Audrey Hepburn is such an integral part of the collective movie consciousness that it seems a strange revelation to discover that she made only 26 films.
It is apparent, however, that her selectivity allowed for a much higher percentage of good movies than most stars can claim.Hepburn's death Wednesday at age 63 prompted reflection on some of her timeless movies, as well as her ability to simultaneously embody innocence and sophistication. She was nothing if not sincere.
A true star, Hepburn epitomized the best that Hollywood had to offer during the transition from its romanticized golden era to a more grounded, if less enchanting, age. Hepburn, however, was never less than enchanting.
In fact, from her first starring role, as the plainclothes princess who falls for a journalist (Gregory Peck) in "Roman Holiday" (for which she won the best actress Oscar) to her final screen appearance as a literal angel giving instruction to Richard Dreyfuss in "Always," the charm and charisma she displayed on the big screen was unfailing.
Hepburn is perhaps best remembered as Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's," and despite Truman Capote's claim that she was not how he envisioned the character in his original story, to the rest of the world she seemed perfect.
In the mid-'60s, there were gasps of disappointment when Hepburn took the role of Eliza Dolittle in "My Fair Lady," with Marni Nixon dubbing the songs. It had been assumed that the film version of the famed musical would provide Julie Andrews with her screen debut, since she created the role on Broadway. But it was hard to fault Hepburn's interpretation. As usual, she gave it her all.
She seemed to often find herself opposite older stars like Fred Astaire ("Funny Face"), Gary Cooper ("Love in the Afternoon"), Humphrey Bogart ("Sabrina") and Cary Grant ("Charade") - but I suspect she was cast for her style and grace, which reminded audiences of an earlier period in movie history, when those male stars were young.
My personal favorites are some of her later films, which came out when I was in high school and helped shape my feelings about cinema - the thriller "Wait Until Dark," in which Hepburn was a blind victim who managed to turn the tables on her attackers; "Charade," a comedy-suspense Hitchcock wannabe with a supporting cast of future stars; and "Two for the Road," a comic romance with serious thoughts on marriage, choreographed with multiple flashbacks and beautifully performed by Hepburn and Albert Finney as the bickering couple considering divorce. (Most of Hepburn's movies are on video and available for rent - and most are highly recommendable.)
In the end, I suppose the best way to sum up Audrey Hepburn is to simply say that the lady had class.
Today, when the biggest female stars are Roseanne Arnold and Madonna, it's understandable that nostalgia is so appealing and that we might feel that class is sorely missing from modern entertainment.
With Hepburn's death, there's a lot less class in the world.
- WHY DIDN'T I SAY THAT? Comments from other critics around the country on "Body of Evidence":
- As a movie, it looks as if it wanted to be "Basic Instinct," though it winds up more like "Ilsa, She-Wolf of the SS." (Vincent Canby, New York Times)
- Both women (co-stars Anne Archer and Julianne Moore) make Madonna look like a washed-out, pinched-faced, gap-toothed wallflower at a sock hop. (Rita Kempley, Washington Post)
- In some ways, it's a camp masterpiece, brimming with bad double entendres and belabored timeouts for spontaneous groping. (Glenn Lovell, Knight-Ridder)
- "Not only is she the defendant," intones prosecutor Robert Garrett (Joe Mantegna) as Rebecca's murder trial gets under way, "she is the murder weapon itself!" A classic camp moment, certainly, and if "Body of Evidence" had ended there, it might have entered film history. Foolishly, it forges ahead. (Dave Kehr, Chicago Tribune)
- With the inescapably hyped publication of "Sex" last year, no one's body has been more in evidence lately than Madonna's. (Desmond Ryan, Knight-Ridder)
- It may sound racy, but the naked truth is that the only thing in "Body of Evidence" that comes close to sizzling is that overheated wax. (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times)
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Al Pacino, currently starring in "Scent of a Woman":
"When you're making a movie, for an actor, you're putting a line on the floor, and you're walking on it. When you're doing a play, you're walking that same line, but it's a wire a hundred feet up high, and there's no net."