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

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:

national film registry | italy | princess | american | reporter | 

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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)

Gross USA:

$5,000,000, 31 January 1955

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,000,000, 31 January 2004

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

Audrey Hepburn won the 1953 Best Actress Academy Award for Roman Holiday (1953). On March 25th, 1954, she accepted the award from the much revered Academy president Jean Hersholt. After accepting the award, Audrey kissed him smack on the mouth, instead of the cheek, in her excitement. Minutes after accepting her 1953 Oscar, Audrey realized that she'd misplaced it. Turning quickly on the steps of the Center Theater in New York, she raced back to the ladies' room, retrieved the award, and was ready to pose for photographs.

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Goofs

After her haircut, when Ann enters the piazza, clock tower 1 reads 12:35 pm, but when Joe follows behind her, it reads 12:32 pm. When Ann sits in front of clock tower 1 in medium shot and Joe "runs into her", it reads 2:40 pm, even though it's only been a few minutes between entering, getting gelato and sitting down. Their conversation starts at 2:40 pm, but during the close-ups of Joe, clock tower 2 behind his head reads from about 4:55 pm - 4:58 pm, and when he stands up at the end of conversation and says "Today's going to be a holiday", clock tower 1 behind them in the medium shot reads 3:50 pm.

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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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Alternate Versions

The opening credits have been digitally changed on the R1 DVD release in order to include a Story credit for , who was not credited on the original release due to the Blacklist.

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Connections

Featured in The 60th Annual Academy Awards (1988)

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.