24 July 2011

A Bit More

I read a bit more of Enchanted this afternoon. It's still an interesting story, though not as captivating as the WWII portion was. After I'd done some reading I hopped onto YouTube to see if there were any clips of Sabrina, since that's the section I'd just finished, and there are.



A couple of things jumped out at me. It's odd to read about how Hepburn and Bogart were getting along... and he spits... and the first clip I pulled up was the two of them dancing and him almost proposing to her. What a strange thing it must be to be an actor in a situation like this, and work with someone that despises you, yet have to pretend to be in love with him. My other thought was surprise at what she'd said about her voice:


"When I first came here, I had no voice at all. It was terribly monotonous, shrill and inflexible -- all of which it still is, only a little less so." (page 107)

I think that her assessment of her voice is more than a little harsh. But that seems to be very like her: always inclined to downplay her successes. I wonder if this is a product of the upbringing described on page 11:


A Victorian baroness to her fingertips, [Audrey's mother]  was now more than ever restrained, having lost the spontaneity and gaiety of her youth. She was a serious mother who always had her daughter's best interests at heart, but the warmth in that heart was cooled by her conviction that dignity forestalled cuddling, and that anything more effusive than a perfunctory good-night kiss was indecorus.

In any case, this suspicion of her own achievement seems to have served Audrey very well.