Roman Holiday (1953)

A bored and sheltered princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American newsman in Rome.

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Ian McLellan Hunter (screenplay), John Dighton (screenplay)

Stars:

Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert

Top Rated Movies #245 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gregory Peck	...	Joe Bradley
Audrey Hepburn	...	Princess Ann
Eddie Albert	...	Irving Radovich
Hartley Power	...	Mr. Hennessy
Harcourt Williams	...	Ambassador
Margaret Rawlings	...	Countess Vereberg
Tullio Carminati	...	General Provno
Paolo Carlini	...	Mario Delani
Claudio Ermelli	...	Giovanni
Paola Borboni	...	Charwoman
Alfredo Rizzo	...	Taxicab Driver
Laura Solari	...	Hennessy's Secretary
Gorella Gori	...	Shoe Seller

Storyline

Joe Bradley is a reporter for the American News Service in Rome, a job he doesn't much like as he would rather work for what he considers a real news agency back in the States. He is on the verge of getting fired when he, sleeping in and getting caught in a lie by his boss Hennessy, misses an interview with HRH Princess Ann, who is on a goodwill tour of Europe, Rome only her latest stop. However, he thinks he may have stumbled upon a huge scoop. Princess Ann has officially called off all her Rome engagements due to illness. In reality, he recognizes the photograph of her as being the young well but simply dressed drunk woman he rescued off the street last night (as he didn't want to turn her into the police for being a vagrant), and who is still in his small studio apartment sleeping off her hangover. What Joe doesn't know is that she is really sleeping off the effects of a sedative given to her by her doctor to calm her down after an anxiety attack, that anxiety because she hates her...

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Plot Keywords:

princess | american | reporter | sedative | photograph | 

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Taglines:

Audrey Hepburn at her Oscar-winning best in an immortal comedy-romance!

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian German

Release Date:

2 September 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vacances romaines

Filming Locations:

Viale del Policlinico, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 117 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story was originally optioned by Frank Capra in 1949, who had hoped to cast Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor in what would essentially amount to being a variation on his Oscar-winning classic, It Happened One Night (1934). However, Capra's Liberty Films production company was beset with financial problems and he was forced to sell the property to Paramount, where a combination of political timidity (Capra discovered the involvement of blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo) and a tight budget prompted him to withdraw from the project. William Wyler, however, had no compunctions whatsoever about working with Trumbo.

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Goofs

When we first see Joe and Irving, they are playing five-card draw poker. There are eight men at the table playing, but it is not possible to play five-card draw poker with eight players. After the initial deal, there would only be twelve cards remaining for the draw, not enough for everyone to draw up to the three cards allowable in such a game. They could only play five-card stud. Interestingly, when Joe leaves the table, the dealer calls for seven-card stud, which is the only game playable with the seven remaining players.

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Quotes

[first lines]
News announcer: Paramount News brings you a special coverage of Princess Ann's visit to London, the first stop on her much-publicized goodwill tour of European capitals. She gets a royal welcome from the British, as thousands cheer the gracious young member of one of Europe's oldest ruling families. After three days of continuous activity and a visit to Buckingham Palace, Ann flew to Amsterdam, where Her Royal Highness dedicated the new international aid building and christened an ocean liner, ...

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Connections

Referenced in Raising the Bar: Roman Holiday (2008)

User Reviews

catch the beautifully restored print of this

Audrey Hepburn's first big film role cast her as a Princess of country unknown, making a state visit to Rome. Bored of the endless run of openings, dedications and so on, she decides to see something of the city, and runs into American newsman Gregory Peck. He recognises her as the missing Princess and plans to scoop a major interview for his syndicate, with the help of pal Eddie Albert and his hidden camera.

Hepburn is an absolute joy, particularly when her hair is shorn down to the classic urchin cut and she takes a motorcycle ride. Peck, too, is served well by this kind of role, and the romance of the city of Rome helps their relationship to develop during their 24 hours of freedom. Roman Holiday is one of those rarities which are truly perfect and memorable, a real girly flick with beautiful photography and a sparkling script. Highly recommended, and especially so in the wonderful recent restoration.