The beloved actor Humphrey Bogart hated working with: “I want this sabotage ended”
Humphrey Bogart was not a warm and cuddly screen presence. On the contrary, he was Hollywood’s go-to cynic. Whenever a film called for a world-weary detective, he was at the top of the list. As a romantic lead, he had a somewhat unlikely charm, using his gruffness and nihilism to fuel the will-they-won’t-they plots of Casablanca, High Sierra, To Have and Have Not, and many others.
He was also one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars. Frank Sinatra looked up to him. Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy adored him. And John Huston, a man who was feared, fawned over, and respected by all who met him, deeply admired him. However, Bogie had a notoriously antagonistic side. If he took a dislike to someone, they found out. Heneedled people, honing in on their insecurities and exploiting them for the fun of it. For the most part, he was a revered colleague, but when he felt threatened, he got nasty.
Given his reputation for being a tough guy, albeit a tough guy who will ultimately always do the right thing, it was surprising when the 54-year-old Bogart was cast in Billy Wilder’s 1954 romance Sabrina opposite Audrey Hepburn. He played Linus Larabee, a wealthy businessman who competes with his brother, David (William Holden), for the affections of the family chauffeur’s daughter, Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn). Linus was supposed to be older and less boyishly handsome than his younger brother, but the 30-year age gap between him and Hepburn was still a stretch.
The part of Linus had initially been offered to Cary Grant, an actor who, regardless of his age, always had a youthful grace about him. He was younger than Bogart, but still turned the part down, believing, according to some sources, that he was too old to play Hepburn’s love interest. Adding insult to injury, Holden was nearly 20 years younger.
The production got off to a rocky start and went downhill from there. Bogart wanted his wife, Lauren Bacall, to play Sabrina and went out of his way to complain about Hepburn’s lack of experience. It was only her second film as a leading lady, but she had just won an Oscar for Roman Holiday. Bogart was even less comfortable with Wilder. He knew he was the director’s second choice for Linus, and the fact that Wilder had just finished working with Hepburn on Roman Holiday and Holden on Stalag 17 (for which he won the ‘Best Actor’ Oscar) made the Casablancastar feel like an outsider in every way.
He immediately took against Holden, too, considering him to be more of a matinee idol than an actor (Oscars be damned). He made of the younger star for having to dye his hair a sun-kissed blonde for the role of the rakish younger brother. His feeling of isolation was only confirmed when Hepburn and Holden had an affair. It was a tragic and life-changing event for both of them, but for Bogart, it was proof that he was being shut out of a film he didn’t even want to be part of.
At one point, when Holden was intentionally ruining his close-ups by blowing cigarette smoke in his face, Bogie burst out, “I want this sabotage ended!” It was to avail, apparently, because he wound up stalking off the set, leaving Hepburn gleeful about not having to finish the day of shooting with him.
It was one of the few off-screen feuds Hepburn had with a co-star. Fortunately, despite there being no love lost between them, she and Bogart still managed to make their romance in the film believable, and it remains a highlight of both their filmographies.
