Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman

I have to confess I have always loved Audrey Hepburn, but have never been quite sure what my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie should be. They all showcase that certain gamine ethereal quality which defined her during the great heyday of her career in the 1950s-the early 1960s. Sam Wasson's book, Fifth Avenue 5 A.M makes the case that everyone's favorite movie should be "Breakfast at Tiffany's."When Stanley Kubrick made his film version of "Lolita," the ad campaign focused on how impossible it was under the prevailing motion picture code (illustrating what a dead letter that institution was that audiences would conspire to undermine it). The original work that the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was based upon posed just as many problems. It was the story of a prostitute (Holly Golightly) and her gay friend who talked and acted like Truman Capote. Capote even insisted that he was the only person capable of playing the male lead in any film version of his work. Holly Golightly could only be played by one person, Audrey Hepburn's polar opposite, Marilyn Monroe. One wonders what sort of movie would have been made had that bit of casting been attempted,. Marilyn discretely turning tricks while Capote dished the dirt with the upstairs neighbor, a Japanese photographer.Movie making is collaborative venture and this book demonstrates that premise perfectly. Capote created the character of Holly Golightly based in part on his own wild playgirl of a mother. While she was not above depositing Truman with relatives in Alabama (where he met Harper Lee, but this is another story entirely) while she ran around Manhattan in the thrities, she probably was not the high class call girl that Holly was in the book. In fact any number of women including Gloria Vanderbilt, Carol Marcus (later to marry Walter Matthau) and Babe Paley contributed features to the development of Holly Golightly. Sometimes writing involves collaboration from a variety of sources.Once the film rights were sold, several other individuals step into the story, each with their own agendas, but all seeking some sort of redemption. First there was Audrey Hepburn herself who had originally refused the part by saying, "I just can't play a hooker." There was the writer, George Axelrod, the writer, who sought to break away from doing movies with well endowed heroines (Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe) who seduce ordinary joes, a genre termed boobs and boobs films. Then there was the director, Blake Edwards, who despite a successful career as the director behind the successful Peter Gunn TV series wanted to movie into a higher tier of professional respect. Sam Wasson demonstrates how all of these three individuals achieved greater professional success than they might of expected from the outset.Really the only thing that was left from the original novel was its title and the name of the heroine. Functioning more as a character study, there was little in the way of plot and dramatic tension. George Axelrod, turned the traditional formula for a late fifties sex comedy (which never involved sex unless both partners were married) on its head by making both his hero (no heterosexual) and heroine fully sexual beings who were presumably being kept by others and who needed to break free of the need for financial security to find love and commitment with each other. As for Holly herself, what she did for the $50.00 for the powder room was kept somewhat hush hush, Hepburn had recently been nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of a nun in the Belgian Congo for crying out loud. Holly had been changed from a call girl to a happy go lucky kook in the best traditions of Hollywood.In most creative endeavors there is usually one person who annoys all others with his oversized ego. Oddly enough with so many talented people involved, that person for this movie was George Peppard. Of all of the participants that were interviewed for the book, absolutely no one had anything good to say about him. An inflated sense of one's own self worth though commonplace in Hollywood and even Washington is not an odd thing, but completely unsuspected if one has the scintilla of talent at the command of George Peppard. The tales of his antics make me long to read an account of one of my favorite trash classics, "The Carpetbaggers," which really is more his style anyway.It is no surprise to realize that the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was a success. Audrey Hepburn achieved new successes and a greater sense of her abilities as an actress. George Axelrod went on to become one of the producers of "The Manchurian Candidate" (another great movie from this period, would love to read a book on the making of that movie) and Blake Edwards acquired the kind of fame and respect that led to the establishment of the wildly funny Pink Panther series of movies.Truman Capote was predictably bitter. It was one thing to buy the film rights to his book and then trash most of the plot, but it was another thing to succeed wildly in doing so. Had "Breakfast at Tiffany's" failed (which it probably would have had it starred Marilyn Monroe and Truman in the leads), there would have been some consolation. This particular movie became the source of many extended rants from Capote in the later years who was appalled that his character, Holly Golightly, who was a high class call girl in his original novel had been turned into a lady by Hollywood.Sam Wasson's work on the making of this classic of Hollywood alchemy is really an fun read as well as being a bit of a guilty pleasure. From the beginning of the story to the end, he weaves a tale of ego, genius and professional redemption in an entertaining and at times moving way. Well worth the read.

If you are into film, or love Audrey Hepburn, love fashion, or want a good slice of American history circa 1960, this is a very fun read. My wife and I watched "Breakfast At Tiffany's" the other night, and I was really surprised at how good the film still is. There are bad moments, of course, like the terribly outdated role that Mickie Rooney plays as a Japanese photographer, which was uncalled for. But the film is still a very classic piece of work, and very modern. The party scene in her apartment is worth watching the movie alone.I thought I'd read the novel by Capote. Discovered this new book that just came out, and doing a lot of film work, thought I'd give it a read. It was *much* better than I thought it would be. A great overview of the back story of the making of the movie, the intrigue, the technical issues that were solved, and of course, a lot of discussion of the various actors and actresses that made it what it was. Different audiences can read this for different reasons. I was more interested in the films technical overview, how it got made. I wasn't so much interested in the 'making of the modern woman' but the issues it raises are interesting. But the back story was really worth price of admission alone. From the choice of actors, the changing of the script, the role that Blake Edwards brought to it, the way it affected American women and their fashions, the creation of "Moon River" and other interesting tidbits, the writing is crisp and keeps you moving.If you got this far, just get it. I highly recommend this book.

Sam Wasson's just-released and delightful book on the making of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is so chock-full of great anecdotes that you're sorry when it's over. For awhile, you are there - a privileged insider-witness to a marvelous bygone moment in moviemaking history - and it's with a feeling of bittersweet regret that you step from its closing pages back into a realm of noisy 3D sequels and superfluous comic book franchises. Everything you'd want to know and more is delivered in the book, from the reader's coverage producer Marty Jurow was first handed, re: adapting Capote's book for the screen ("In any event this is more of a character sketch than a story. NOT RECOMMENDED") to the guest list for the post-premiere party (including such unlikely elbow-rubbers as Dennis Hopper, Buster Keaton, Charles Laughton, and Jane Mansfield).A delicious through-line in the book is how close the movie came to not coming out so well as it did, with such jaw-droppers as everyone's resistance to having Henry Mancini write a song for the thing (eventual collaborator Johnny Mercer's original lyric, we learn, one of three eventually presented to Mancini, was called "Blue River"). An intimate exploration of the myriad personalities in conflict and collusion when a casual classic is being created, the book is cannily adept at detailing the logic of the so many minute decisions that lead to what we now accept as inevitable. Of course Audrey Hepburn played Holly Golightly, you think, until you hear how hard Capote lobbied for Marilyn Monroe.Wasson is a formidable researcher. He doesn't so much know where the bodies are buried as he knows where the hearts and minds are hidden. The book is written like a good novel, taking you inside the consciousness of its characters with an impressive, insight-laden believability ("Fifth Avenue"'s only recent movie-book rival in this regard is Mark Harris' fascinating "Pictures at a Revolution"). And Wasson's notes on how he arrived at, and can justify, his leaps of imagination and empathy are almost as interesting as the text itself.Of course the book has its thesis and theories as well, positing "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and Hepburn's stylish, fresh, era-defining performance as a watershed moment in cultural history. If you're a fan of Audrey Hepburn, the book is a must-have, because Wasson's astute take on what she was about, what she was up against, and how she delivered the goods strikes me as definitive. Her spritely, near-angelic spirit comes alive in the pages of this eminently devour-able book, which is kind of an awesome dividend.

El título del libro alude al lugar y hora en que fue filmada la primera escena de la clásica "Breakfast at Tiffany's", misma que supuso el clímax del estrellato de Audrey Hepburn, así como el cambio radical que supuso la figura de la mujer en el cine de los nacientes años 60's.Repleto de relatos y detalles que muchos no conocíamos, el autor nos lleva de la mano y narra un poco de la vida de los personajes (reales evidentemente) que intervienen, desde Truman Capote (autor de la obra original), hasta el director Blake Edwards (quien posteriormente legaría el clásico "The Pink Panther).La lectura es muy amena y comprensible, incluso para aquellos que no conocen el trasfondo de lo que todos conocen como un icono de la moda, cinematografía y cultura pop. Sin duda alguna, recomendable para los ávidos lectores del séptimo arte, Hollywood y la cultura moderna.

Das Buch hat mich sehr beeindruckt, weil es ein Gespür für den fundamentalen Kultur-Wandel in vielen Teilen der Welt in den 1960er Jahren vermittelt, und zwar festgemacht an der Geschichte "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in ihrer Buch- und in der veränderten Fimlversion. Für mich sehr spannend.

Ho sbagliato l'acquisto, perché non ricordavo di averlo già preso in italiano. Ottimo dietro le quinte del film, consigliato ai fan della Hepburn e agli amanti del buon cinema.

A must, must read for anyone who loves Audrey. I could not put my Kindle down. I must watch “Tiffany’s” again, with new insight. Sam Wasson’s style is wonderful. You will not regret buying this book.

Well-written, highly entertaining and seriously interesting, Fifth Avenue 5 AM give you the the back story of the making of the film, Breakfast At Tiffany's. The author, Sam Wasson has thoroughly done his homework. The annotations, the notes, everything is simply terrific. If Hollywood intrigues you, if you're a fan of Audrey Hepburn and if you like a smart and can't-put-it-down kind of book, then this is it. You won't be disappointed.