In the mid-1950s, movie content began to change drastically. After two decades of wholesome movies that promoted traditional values and that the whole family could enjoy, the risqué, violent, and obscene content which had characterized movies of the early 1930s and before crept in again.
Hollywood historians noted that the 1930s content shift came about after the establishment of the Production Code Administration (PCA) in July 1934.
However, the reversion to immoral content 20 years later is usually accredited to the influence of foreign films, the rise of independent movies, competition from television, and two landmark court cases that changed Hollywood’s infrastructure.
I think that all these influences were inconsequential in affecting film content compared to the retirement of Joseph Breen in October 1954 as head of the PCA. Without his strong leadership, the PCA quickly became weak and ineffective in its job of enforcing the Code. Without him, filmmakers were allowed to break more of its rules every year. This is graphically illustrated by two movies directed by Billy Wilder, which were released less than nine months apart: “Sabrina” (1954) and “The Seven Year Itch” (1955).
Breen Era: ‘Sabrina’
“Sabrina” was based on the 1953 Broadway hit play, “Sabrina Fair” by Samuel A. Taylor. The screen adaptation was co-written by Billy Wilder and Taylor until the playwright grew disgusted by the direction Wilder was taking. Wilder was replaced by Ernest Lehman. The movie starred Audrey Hepburn as the title character. Her two love interests were the Larrabee brothers: Linus was played by Humphrey Bogart and David by William Holden. It was a box office and critical success, receiving six Academy Award nominations.The chauffeur’s daughter, Sabrina Fairchild, is in love with David, the younger son of the house. She has watched him go through three wives and countless flirtations, while she has loved him from afar her whole life.
Her father, an old-fashioned British chauffeur (John Williams), decides to get Sabrina’s mind off David by sending her to cooking school in Paris. When she returns to the Larrabee’s Long Island estate two years later, she has matured into a sophisticated young lady who catches David’s eye. However, David’s older brother Linus has arranged a marriage between David and Elizabeth Tyson (Martha Hyer), to facilitate a business merger, so he courts Sabrina himself to break up her romance with David. In the process, Linus ends up falling for Sabrina.
This movie is the epitome of Old Hollywood glamour. This was Hepburn’s second American film, and she was fresh off her Oscar win for “Roman Holiday.” In “Sabrina,” she plays a servant’s daughter instead of a princess, but she still has a regal air. Although Edith Head won an Oscar for Hepburn’s wardrobe, it was noted that Hepburn’s clothes were inspired by Givenchy, who would be her designer for the rest of her career. The glamorous styles included her little black dress and the Sabrina neckline, complementing her svelte figure with modest, traditionally feminine designs.
Shurlock Era: ‘The Seven Year Itch’
“The Seven Year Itch” was based on the 1952 Broadway hit of the same name by George Axelrod, who co-wrote the screenplay with Billy Wilder. Tom Ewell (inexplicably billed as Tommy Ewell) reprised his role from the play as the central character, Richard Sherman. Marilyn Monroe plays the unnamed girl who captures his eye, and Evelyn Keyes plays Mrs. Sherman. Despite both writers’ disappointment with the finished film because of content changes required by the PCA, it was a big commercial success and received mostly positive reviews. It was overlooked at the Academy Awards, but Ewell won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes.
Publishing executive Richard Sherman sends his wife and son away to Maine for the summer while he braves the New York City heat to keep working. He has a vivid imagination and persistent habit of talking to himself; he battles alcohol, cigarettes, and attraction to other women. However, the first day on his own isn’t even over before the voluptuous blonde from upstairs is having drinks with him. He tells himself that it’s perfectly innocent, and the ditzy model is delighted when she learns he is married, knowing he can’t propose marriage. Richard is conflicted by feelings of lust, shame, and jealousy, fueled by his outlandish daydreams about his absent wife and the all-too-present girl upstairs.
Unashamed as the liberating breeze blows aside the skirts of convention to reveal bare legs, she hardly tries to keep her skirt down. Meanwhile, Sherman is like the filmmakers, claiming every intention of being upstanding, yet all too eager to run wild once authority (his wife, or in Hollywood’s case, Mr. Breen) is gone.
Quite a Difference
Billy Wilder had at least two distinct styles. I never would guess that “Sabrina” and “The Seven Year Itch” were directed and co-written by the same person, since they have nothing in common in terms of story, style, or theme. The 1955 film is the first example of the style which characterized most of Wilder’s later films, such as “Some Like It Hot,” “The Apartment,” and “Irma la Douce.” “Sabrina” is one of the last films to feature his classy, meaningful earlier style.During the Breen Era, Wilder made cleverly hilarious comedies, like “The Major and the Minor” and “The Emperor Waltz,” but he also tackled tough, controversial subjects with brilliant finesse, as in “The Lost Weekend,” “Sunset Boulevard,” and “Stalag 17.” Starting with “The Seven Year Itch,” his comedies resorted to cheap vulgarity for laughs, and his serious pieces grew sordid and disturbing. “Seven Year Itch” marked the end of Hollywood’s Golden Era when Billy Wilder traded Audrey’s little black dress for Marilyn’s white subway frock.
