Monday, August 08, 2011

Different Hepburn, different Vespa

Updated 8/22/11
For those of you who googled 'Hepburn' and 'Vespa' and expected Audrey, here you go:
Audrey
Audrey Hepburn on a Vespa, possibly in London, date unknown. From Kim Kelley's blog Bella Rustica.

But - not from Roman Holiday as a few other websites state. That movie takes place in, well, Rome. The license on this scooter is British, and if this is not a one-way street, those cars in the background are driving on the left side of the road. Besides, this Vespa is newer and a different model than the one from the movie seen here:
Audrey2
My favorite shot of Audrey Hepburn on a Vespa, from the aforementioned 1953 movie Roman Holiday. From The Nifty Fifties Audrey Hepburn pages.

Nor is it the one from another Audrey Hepburn film - this one from 1957 and co-starring Gary Cooper, Love in the Afternoon. This time the Vespa is plying the streets of Paris, but Audrey is not driving:
Audrey3
Vespa in Paris. Screenshot from 1957 movie Love in the Afternoon. From the Van Nuys, California vintage Italian scooter maven Kara Snow's old website The San Diego Times.

Love in the Afternoon is not as scooterific as Roman Holiday is however. In fact, the only other scooter you'll see is this Lambretta LC 125 posing with a late '30s Citroen Traction Avant and a couple of back-to-back Renault 4CVs - and both scooter shots are in the first five minutes of the movie:
4c
Lambretta LC 125 in Paris. Screenshot from 1957 movie Love in the Afternoon.

So, does anyone know where/when/why the top photo was taken?

Audrey Hepburn trivia: After she completed dance school in 1944, Audrey Hepburn formed a dance troupe. She secretly funneled all the proceeds to the Dutch Underground.

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