Breakfast at Tiffany's is a novella by Truman Capote, published in 1958. The story documents the life of a young woman, Holly Golightly, who is trying to find her place in the world when she meets "Fred" (who is without a name in the book, but christened "Paul Varjak" in the film).

The film

In 1961, Breakfast at Tiffany's was adapted as a film starring Audrey Hepburn (as Holly Golightly), and George Peppard (as Paul Varjak a.k.a. "Fred"), and directed by Blake Edwards. The script, by George Axelrod, was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay.

The film follows some aspects of Capote's original story quite closely, though a number of changes had to be made to make the storyline acceptable to 1960s film audiences (and to fans of Audrey Hepburn). For example, in the original, Holly is more explicitly described as being a prostitute, something that is treated with more subtlety in the film. Capote's novel also included language that had to be toned down and a different, darker ending.

According to Hollywood legend, Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly and may have written the original story with her in mind. Another legend exists in regards to the difficulty in filming the film's opening sequence, in which Holly gazes into a Tiffany's shop window. Although simple in concept, crowd control, Hepburn's dislike for pastries (something she was required to eat for the scene), and an accident that nearly resulted in a crew member being electrocuted made capturing the scene a challenge for director Edwards.

Audrey Hepburn introduced the film's signature song, "Moon River", by Henry Mancini, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Sung by Hepburn herself, it was written to her singing range as she was not an experienced singer. However, her definitive version of the song was not released on an album until after her death. Instead, "Moon River" became a major hit for Andy Williams, who made it his theme song. According to Mancini, a studio executive hated the song and demanded it be cut from the film; Hepburn, who was present when this proclamation was made, responded to the suggestion with very un-Audrey-like language.

Wisp-thin Audrey Hepburn as Holly, carrying a cigarette holder almost as long as she is tall, is considered one of the iconic images of 20th Century American cinema, and the film marked a major comeback for the actress after several years of unsuccessful films. The film also rejuvenated the career of 1930s movie song-and-dance man Buddy Ebsen, who had a small but effective role in this film as Doc Golightly, Holly's ex-husband. His success here led directly to him being cast in his best-known role as Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies. Among the film's only negative notes, Mickey Rooney's racially stereotyped performance as Holly's Japanese landlord remains controversial nearly 45 years after the film's release.

Stage play

In the late 1960s, a Broadway musical based upon Breakfast at Tiffany's was launched, starring Mary Tyler Moore as Holly. It was not a success.

Tributes

In 1995, the band Deep Blue Something had a hit with a song called "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The song is about a crumbling relationship between two people with nothing in common except that they "both kinda liked" the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Trivia

Tiffany & Co., the famous New York jewelry store where Holly eats breakfast in the scene under the opening titles, is located at 727 Fifth Avenue at 57th Street in New York City. [1]

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