Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman Paperback – August 30, 2011

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.

"Breakfast at Tiffanys" was one of many 60s-era movies that added to my own zeal to move to New York immediately after art school, and begin living the Big City Life. Inspired by the details of movies like "Tiffany", "Sweet Smell of Success", "The Apartment", etc I could not wait to be part of the population, hailing Checker cabs, sitting on my fire escape reading the voluminous Sunday Times, taking in Broadway shows, and going to coffee houses in The Village. All of this was possible in 1967, even on an Art Trainee's salary; and one could easily find "a roomate, a job, and an apartment" in a day. At least, that is what I remember.I would like to propose that the real star of "Tiffanys" is.....alas, Manhattan. Thanks to Wasson's book, I note that actual film work in the City was limited -- and then the whole party shifted to the back lots of Hollywood (WHY had I not expected that, all along?).....but, the viewer is left feeling that Holly and her band of kooks has given them a sneak preview of the most marvelous place in the world. And we all wanted to come, asap. At least, I did, and have never regretted the decision, even 43 years later.So, although I am a fan of Audrey's, and Blake's, and Truman's, I came away from this fun book, realizing that New York City was the social game-changer -- not "Breakfast at Tiffanys". Afterall, the City gave us "newcomers right off the bus" a place to shape-shift, reinvent, become our most creative selves, play-act and try on different roles (graphic artist? fashion illustrator?window dresser?) -- while providing the perfect "movie set" backdrop of teeming Times Square, towering sky scrapers, ethnic neighborhoods, brownstones/townhouses/studios, and the most fascinating population EVER.Wasson has given us a juicy summer read, and I would describe it as an expanded-version of one of those ultra-juicy articles-with-photos in Vanity Fair magazine. But, to double your pleasure, I highly recommend ordering a used copy of Gene Moore's "My Time at Tiffanys" to read, immediately after "Fifth Avenue, 5 am". Moore gives a marvelous, engaging behind-the-velvet-curtain tour ofTiffanys and the backstory of their culture-defining Windows.....plus he throws in a lot of New York City legend and lore (happily covering the timeframe when I first arrived, complete with water shortages and labor strikes). Not a fictional character like Holly, Moore was a real creative innovator, leaving his mark, while living an alternative lifestyle; and his talents enriched New York City and added to its status as the most stylish metropolis ever.