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 250 #215 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 13 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

Princess Anne embarks on a highly publicized tour of European capitals. When she and her royal entourage arrive in Rome, she begins to rebel against her restricted, regimented schedule. One night Anne sneaks out of her room, hops into the back of a delivery truck and escapes her luxurious confinement. However, a sedative she was forced to take earlier starts to take effect, and the Princess is soon fast asleep on a public bench. She is found by Joe Bradley, an American newspaper reporter stationed in Rome. He takes her back to his apartment. The next morning Joe dashes off to cover the Princess Anne press conference, unaware that she is sleeping on his couch. Once he realizes his good fortune, Joe promises his editor an exclusive interview with the Princess.

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Plot Keywords:

princess | american | editor | love | delivery truck | 

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Taglines:

Romance in romantic Rome!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian German

Release Date:

2 September 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

La princesa que quería vivir

Filming Locations:

Bocca della Verita "Mouth of Truth", Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Piazza Bocca della Verita, 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

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Embassy Ball sequence featured real Italian nobility, who all donated their salaries to charity. The reporters at the end of the film were real, too.

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Goofs

The photo Irving takes during the fight at the dance, of Ann smashing the secret service agent over the head with the guitar, is not the one taken at the moment indicated in the film and shown later as the photograph. Supposedly, when Ann first hits the agent, Irving has missed it and calls out for "Smitty" (Ann) to hit him again - and Ann obliges, striking the agent on the head a second time as Irving shoots the picture. But a look at the subsequent photo clearly shows that it was in fact taken at the moment of the first blow, not the second. In the action, when Ann hits the agent the second time, the guitar appears already broken, and the agent is turned almost 180 degrees away from Ann's face and is already sinking down from the first blow, his face barely visible. But the photo - supposedly the only one Irving got - clearly is of the first, not second, blow. There, in both the live action and the photo, the agent is facing to his left and has not sunk so far down, his face is mostly visible, and the guitar is not as damaged as in the second blow. That the photo was actually taken of the first blow is further indicated by a close viewing of the live action of Ann hitting the agent the first time. At the moment of impact the film has a brief jump-cut, indicating that a frame has been deleted from the film, and in addition the tail-end of a flash from a camera's flashbulb can be seen very briefly immediately after the cut frame. The missing film frame coincides exactly with the instant Ann hits the agent with the guitar, and is the identical shot that was used as Irving's "photograph", which he later presents to Ann in the packet of pictures he'd taken. But it's a photo of the supposedly un-photographed first blow with the guitar, not of the second blow, the only photo Irving was actually seen taking.

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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 Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Rebel Set (1992)

User Reviews

Viva Audrey!

I recently caught this little gem of a film on a retro program and it was a trip well worth it. William Wyler was a genius directing throughout his film career. Here he's in top form.

The only way this film could have been conceived was with the charming presence of Audrey Hepburn in her first appearance on a Hollywood film. She is without a doubt, an angel who was sent to this earth to delight the movie audiences in whatever movie she happened to dignify with her appearance in.

Some people have compared Audrey Tatou with the incomparable Audrey Hepburn. Seeing Ms Hepburn in Roman Holiday will certainly change the minds of those comparing fans. Audrey Hepburn was a star's star! She exudes charm, intelligence, elegance, and beauty. Just one look from her could disarm Gregory Peck forever.

The only wrong note of this production was the way the writer, Dalton Trumbo, was treated since he had been blacklisted by the anti-communist faction lead by Sen. McCarthy and company. In the end, Mr. Trumbo was vindicated in having his name recognized as the writer of Roman Holiday.

This film is a feast to the eyes in that glorious cinematography and Rome as a background. This was Hollywood at its best. Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn will be forever young any time we take a look at this classic that I'm sure will live and charm its viewers whenever they take a chance to see it for the first time, or like some of us, for another loving look.