MovieChat Forums > How to Steal a Million (1966) Discussion > How is this?

How is this?

posted 18 years ago by digtorres
13 replies | jump to latest

I love Audrey Hepburn. She's THE hollywood actress.

I've only seen Breakfast at Tiffany's, which I loved.

Is this movie good? How is Audrey's character important?

Thanks*

[–] thefifties 18 years ago

It is good, and I think you've got a good start with breakfast at tiffany's. I would definitely see Roman Holiday next. Once you've got Breakfast and Roman Holiday under your belt, you can venture out into some of her more obscure roles. If you like good musicals, you should definitely see her in My Fair Lady. She did some good thrillers like charade and wait until dark. Some of her good comedy's are How to steal a million and two for the road (which has some great drama as well). Some of her more serious dramas like the nun's story or the children's hour are good as well.

I envy you.

[–] Frumious_Bandersnatch_46 12 years ago

I agree with all your points but one:

you should definitely see her in My Fair Lady.

I much prefer Julie Andrews' rendition of Liza Doolittle.

As much as I like Audrey Hepburn, she seemed to have only two English accents: low-class and posh. There were no intermediate steps, no progression. One last speech from Henry Higgins and suddenly she experienced a quantum leap from minimal progress to the posh target.

I remember when Cleopatra went to the Temple of Ra to lead a few cheers.

[–] capricious_nature 18 years ago

I'm not the biggest Audrey Hepburn fan in the world, but she did make some good movies. How To Steal a Million is definitely one of the best, not the least because it pairs her with Peter O'Toole, which is a nice change from seeing her always cozying up to men thirty years older than her. Roman Holiday is good for that too. I found My Fair Lady to be beyond depressing and anti-romantic in every sense of the word. Sabrina is also pretty good, but again you have to deal with a somewhat bizarre pairing with Humphrey Bogart. I think she became a better actress the older she got, so something like Wait Until Dark is probably her best dramatic work. That said, How To Steal a Million is amazing and I will always recommend it to anyone.

[–] thefifties 18 years ago

I don't think MFL is anti-romantic. The work it was adapted from was such. Although MFL is quite restrained and conflicted romantically, that just adds to the romantic tension between the two lead characters. The movie doesn't end with harrison and hepburn kissing in the rain, so you might argue that it isn't completely resolved. You could even argue that it isn't forward and explicit romantically. But, the romance is there and to say that it's "anti-romantic" is absurd.

Sorry to make a thing from one sentence you wrote, but My Fair Lady is worth defending, and your "anti-romantic" remark is completely insubstantial.

[–] capricious_nature 18 years ago

I knew that this might raise some hackles, and I apologize. The fact is that I really dislike My Fair Lady, largely because it's exceptionally misogynistic. Higgins's treatment of her is horrible; he learns absolutely nothing by the end of the story, and she's willing to walk back into his life and bring him his slippers for the rest of hers. I waited for her to chuck those slippers in his face and walk out; when she didn't, I wrote the movie off. I'm not really sure what it is-I happen to like the 1930s version of 'Pygmalion' with Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller, and that ends the same way. But I felt that there was actually some character growth and growth in the relationship between the two of them. In MFL, I just didn't believe that Higgins had changed at all or that he deserved Eliza's respect, much less love. That's what I meant when I called it 'anti-romantic.' He treats her worse than dirt and she comes crawling back to him. She develops into a strong character, then knocks it all down by returning to this tyrant. I prefer the ending of the play, where Eliza walks out and lives her own life, independent of Higgins.

That said, I realize that it's a very popular movie and a lot of people really like it. Maybe I should try watching it again. It's definitely worth seeing, at least once, and making your own decision about it. Also worth seeing the earlier version of 'Pygmalion.'

[–] thefifties 18 years ago

OK. I see now. You perceive that the movie goes against your feminist morality. That's ok. I personally don't think the movie is anti-feminist. I think higgins had changed because he realized that he couldn't do without her because he'd "grown accustomed to her face". If you differ and perceive that it is anti-feminist, than I'll respect that. I do think that in order to draw that conclusion, one must be reading something into it that isn't really there.

If you feel that it goes against your conviction, than more power to you.

[–] capricious_nature 18 years ago

You pretty much get it. I guess it's a lot about personal reactions. Actually, interestingly enough, I find that this movie tends to polarize conversations. People either adore it or despise it...at least, all the people I know. I also absolutely believe that you're right, Higgins can't do without her. The only difference that I see is that she really can do without him. Like I said, though, I haven't seen it in awhile, and when I saw it I had just read Shaw's play, so that probably influenced me more than anything.

"Yours is a capricious nature. Do you always blow hot and cold like this?"

[–] thefifties 18 years ago

There are some movies that I feel very personally and can relate to very intimately. I think personal reaction is an important factor if it's there. It's a fact that your going to bring your life with you into the theatre. This can make you love or hate certain characters or scenes or even certain movies. I simply don't have the same reaction as you. There are some movies I'm sure that i feel very deeply about that most people probably could care less. So, I understand when something personal becomes a factor.

By the way, it's bugging me where your quote is from. For some reason, I hear it coming from Cary Grant.

[–] capricious_nature 18 years ago

Actually from How To Steal A Million, though Simon is very Cary Grant-ish.

And you're right. Some movies we just take more personally than others. Some films that I've seen I've really loved for different reasons and I get very upset if anyone reacts badly to them. Some characters I just despise and others I adore, simply because something in them speaks to me. That's one of the things I love about movies, you can have long debates about the merits of such and such a film and there are as many different opinions as there are viewers. It makes all the more fun.

[–] topkapi56 15 years ago

Audrey Hepburn is wonderful in everything she did, but for me her best work by far was in Two for the Road opposite Albert Finney. It is mature part and she gets be more than a fashion plate. She must surely have relished the part. She and Finney should have both been nominated for Oscars for it.

As for My Fair Lady, I agree with you. It cried out for a more creative director than George Cukor. Many critics have complained that he embalmed it instead of adapting it for the screen and that is as good a description as I have heard. Audrey is lovely as ever but the movie just lays there. The Broadway musical tried change Shaw's work and create a romantic ending with Eliza and Higgins just was not believable and did not work at all.

[–] Nolegirl97 13 years ago

woah, wait. What do you mean by 'bizarre pairing with humphrey bogart'. Explain.

"I'm going crazy. I'm standing here solidly on my own two hands and going crazy."

[–] Nolegirl97 13 years ago

woah, wait. What do you mean by 'bizarre pairing with humphrey bogart'. Explain.

"I'm going crazy. I'm standing here solidly on my own two hands and going crazy."

[–] csu16387 18 years ago

I haven't seen it yet, but I'm curious on how great it is. The combo of Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole is very interesting. I'll check this one out soon (hopefully).

"Dry your eyes baby, it's out of character."