After War and Peace, Audrey went on to make Funny Face with Fred Astaire. The majority of the film is set in Paris. She played an outspoken intellect with disgust for the shallow people involved in the fashion world. Astaire, who played a photographer, pulls the beauty queen out of Audrey's character, who soon falls in love with Astaire. Audrey, who was referred to as "Jo" during the entire film, tapped into her fashionable side, as she'd previously done in Sabrina. She wore Givenchy's designs in this film as well. The movie burst with color and good music, and entertained many. But she did not stay fixed on Funny Face's success for long.
After filming, she immediately started to shoot Love in the Afternoon with Gary Cooper and Maurice Chevalier. This movie was also set in Paris. Audrey, a young girl, falls in love with Cooper, and she tries to impress him throughout the film, all while keeping it a secret from her father, played by Chevalier. (As with most Hepburn movies, this has a great ending). During filming, Ferrer gave Audrey a Yorkshire Terrier, who she named Mr. Famous. Her problems with miscarriage didn't bother her as much, as she showered the little dog with affection.
A year after Love in the Afternoon, Audrey starred in A Nun's Story. In it, she plays Sister Luke, one of many nuns working in the Belgian Congo, among a leper colony. She did not win an Oscar for the movie, but she did win a New York Film Critics Award. Before receiving the award, Audrey started on yet another movie.
In her next movie, Audrey played Rima, a forest girl, in Green Mansions. In the film, Rima seemed to have a almost supernatural kinship with the forest she lives in, and soon a wealthy man, Mr. Abel (played by Anthony Perkins) falls in love with her. The film was not a box office success, because of it was more intellectual than entertaining. Nevertheless, Audrey turned in an amazing performance. The film was directed by the increasingly protective Ferrer. One of the bright points of doing Green Mansions was that Audrey had a chance to "adopt" a fawn, which she named Ip. She fed the little deer regularly, and eventually bonded with it. |
