After Green Mansions, Audrey traveled to Mexico to film The Unforgiven. In it, she played a woman living in Texas in the pioneer days. Her costars were Lillian Gish, Audie Murphy, and Burt Lancaster. During the movie, Audrey made friends with everyone (a practice that she maintained during her entire career). While filming, Audrey was pregnant again. She decided not to go on maternity leave. Unfortunately, Audrey was thrown from a horse while shooting and broke several vertebrae. Three weeks later, she finished the film, but she had to do so in a back brace. Soon after filming concluded, Audrey miscarried again. More than likely, it was caused by her accident while filming. She grieved deeply, and went through bouts of depression.
But she soon was pregnant again. This time, she did no filming and remained on bedrest during the pregnancy. She gave birth to Sean Ferrer on July 17, 1960. A little while after Sean's birth, Audrey threw herself back into work, and landed the role as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey turned in a fine performance as the city girl who was really a country girl at heart. The role of Holly, a prostitute who contemplates bisexuality, was intended for Marilyn Monroe, another 50s icon. But Audrey gave the role a bit more sophistication, as well as a more palatable interpretation for conservative American audiences. In the movie, she costarred with George Peppard and "Cat", her pet that leads up to a romantic finale. Audrey enjoyed the role of Holly, since it helped her to break away from her gamine image. She was not just a pretty girl, but a pretty girl with a little zest. She was happy to do the film following Breakfast at Tiffany's, giving her another break from her image.
The film following Breakfast at Tiffany's was The Children's Hour. Costarring with Audrey was Shirley MacLaine and James Garner. She and MacLaine, headmistresses at a private school, are accused of lesbianism by a disturbed student. Garner played Audrey's fiance, who broke the engagement because of the stress of the rumors. The film received several Academy Award nominations, despite being unsuccessful at the box office. As usual, Audrey did not dwell on what could be considered film failures. Instead, she threw herself into another film project. |
