Audrey Hepburn has her "Summer Under the Stars" day today, Tuesday, Aug. 11, on Turner Classic Movies.
All of the Hepburn vehicles have been shown before on TCM; even so, there are two premieres in the schedule: Laughter in Paradise and The Secret People, two British productions in which Hepburn has small roles. (Actually, she has a mere bit part in Laughter in Paradise.) The former is a comedy with a first-rate cast that includes Alastair Sim and Fay Compton; the latter is a thriller starring the capable Valentina Cortese and Serge Reggiani.
As for the actual Hepburn vehicles, all of them are worth checking out because, well, Audrey Hepburn is in them. Now, to be honest, I don't think Hepburn's performances always work, but when they do she can be as great as the greatest of them. And when they're not quite up to par, there's always that big smile, those big doe eyes, that long neck, those high cheekbones, and that music box of a voice.
Hepburn is badly miscast in the dismal Green Mansions, but those who've never seen this tedious potboiler may find it unintentionally humorous. She's almost as poor in Billy Wilder's disappointing Love in the Afternoon, whose subtlest performance comes courtesy of — gasp! — Maurice Chevalier.
Also, she's perfectly okay (but not more than okay) in Roman Holiday, which earned her an Oscar; an Oscar that should have gone to Deborah Kerr in From Here to Eternity, Leslie Caron in Lili, or Ava Gardner in Mogambo.
On the other hand, I think Hepburn is just fine in John Huston's The Unforgiven, which some consider one of the director's worst films. I found it an enjoyable Western, filled with good performances, including those of Lillian Gish and Audie Murphy.
Hepburn is equally fine in the much-panned The Children's Hour, which I find just as good as (if not better than) William Wyler's previous film version of Lillian Hellman's play, These Three. Lesbianism is the theme here, with Shirley MacLaine (above) delivering an achingly real performance as the teacher who loves her pretty co-worker in an "unusual" way. Also in the top-notch cast: Fay Bainter, James Garner, and Miriam Hopkins.
Hepburn is also a good Natasha Rostova in King Vidor's filmization of Tolstoy's never-ending novel War and Peace, and the film itself is great to look at (cinematography by Jack Cardiff). The problem with this megaproduction is that though beautiful, it for the most part sounds phony. (David Lean's Doctor Zhivago suffers from that same illness.) A pitiably miscast Henry Fonda as Pierre Bezukhov — a role written to order for Robert Morley — doesn't help matters any. But then again, not even the great Morley could've made believable Tolstoy's absurd ending for his most revered work. (Heretical confession: I find War and Peace one of the worst novels I've ever read.)
George Cukor's multiple Oscar-winning My Fair Lady has lost some of its reputation in the last two or three decades. I saw this one on the big screen, and I couldn't find anything wrong with it — except for the unconvincing finale. (Just use your imagination and visualize Higgins and Eliza splitting up — or killing one another — a couple of weeks after the film's last scene.) Hepburn had her voice dubbed by Marni Nixon, but her mimicking/mouthing is charming, nevertheless.
And finally, Hepburn is superb as the nun who begins to question her vows in Fred Zinnemann's sober drama The Nun's Story (above, with Peter Finch). Now, that was the year Hepburn should have won the best actress Oscar (which went to Simone Signoret for Room at the Top).
Pacific Time
11 Tuesday
3:00 AM Laughter in Paradise (1951)
A millionaire's will requires his heirs to perform outrageous stunts. Cast: Alastair Sim, Fay Compton, Hugh Griffith. Dir: Mario Zampi. BW-97 mins.
5:00 AM Secret People, The (1952)
A refugee gets mixed up in a plot to assassinate the dictator who killed her father. Cast: Valentina Cortese, Serge Reggiani, Audrey Hepburn. Dir: Thorold Dickson. BW-95 mins.
7:00 AM Children's Hour, The (1961)
A malicious student tries to destroy the teachers at a girls' school. Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner. Dir: William Wyler. BW-108 mins.
9:00 AM Nun's Story, The (1959)
A headstrong girl fights the strictures of the Catholic church in Europe and the Belgian Congo. Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Edith Evans. Dir: Fred Zinnemann. C-152 mins.
11:30 AM Unforgiven, The (1960)
Indians try to reclaim a rancher's adopted daughter. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, Audie Murphy. Dir: John Huston. C-121 mins.
2:00 PM My Fair Lady (1964)
A phonetics instructor bets that he can pass a street urchin off as a lady. Cast: Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, Stanley Holloway. Dir: George Cukor. C-172 mins.
5:00 PM Love In The Afternoon (1957)
An aging American tycoon overcomes his inhibitions to court a young Parisian. Cast: Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn, Maurice Chevalier. Dir: Billy Wilder. BW-130 mins.
7:30 PM Roman Holiday (1953)
A runaway princess in Rome finds love with a reporter who knows her true identity. Cast: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert. Dir: William Wyler. BW-118 mins.
9:45 PM War and Peace (1956)
A young Russian girl fights to save her family during Napoleon's invasion of her homeland. Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer. Dir: King Vidor. C-208 mins.
1:15 AM Green Mansions (1959)
A young adventurer falls in love with a mystical woman in the South American jungle. Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Perkins, Lee J. Cobb. Dir: Mel Ferrer. C-104 mins.