Greg & Sophia

As 1961's Best Actress winner Sophia Loren presented Gregory Peck with his Best Actor Academy Award for 1962. They teamed up for Stanley Donen's comedy thriller ARABESQUE in 1966, and Gregory presented Sophia with her Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1993 ...

Back to 1966 with ARABESQUE, a perfect caper movie for the mid-'60s, as good as MODESTY BLAISE or Belmondo's LE HOMME DE RIO or Donen's earlier CHARADE with the delectable teaming of Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Gregory and Sophia seem to be enjoying themselves hugely in ARABESQUE which captures them both at their zenith. Sophia has that incredible wardrobe by Christian Dior and all those shoes (bottom, left) - a fetishist's dream, as Alan Badel richly demonstrates. Good to see this movie getting attention all over again, thanks to TJB for highlighting it (and Donen's FUNNY FACE, that perfect 1957 fashion show). (Donen continued to delight with Audrey and Albert in TWO FOR THE ROAD and Pete and Dud and Eleanor Bron in BEDAZZLED but came a cropper with Burton and Harrison playing gay in STAIRCASE - who would have believed that and the film was dreadful, and made in Paris - for the stars' tax reasons - though set in shabby Brixton in London!) But back to ARABESQUE: Sophia's Yasmin Azir and Peck's Professor Pollock have a lot of fun deciphiring that code - on a microdot! (such was intrigue before the internet age... it would be an email now) and Mancini's score is delicious too - and that camerawork!

and, below, when I saw her up close in 1979 at her book signing in London: Selfridges department store was absolutely packed, but mine was one of the books she signed! She looks even more amazing when seen up close!