TWO FOR THE ROAD, 1967/STANLEY DONEN
Lot 491

TWO FOR THE ROAD, 1967/STANLEY DONEN

AN AUTOGRAPH LETTER

Fermé4 October 2017

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GBP 4,750

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TWO FOR THE ROAD, 1967/STANLEY DONEN
AN AUTOGRAPH LETTER
An autograph letter, signed, from Stanley Donen to Audrey Hepburn on 6, Hyde Park Gardens headed stationery, dated 7 March, 1967, the letter in blue ballpoint pen on both sides of one sheet, thanking Audrey for her letter regarding Two for the Road, expressing his pleasure in knowing that the movie, which was so personal to him, also meant so much to her, Donen praises her performance It is surely your best performance and one of which you can truly be proud, musing ...it came out of our true selves, and concludes by emphasising how much he adored making the picture with her, signed My admiration and gratitude and love. Always - Stanley
9 x 7 in. (22.9 x 17.8 cm.)

Note du spécialiste

Two For The Road would be the third collaboration between Hepburn and director Stanley Donen, following Funny Face, 1957, and Charade, 1963. At the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Gala Tribute to Audrey Hepburn on 22nd April, 1991, Donen joked My passion for her has lasted through four marriages - two of hers and two of mine.

In a radical image update, Two For The Road presented a new-look, more liberated Audrey Hepburn, dressed in the height of sixties mod fashion. The offbeat film covered twelve years of a faltering marriage, with a revolutionary non-linear narrative jumping back and forth episodically. In a dramatic departure for Audrey, the script called for adultery, profanity, bikini frolics and even a nude bedroom scene with co-star Albert Finney. Unusual among Audrey's leading men, Finney was actually seven years her junior.

Co-stars and friends described a more relaxed Audrey on the set of Two For The Road, laughing and joking between takes. Biographer Ian Woodward quotes director Stanley Donen ....the Audrey I saw during the making of this film I didn't even know. She overwhelmed me. She was so free, so happy. I never saw her like that. So young! ...I guess it was Albie. Finney and Hepburn became close during filming, provoking the usual reports of an on-set romance. According to biographer Charles Higham, Finney said of their time together We got on immediately...With a woman as sexy as Audrey, you sometimes get to the edge where make-believe and reality are blurred. All that staring into each other's eyes... The time spent with Audrey is one of the closest I've ever had.

Many praised Audrey's performance as her best in years, and Audrey herself was proud of the movie, though she was recognised instead with an Oscar nomination for her performance in Wait Until Dark, which was released the same year.