bleu to follow her parents into service and be an excellent chef like her late mother was. Like you would expect several years away in Paris and at that age means she comes home a good deal changed. And no longer a school girl by any measure. The feckless playboy of William Holden is still much the same as he was and their paths soon cross. What follows is not wholly unexpected but their are enough turns in the story for it not to be dull and the whole movie has a beautiful touch that really does give it a lighter feel even when it gets slightly heavier in places. Their are moonlit parties, champagne,  and gowns I could only dream of twirling in, let alone playing tennis or dashing across a stone drive in! 

The casual clothes are none to shabby either though and both the schoolgirl dress and her 50s modern boating outfit are ones I wish I had in my closet! This is another film that feels poppy and fresh but has a ripple of melancholy that arises in moments throughout, that for me make it easier to not only feel deeply for the characters but also find parts of myself in those moments as well making it very easy to connect with the story despite the differences in time and circumstances that are all the characters lives. 

If this is a film you haven't yet seen, or one you might be interested in watching again it is a perfect watch as the days get longer, spring rolls into summer and as that hope and nostalgia of June days and nights of years past starts to creep up on you!
Have you watched Sabrina before or do you plan to watch it soon? I think I will be watching again before the spring is gone this year it very much hits the spot! 

Part 3 coming soon!

Spring has Sprung! & Bells Are Ringing ☎️

Spring has sprung and I am in the mood for musicals, melancholy, and joy! 

I am wanting to revi sit some old favourites, and these were the ones that have been spinning in my dvd player as the grass gets greener, leaf buds are appearing and the crocus blooms are appearing. 

Bells Are Ringing
One of my favourite films, I was late to finding this one, but it has meant a lot to me these past 10 years or so and I have become a massive Judy Holiday fan since. Led to this film after going on a Dean Martin binge and taking a gamble on it when I spotted it online. It feels like a quintessential musical from that 50s/early 60s era. In the vein of the Doris Day/Rock Hudson films but also with the distict touch of Compton and Green (writers of Singing in the Rain). Infused with New York characters and a case of mistaken identity, a boozy writer (Dean), and Holiday playing what might be best described as a bit of a ditz- but an incredibly good hearted and kind one.

 She works answering phones and taking messages at Sue's Answer Phone in the basement of a townhouse in the city and has a tendency to get too involved and feel too attached to the people on the other end of the line. It has some beautiful musical numbers and Judy Holiday is more adept than most at giving these characters more layers than you might see on the page, but because of this it always feels a bit more grounded and despite the broad comedy and the breaking out into song, you also not only care about her character, but you feel like this is a person you know and maybe even a glimpse of yourself.

Like in Kiss Me Stupid with Kim Novak, Dean plays a character that might be easy to write off but brings a real sense of humanity, complexity, and good will from the viewers. In this way the leads are perfectly matched and you don't feel like either in is emotional danger to pursue this relationship. 

nd you don't feel like either in is emotional danger to pursue this relationship. 

Have you seen this film? If so, let me know what you think of it and if you have other movies you would recommend knowing it's a favourite of mine!

Part 2 coming soon!