Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

 Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a charming, whimsical romantic film that showcases the legendary, beautiful Audrey Hepburn. I was first introduced to Hepburn’s charms in the 1964 classic My Fair Lady, where even playing a common, poor, dirty woman still made her absolutely beautiful. Three years earlier, Hepburn graced the world with perhaps her best-known role. As for the film itself, there was much to enjoy. Hepburn and her extroverted character is the main draw, but the charming romance, the supporting cast, the excellent music, and the love story to New York City are just some of the attention the movie gets.

This story is actually based off a novella from Truman Capote. Capote was disappointed with the film on the whole especially since he wrote his story with Marilyn Manson in mind. Manson was convinced that the part was not for her and passed on the role. Hepburn was later casted which drew the ire of Capote. Capote originally wrote the story as a woman getting herself lost in the big city, but was instead changed to a story about free-spirted women. Capote’s novella was adapted to the screen by George Axelrod, who changed the story to fit the medium of cinema and the sensibilities of the filmmaker. Speaking of which, John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate) was the original director, but he was let go because Hepburn’s agent wanted someone more well-known. Blake Edwards was hired to helm the project. Personally, I thought Axelrod’s screenplay was good and Edwards’s direction was light and playful…but there was one huge blackmark: Mickey Rooney’s portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi, a Japanese man.

I like Mickey Rooney as an actor, and he is a comic legend…but not for this movie. This is like watching a 1920’s blackface movie. Yeesh, ugly anachronisms here. You would think in 1961, the producers would know better. Underneath the ugly yellowface makeup and the slanted teeth, the stereotypical character was not even funny at all and the screenplay could have done well without it. It turned a perfectly fine romance into a very good film with some ugly scenes. This was all Edwards’s choice and later said in one of the DVD’s “making-of” sections that he was very sorry for the casting choice. Imagine this happening today!

Holly Golighty (Audrey Hepburn) is a Manhattan socialite. On a seemingly nightly basis, her crammed apartment is full of exotic guests making plenty of noise, which infuriates Mr. Yunioshi (Mickey Rooney) who keeps threatening to call the cops. She also lives with a cat, appropriately named Cat. Moving into the same complex is Paul Varjak (George Peppard), an author who is running out of ideas. Holly takes a fascination towards Paul and vice-versa. As the movie progresses, they become reluctant lovers. Also entering the fray is Holly’s older husband Doc (Buddy Ebsen) and Paul’s benefactor, 2E (Patricia Neal) and these people shaped the past of our lovers.

This is Hepburn’s film to shine, and she is an absolute delight! She mentioned this film was very difficult for her because she is a natural introvert, but she handled this socialite role very well as it showed a different side to her. Compared to Hepburn, people say Peppard is dull, if not a bit wooden. I think he did fine. He just did not have Hepburn’s ball of energy. Buddy Ebsen had a small, but monumental performance. His character allowed the viewers to enter Hepburn’s past to see how she got to be the woman portrayed here. It was also an emotional performance. Neal was cool and suave. Martin Balsam is hilarious as Hepburn’s agent. And I already said my piece about Mickey Rooney.

Ugly caricatures aside, I thoroughly enjoyed Breakfast at Tiffany’s because of Audrey Hepburn. Everything from her attitude to her black dress deserves high praise. I will admit the ending almost annoyed me. If you like animals, you will know exactly what I mean. Luckily, it came to a good conclusion. The iconic opening shot with Hepburn glancing into Tiffany’s will be stuck in my head. The producers got lucky with this traffic-free shot. And the music! Henry Mancini wrote “Moon River” in less than thirty minutes. His music and song would end up winning Academy Awards and rightfully so. If you want a sweet, romantic film, look no further than this. Just be prepared for some ugly scenes.

My Grade: B+