For the movie adaptation of his book BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S Truman Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe to play the lead. She turned the role down, as did Shirley MacLaine and Kim Novak. Audrey Hepburn accepted and would play one of the most famous characters in film history. During our visit to New York, I saw her portrait as Holly Golightly on numerous souvenirs and there is even a mural.
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:01:49 |
The story is largely set in New York, which is also where most of the exterior scenes were filmed. Many of these locations can still be found, even though the film is already more than 60 years old. Filming took place from 2 October 1960 to 3 February 1961. The first scene filmed was the opening scene, when Holly arrives in a taxi at jewellery store Tiffany & Co., early in the morning. The moment the film's title is shown, she has a cup of coffee and a croissant in her hands, making the scene perfectly match the title.
Since 1940, Tiffany's flagship store is located at 727 5th Avenue. After years of renovation, the building reopened on 27 April 2023. Except for an awning over the entrance, the facade looks much as it did in 1960. Unfortunately, large concrete blocks along the curb deface the view of the main entrance.
Later in the film, Paul Varjak (George Peppard) walks out of the store.
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:00:17 |
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| 5th Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:00:35 |
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| Tiffany & Co., 5th Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1:24:45 |
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| Tiffany & Co., 5th Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
When Holly looks up, a monumental clock carried by Atlas, a character from Greek mythology, can be seen above the Tiffany name. The sculpture was commissioned by Charles Tiffany and designed by Henry Frederick Metzler in 1853 for an earlier flagship store of the jeweller.
The shop windows are bounded by marble.
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:00:36 |
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| Tiffany & Co., 5th Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:01:02 |
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| Tiffany & Co., 5th Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
When Holly continues walking along East 57th Street, the side entrance to Tiffany can be seen on the right. Scenes were also filmed inside but the jeweller's interior has changed beyond recognition.
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:01:29 |
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Tiffany & Co., 5th Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:02:07 |
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| Tiffany & Co., East 57th Street, New York, 1 July 2023 |
Holly and her new neighbour Paul walk out at the same time. They live at 167 East 71st Street, in reality the house number is 169. The sunscreens have disappeared and the doors and window frames are now blue, otherwise nothing seems to have changed.
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:13:31 |
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| 169 East 71st Street, New York, 1 juli 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:13:39 |
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| 169 East 71st Street, New York, 1 juli 2023 |
Paul introduces Holly to Emily Eustace Failenson (Patricia Neal) who is getting out of the taxi. When we wanted to take photos of the house and the street, a man was sitting on the stairs talking on the phone. I assumed he lived there and waited for him to finish his call. He saw us standing and told us he did not live there but did we know that the house is featured in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's? He also told us that Sean Connery lived on this street in the Ransom Hooker Mansion, built in 1911. This is the house with the arches at 173-175 that can be seen behind the taxi.
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:13:43 |
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| 173-175 East 71st Street, New York, 1 July 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:13:56 |
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| East 71st Street, New York, 1 July 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 0:14:26 |
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| East 71st Street, New York, 1 July 2023 |
Holly and Paul decide to do things they have never done before. After Paul's first visit to Tiffany's, he takes her for the first time to a library, the New York Public Library at 476 5th Avenue. Later in the film, Paul thinks he sees Holly passing the library. The building dates back to 1895 and can be seen in numerous films. The interior scenes were filmed in the studio.
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1:13:25 |
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| New York Public Library, 476 5th Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1:25:27 |
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New York Public Library, 476 5th Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023
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Holly and Paul take a walk along Park Avenue near East 52nd Street. At Seagram Plaza, they sit down on the green marble parapet in front of the Seagram Building. It was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1958. The flagpole is gone and the fountain spouts higher, otherwise nothing has changed here.
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1:37:27 |
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| Park Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1:37:35 |
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| Park Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1:37:38 |
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| Park Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1:37:48 |
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| Seagram Plaza, Park Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1:38:02 |
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| Seagram Plaza, Park Avenue, New York, 1 July 2023 |
We did not visit all New York locations. There were also scenes filmed in Central Park, East 49th Street and Jefferson Market Garden. The remaining filming was done at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. The store where Holly and Paul steal party masks is on 'New York Street' and I would not have recognised it if the guide had not told me.
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| Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1:15:38 |
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| Paramount Studios, Hollywood, 19 July 2023 |
During filming, Audrey Hepburn was photographed on a bicycle with her Yorkshire terrier Famous on the Paramount lot. When I looked at our photos, I saw that we had made a photo of Studio 18 from almost the same angle.
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Audrey Hepburn and Famous,
Paramount Studios, 1961 |
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Studio 18, Paramount Studios,
Hollywood, 19 July 2023 |
Screenshots © Paramount Pictures/Jurow-Shepherd Productions
