This a personal blog of movie- and book-related musings of David Joyner. See also https://sites.google.com/site/wdjoyner/
This film was written (story and screenplay) by William Rose and directed by Alexander Mackendrick (who also directed The Sweet Smell of Success, a film written by Ernest Lehman, also covered in this blog).
Scene-by-scene breakdown
Scene-by-scene breakdown
Time: 1990s
Place: Mississippi
Another anecdote says that Humphey Bogart was only brought on because Cary Grant was either unavailable or turned it down. In my opinion, Humphey Bogart’s subdued approach to the role is what makes the film work. William Holden, while excellent and perfectly cast, has an acting style too similar to Cary Grant’s. Humphey Bogart provides the perfect contrast to the part.
While similar in some ways to Wilder’s Love in the Afternoon (1957), this film is (IMHO) much much better. Clever twists and turns keep this screenplay moving. I’ve retyped the entire screenplay (the October 7,1953 draft of “Sabrina Fair” called “Final White Script”) in fountain. It is copyrighted and property of Paramount Studios, but if you would like a copy for educational purposes only, feel free to email me at fablestofilm AT gmail DOT com. Hopefully the study of the screenplay will encourage you to rewatch this terrific film.
For more on Ernest Lehman, read the excellent book "Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success" by Jon Krampner.
While some have called The Prize derivative of North by Northwest, I'm not sure I will go so far. However, there are a few scenes in each that closely parallel each other. For example, in North by Northwest, Thornhill (played by Cary Grant), to escape being killed by the spies in the room of the Antique Auction, causes a fight and the police are called to arrest him. There is a similar scene in The Prize where Craig (played by Paul Newman) is chased by spies trying to kill him. He escapes into a meeting room of a Swedish nudist society (to be shot in a way that "good taste will prevail", according to Lehman's screenplay). There again, to avoid death at the hands of these spies, he raises a confict requiring the police to come and arrest him.
However, there are some interesting aspects what make The Prize worth studying, and here is one lesson to take away from the screenplay. To set this up, Emily (played by Diane Baker) has taken an interest in Andrew Craig. She has been introduced as the sweet niece of a Nobel prize scientist (played by Edward G. Robinson).
This is how Ernest Lehman describes a secret conversation. At this point, only "Ivar" is known by the audience to be a "bad guy" and likely an enemy spy. So this scene is important to the plot as it reveals to the audience that Emily is not the sweet woman we've been led to believe.
EMILY AND IVAR - ON THE DANCE FLOOR They dance in silence until they are on the far side of the floor. Casually, they glance in the direction of the Berghs’ table. (We will INTERCUT one or two POV SHOTS from the dance floor. These shots will indicate that Emily and Ivar know they cannot be seen, through the intervening dancers, from the table.) The dance MUSIC is very loud. We will not hear words. But we will *see* lips moving now. First Emily says something to Ivar. He replies at some length. Emily nods, speaks to him again. He addresses several sentences to her. She makes a final remark. Then their lips fall silent and they continue to dance as before. Throughout this exchange, their faces have been without expression.
For more on Ernest Lehman, read the excellent book "Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success" by Jon Krampner.