Main Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, James Mason, Claudia Mori, Irene Papas, Michelle Phillips, Romy Schneider
Release Year: 1979
Country: US
Run Time: 116 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Bloodline, a thriller based on a mystery novel by Sidney Sheldon and directed by Terence Young, is the story of Elizabeth Roffe (Audrey Hepburn), who inherits a huge pharmaceutical company and then discovers that some of her family members may be plotting her death in order to gain control of the company. Despite an all-star cast including the usually excellent James Mason, Irene Papas, Ben Gazzara, the lovely Romy Schneider and Omar Sharif and wonderful locations, this thriller just doesn't generate much suspense despite numerous likely suspects and plot twists. Director Young gets only an average performance from Audrey Hepburn and manages to do little with his distinguished cast. The film while not particularly suspenseful is aided by the lovely color photography of Freddie Young and a lively, original score by Ennio Morricone. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
Sam Roffe, President of Roffe & Sons Pharmaceuticals, dies in a climbing accident leaving his daughter Elizabeth (Audrey Hepburn) a billion-dollar empire. Roffe's board members thus see the opportunity to settle old scores, jockey for higher positions, and reap lucrative profits. However, an investigation into Sam's accident uncovers a murder and a nefarious power struggle within the company. Lead investigator Max Hornung (Gert Fröbe) informs Elizabeth of his list of suspects that include her closest advisers and financially strapped family members. During this time she marries CEO Rhys Williams (Ben Gazzara) but he, too, is identified by Hornung as a suspect. As president, Elizabeth refuses to let shares of Roffe & Sons sell on the world market. Her choice prevents the board members from selling their shares of stocks and therefore remain in financial misery. Her death would allow for a unanimous decision to sell the board's stocks and get the money. After several attempts on her life an international chase ensues with Elizabeth unable to trust anyone.
This was Audrey Hepburn's first, and only R-rated film in the United States.
According to a 1979 article in Playboy, the film was originally produced with more graphic sexuality and violence, but was edited down to avoid an X-rating.
Sheldon originally wrote the character of Elizabeth as a much younger woman in her 30s. When the nearly 50-year-old Hepburn was cast, he revised his novel to make the character older.
The Roffes originally also had members living in Germany but they weren't included in the film.
Max Hornung is a former tax auditor who became a detective when some businesspeople found out it was his dream and pulled some strings so he'd offered the new job and his superior only allowed him to investigate the Roffes hoping he'd annoy them to the point they'd use their prestige to have him fired from the force but those facts aren't mentioned in the film.
According to an interview conducted by Wes Anderson in the DVD features for the film They All Laughed (1981), director Peter Bogdanovich claims Audrey Hepburn and Ben Gazzara fell in love and had an affair while shooting Bloodline. Though the affair was short-lived, it inspired the characters they would each play in They All Laughed.
