Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Directed by Blake Edwards

Film Review

One of the best romantic film comedies of all time, certainly one of the smoothest and most enjoyable, Breakfast at Tiffany's is an enduring classic of Hollywood that seems to get better and better the more times you watch it.  Glossing over the more sordid aspects of Truman Capote's witty yet provocative novella, the film features Audrey Hepburn as an urban waif who has the ethereal quality of a fairytale princess and George Peppard as the down-to-Earth wordsmith who struggles to pull her out of the clouds.  Hepburn and Peppard give their absolute best performances here and achieve an on-screen rapport which is virtually unmatched in this genre of film.

Of course, Breakfast at Tiffany's is memorable primarily for two things:  (a) Audrey Hepburn's implausibly long cigarette holder, which could easily double both as a billiard cue and as a beacon to warn off low flying aircraft; and (b) the luxuriously haunting Moon River signature tune (a strong contender for the most romantic movie theme of all time), which the actress gets to sing, helping Henry Mancini win his two Oscars, for best song and best score.

The film has one other, more dubious, claim to fame - Mickey Rooney as Hepburn's Japanese neighbour.  Heavily made up as the most grotesque caricature of a Japanese man you can imagine (outside of a Tintin story or crude Benny Hill sketch, that is), Rooney gives a turn that is both utterly hilarious and about as politically correct as it is possible to be.  If this is a flaw, then it is the only flaw in an otherwise perfect film.   Breakfast at Tiffany's is the career high point of director Blake Edwards, although he would score some successes subsequently, notably with his series of Pink Panther films and the classic Peter Sellers comedy The Party (1968).

Film Synopsis

Moving into his new apartment in New York City, struggling writer Paul Varjak tumbles into the chaotic life of his neighbour, a muddleheaded drifter named Holly Golightly.  Everything about the strange young woman fascinates Paul, especially her frequent visits to a gangster boss in Sing Sing prison, which provide her with her weekly allowance.  Holly equally takes a shine to the charming young writer, and doesn't criticise him for sleeping with his patroness, an older woman who provides him with his weekly allowance for services rendered.  Paul is surprised when a man turns up one day, claiming to be Holly's husband.  For some reason, Holly seems determined to avoid any reference to her past and refuses to go back home with the man she insists is her ex-husband.  Her only preoccupation is finding a rich husband to marry so that she no longer has to worry about the shopping bills and can spend more time in the only place where she feels at home, the jewellers Tiffany's.  By now Paul realises that he is in love with Holly, but will he be able to convince her that he is the man for her...?