Fair Lady of Hollywood

The British actress Audrey Hepburn ruled the hearts of her fans for decades. The fashion and film icon is the only actress to bag Oscars, Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards. Audrey immortalised the characters which played thus becoming a legend worldwide

Funny Face’ is one of the Audrey Hepburn movies that escaped me. So I was lucky to catch it at Rafique Baghdadi’s Saturday evening shows at the Press Club and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to these film clubs that keep sprouting.

The movie is about a simple Greenwich Village girl Jo Stockton (Hepburn) who is cajoled into modeling by fashion designer Maggie Prescott (Kay Thompson) and her fashion photographer friend Dick Avery (Fred Astaire). Jo, a librarian by station, is obsessed and bent on meeting Prof. Emile Flostre (Michael Auclair), an expert in that field, living in Paris and since their destination is Paris, she agrees.

All this despite being locked out of her own library so that they could shoot a promotional video. What follows, is a delightful romance with Dick Avery when she realises that the Prof. is a fraud. Fred Astaire, known more for his dancing prowess (especially with Ginger Rogers), is seen in a different light but is not found wanting. Two songs “Funny Face” and “Bonjour Paris!” further embellish the proceedings.

But cute Audrey Hepburn has often been cast against older men, a prime example being ‘Love in the Afternoon’ (1957) where Gary Cooper is old enough to be her father, much to our teenage chagrin.

There isn’t that big a gap with Gregory Peck as American journalist Jo Bradley in ‘Roman Holiday’ (1953) but there is one with the iconic Humphrey Bogart in ‘Sabrina’ (1954) where you have two brothers (the other is William Holden) vying for the love of a chauffeur’s daughter. The catch line of the movie was “the fairest lady of all” which proved to be her biggest triumph in 1964.

In ‘Roman Holiday’ she is a princess of an unknown country wanting to be away from her royal duties when she meets America reporter Gregory Peck and that’s where love steps in.

Actually Audrey Hepburn is the only actress to have won the Oscars, Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards. She died in 1993 at the age of 64.

In ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ (1961) her co-star is George Peppard (not a much older man). Based on a Truman Capote novella, she is the feisty Holly Golightly with that long cigarette-holder (before smoking became taboo) and it has the usual Audryisms but will be remembered especially for the haunting song “Moonriver” which will still the cockles of some old hearts, especially the “we’re after the same rainbow’s end” line.

Then in the season of bank heists, she was there again and the biggest of them all – Peter O’Toole. It was ‘How to Steal a Million’ (1966) and was one of her lesser roles but she imbued it with charm compared with the others, one of them being the Greek Melina Mercuori in ‘Topkapi’.

“My Fair Lady” needs no recounting, it is the most complete movie for me, even before I donned the film critic garb – good script, much humour, great script, excellent performances, everything. Who can forget Rex Harrison as Prof. Higgins! Stanley Holloway of ‘I’m Getting Married the Morning’ fame is not far behind and then comes Wilfrid Hyde-White as Col. Pickering, the sounding board for Higgins’ voice lessons. And of course, Eliza Dolittle’s punch line exhorting her horse Dover to victory.

As a film critic I saw ‘Wait Until Dark’ where she plays a blind girl who was attacked by a burglar, played by Alan Arkin, a comparative newcomer who became known for his versatility as his following roles in ‘The Heart is a Lonely Hunter’ and ‘The Russians are Coming’ clearly indicate. I also met him (another favourite) on a luxury yacht ‘The Sea Goddess’ off Cannes when the Malhotras (blades folk) invited me over.

Audrey Hepburn was the eternal young woman and it was indeed sad for Steven Spielberg to cast her in ‘Always’. It was just four years before she died and was nearly 60. An ageing Hepburn was a clear no-no. And I might as well let you in on a secret. I have her photograph in my room.

Ervell E Menezes