One of Audrey Hepburn's most acclaimed films from the Fifties, Sabrina, showed her at her best if not her two co-stars, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart. Bogey had left us already, but given what he thought of the film I doubt you could ever have gotten him to co-star again with this Hepburn. Still Holden and she got along and I guess Paramount thought they would team them again.
It didn't work out because two things were happening in William Holden's life. He broke up with Capucine before this film started and this was to be his final film under his Paramount contract. Reportedly Holden was drinking heavily and production was suspended while he dried out.
According to Tony Curtis's memoirs his unbilled bit in the film was to help pad it out as they got it ready for release. I'll bet that this was the case also for Marlene Dietrich's brief appearance and Noel Coward's small role as Holden's producer.
Paris - When It Sizzles was supposed to be a light hearted farcical look at the art of movie script writing. Audrey Hepburn plays a stenographer typist who is hired by Holden to help him out with dictation. As Holden spitballs his ideas out, we see a whole bunch of fantasy sequences with the two of them and Tony Curtis in various proposed scenes from his film The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower.
Paris - When It Sizzles was held up in release by Paramount for two years, a sure sign this was going to be a lemon. The critics roasted it and the public stayed away in droves. Fortunately both the stars had better work ahead of them and Holden did end his Paramount contract.
It would have been nice had he gone out on something a lot better.
It didn't work out because two things were happening in William Holden's life. He broke up with Capucine before this film started and this was to be his final film under his Paramount contract. Reportedly Holden was drinking heavily and production was suspended while he dried out.
According to Tony Curtis's memoirs his unbilled bit in the film was to help pad it out as they got it ready for release. I'll bet that this was the case also for Marlene Dietrich's brief appearance and Noel Coward's small role as Holden's producer.
Paris - When It Sizzles was supposed to be a light hearted farcical look at the art of movie script writing. Audrey Hepburn plays a stenographer typist who is hired by Holden to help him out with dictation. As Holden spitballs his ideas out, we see a whole bunch of fantasy sequences with the two of them and Tony Curtis in various proposed scenes from his film The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower.
Paris - When It Sizzles was held up in release by Paramount for two years, a sure sign this was going to be a lemon. The critics roasted it and the public stayed away in droves. Fortunately both the stars had better work ahead of them and Holden did end his Paramount contract.
It would have been nice had he gone out on something a lot better.