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 8 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...

---

Plot Keywords:

national film registry | italy | poker game | princess | american | 

---

Taglines:

IT'S SHEER JOY. The picture that lifts your happiness high. The gay adventure that starts in a lovely lady's boudoir and ends in a riot of 1954 style fun right in the romantic heart of Rome itself. A story of today - as modern as tomorrow.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

William Wyler at first wanted Jean Simmons to play Ann, and reportedly nearly canceled the project when Simmons proved unavailable.

---

Goofs

Still in Joe's apartment, when Mr. Hennessy is finishing his speech to him, Joe is holding the envelope with both hands in front of his body. In the next shot, when Mr. Hennessy leaves, Joe is holding the envelope with his right hand leaning on his hip.

---

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, ...

---

Alternate Versions

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

---

Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Best Romance Movies of the 1940s - 1960s (2017)

User Reviews

Emma Thompson and Audrey Hepburn

A comment made by Emma Thompson made me want to see "Roman Holiday" again. Miss Thompson said about Audrey Hepburn "she has no bite" Implying that Miss Hepburn wasn't much of an actress. Well, I don't know what she was talking about or perhaps she doesn't either. To see "Roman Holiday" again in 2017 was a moving and wonderful experience. Audrey Hepburn's performance is as fresh and enchanting as I remembered. Perhaps even more. So I arrived to the conclusion that Miss Thompson is talking about a different kind of acting. When a performance travels in time with the same power, decade after decade, for me that's great film acting. In "Roman Holiday" she took me with her and convinced me, heart and mind, that she was that princess and I loved her. William Wyler, the wonderful director, knew what he was doing - he always did. By introducing us to Audrey Hepburn he reinforced and reinvigorated his own prodigious legacy. I love Emma Thompson as an actress but she's totally wrong about Audrey Hepburn.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian German

Release Date:

2 September 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Roman Holiday

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