Sabrina (1954) - The Mini-Review

After watching the exceptional Rear Window, I was more than exited to watch another 1950's era film. Sabrina didn't have quite the same effect on me. To be specific, I didn't like it much. I tried to go into this with an open mind, Sabrina was a romance, and I generally avoid them like the plague. I will try to keep that fact in mind as I breakdown my thoughts about the film.

Let's start with the good, there is plenty of good here. The movie did deliver on it's promise of comedy. There were a good number of gags in the movie, from David's champagne glasses incident to the reoccurring theme of Linus putting his newfound miracle plastic through it's paces. There were some genuine laughs to be had here. I was also, quite amused (from the perspective of an older generation) by the fact that Linus was a bit of a tech guy. To establish just how devoted Linus is to his business, there is a scene in his limo in which he conducts the morning's tasks from the backseat. I didn't realize that car phones were even technically possible in 1954. I went and did some research, it looks like they amounted to glorified radios, but modern cell phones are just more glorified radios, I suppose.

If I didn't enjoy this movie, I in no way blame the performers. Everyone involved was on point. Humphrey Bogart was funnier than I ever saw him, William Holden was goofy in the right way and I can see why Audrey Hepburn was a darling of her time. The supporting cast was strong as well, serving up memorable characters even with minor rolls. Some of note are Larrabee the elder (who gets to deliver the enjoyable call back to the glass problem from earlier in the film), the rest of the staff of the house (which included, as it turns out, the actress that would later play Ms. Hathaway in the Beverly Hillbillies) and Linus's secretary. The movie didn't work for me on a more basic level, but it had mostly to do with the genre of the film.

I see Sabrina as a fairytale. I am pretty sure that's the point. Here is where I have a problem, it's just not a type of story I want to see made into a movie. Fairytales are designed to be simple tales. That doesn't allow for very good character development or complex motivations. I'm going to go into some detail about the characters and they way they act, when I compare the two Sabrina's, but more on that later. I can, however, see why people appreciate this movie. I think much of their love comes from either having seen Sabrina when it was new or having an affection for the genre that it is part of. Being in neither camp, it was hard for me to love but not hard to see why others loved it.