Audrey Hepburn A-Z: H is for...
H is for... Hitchcock!
No, Audrey never worked with the famed mystery director, but she might as well have...
Audrey did want to make a Hitchcock film, and honestly, who didn't? She'd seen all of his films in the '50s, and luckily for her, Hitch also wanted to make a film with her. The project, No Bail for the Judge, had been lingering in development limbo since at least 1958, with Audrey slated for the female lead.
No Bail for the Judge was a thriller novel by Henry Cecil. Set in London, its premise, according to Goodreads, is, "A dour and highly-respected High Court Judge finds himself on trial for the murder of a prostitute. He has no recollection of the events leading up to the murder so believes he may be guilty. His daughter, however, is convinced of his innocence, so she enlists the help of a petty thief to help solve the complex mystery."
Audrey would have starred as the judge's daughter, Laurence Harvey would have starred as the thief, and John Williams would have starred as the judge. She signed a contract in February 1959 to appear in the film, with production to take place in late August/early September, after she'd given birth.
But Audrey changed her mind that May, and did not want to jump back onto a movie set so soon after giving birth (she miscarried following a horse riding accident on the set of The Unforgiven). Her agent, Kurt Frings, had already told Paramount executives that she would report to set for filming, but then he had to issue a quick reversal to the press announcing that she wouldn't be appearing in No Bail for the Judge because of doctor's orders.
The truth was, reportedly, that after reading a draft of the script where her character is nearly strangled to death with a necktie and raped, she changed her mind about appearing in the film. She didn't request a change to the script, which was something she had in her Paramount contract, she just simply withdrew from the project.
Without Audrey, Laurence Harvey dropped out, and it didn't help that British movies could not include scenes of solicitation either, so the project was permanently shelved, despite sinking at least $200,000 into it already and including it as a starring vehicle for Audrey in a Paramount publicity brochure that highlighted big incoming projects for the '60s.
Now, just because Audrey never worked with Hitch doesn't mean she didn't try her hand at the mystery/thriller genre. In 1963, she starred alongside Cary Grant in Charade, a chic, Parisian-set whodunnit that is often called the best film Hitchcock never made.
Charade presented its own problems, namely that Cary Grant was reluctant to star opposite a decades-younger Audrey and be the one to pursue her. The script was changed to secure his involvement: any romantic pursuit is Audrey trying to lasso Cary. Never mind that Audrey and Grace Kelly were the same age and Cary had no problem pursuing her in To Catch a Thief in 1955...
The film reunited Audrey with her Funny Face director, Stanley Donen (they'd go on to make Two for the Road together in 1967); the music was provided by Henry Mancini, who had also done the music for Breakfast at Tiffany's; and, of course, her costumes were provided by Givenchy.
Charade is a charming film, and you can find it easily enough since it's in the public domain (YouTube is your friend, here!). Ever the charming diplomat, after filming, Cary reportedly said, "All I want for Christmas is to make another movie with Audrey Hepburn."
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Which directors do you wish Audrey had worked with? I can't help but think of Frank Capra or Howard Hawks; she had great comedic chops, I think she would've been great in screwball-esque comedies.
Come back soon for the letter I!
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