Roman Holiday (1953), an American romantic film, directed by William Wyler, a German-born American film director, and reportedly based on the real-life Italian adventures of British Princess Margaret, depicts the adventure of a bored princess named Ann, tired of being the centre of social events and a target for the paparazzi, who slips out of the imprisoning walls of the palatial Embassy to explore her freedom by walking alone around Rome, and eventually, meets an American reporter, who guides her on an unforgettable day around Rome.
However, at the end of the day, the princess goes back to fully accept her duty to her family and her people, but no longer as a pampered girl but a grown woman, taking leadership in her own terms.
Although for playing the role of the princess, Wyler wanted an actress who was different from the contemporary curvy Italian stars, initially he had considered Elizabeth Taylor and Jean Simmons for the role. But as both were unavailable, he watched a screen test of Audrey Hepburn and strongly felt that though she had no arse, no tits, no tight-fitting clothes and no high heels, she would be a sensation, and the rest is history.
Incidentally, Wyler first offered the role of Joe Bradley, the American reporter, to Hollywood favourite star Cary Grant, but he refused to take the offer as he reportedly believed he was too old to play Hepburn's character's love interest, although many believed that he declined because he knew all of the attention would be centred around the princess. After that, when Gregory Peck accepted the role, the contract gave him solo star billing, as Hepburn was listed much less prominently in the credits, but halfway through the filming, Peck personally suggested to Wyler to drop his contractual solo star billing and elevate her equal billing, which was an almost unheard-of gesture in Hollywood.
Regarded as one of the most charming romances in screen history, Roman Holiday opens with a newsreel footage, showing Princess Ann, a member of a royal family of an unnamed European country, waiving smilingly at the crowds during her formal tour of the Eternal City of Rome, where her visit is marked by a spectacular military parade. In that evening, the ambassador of her country to Italy arranged a formal reception and an extravagant ball in her honour, which she attended without showing any sign of strain.
But before her retiring for the night when she expressed her frustration with the little control she has over her life, her doctor gave her a sedative shot so that the Crown Princess have a good sleep after the end of the hard day in Rome, to calm her down after a probable anxiety attack, because she hates her regimented life where she has no freedom, always forced to do and say the politically correct things as instructed, not what her heart wants.
However, shortly after that, when she found herself alone in her bedroom, she took the opportunity to sneak out of the embassy into the real world, roaming aimlessly to explore the city. But soon she becomes unstable due to the effect of the sedative and falls asleep on a low park wall, where Joe Bradley, an American reporter, one of the reporters planning to interview of the Princess on the next day, finds her on his way home following a late-night card game with his pals. Unaware of her royal identity, Bradley acted as a kind hearted gentleman and takes her to his apartment to sleep calmly, rather than being harassed by the police for intoxication. As luck would have it, Joe overslept, missed the scheduled press conference of the princess, but falsely reported to his editor, Hennessy, that he attended the press meet. But when Hennessy in his turn pointed out the picture of Princess Ann printed in the paper with the news of cancellation of the press conference due to the sudden illness of the princess. Joe immediately identified the picture of the princess as the woman in his apartment, smelt the opportunity of writing the article of a lifetime and promised Hennessy an exclusive interview with her.
Back in his apartment, Joe called his photographer friend, Irving Radovich, while Ann was taking a bath, hinting him to get ready for a front-page story, and after a while, when Ann was ready to go out, he offered her, without revealing his identity, to show her around Rome, which she politely refused, citing an important appointment, before leaving the apartment. However, Joe followed her while she began her day of freedom by ordering a gelati cone at a roadside stand, followed by exploring an outdoor market, buying shoes, getting her long hair cut short, even gladly accepting a single flower from a vendor. Nevertheless, Joe contrived to meet Ann on the Spanish Steps, a steep slope dominated by a church at the top, convinced her to spend the day with him, took her to a street café to meet Irving, who started to take pictures with a camera concealed in his cigarette lighter.
After completing the lunch, Ann smoked her very first cigarette and began her carefree tour of the city riding on the back of Joe’s two wheeler. However, when for a change, she took the front seat and started clumsily driving the Vespa scooter through the crowded Roman traffic, they were arrested by the policeman on duty, but were released when Joe showed him his press papers. After visiting the ancient Colosseum, Joe took her to the Mouth of Truth, the ancient Roman marble mask and told her the legendary story attached to it, which says, if a liar puts their hand in the mouth, it will be bitten off. At first, Anna reluctantly and apprehensively moved her hand inside the mouth and safely pulled it out, but she became panicked when Joe pretended that his hand was cut off.
Later in the evening, as suggested by Ann, they went dancing on a barge on the Tiber River, where the agents from Ann's government tried to forcibly take her back, and while Joe and Irving struggled to prevent Ann from being taken away, Ann started to hit the heads of the royal agents with bear bottles and then with a guitar, snatched from one of the band members. During the melee when Joe was knocked into the river, Ann also jumped in after him and they swam away to the shore. Once on the shore, they congratulated themselves on their successful escape and formed a bond, sealed with kiss. After a while when they were drying their clothes at Joe's apartment, a radio bulletin announced that the people of Princess Ann's country are concerned that her illness may be serious. Although they wanted to become closer, the announcement reminded them of the reality, and while Ann knew that after spending the dream of a day in Rome, she is destined to return to her royal life to accomplish her duty to her family and the country, Joe discarded the idea of writing his exclusive story about Princess Ann and not to exploit her, violating her privacy. As requested by Ann, Joe drove her to a street corner within the sight of the imposing gates of the Embassy, where in a memorable departing scene, she bade him a tearful goodbye and they kissed again, for the last time.
Next day, to the utter surprise of Princess Ann, Joe and Irving attended her postponed press conference, where the princess asserted her faith in the relationship between nations, as well as between people, and Joe in his turn, assured her that her faith would not be misplaced. After that, during the photography session, Irving steps forward and surprises her by revealing that his cigarette lighter is actually a camera, and also presents her some photographs relating her visit to Rome. She takes a look at the photo of her smashing a guitar over an agent’s head, smiles discreetly, and thanks him formally. She then gives a wide goodbye smile to all, holding her tears back, and slowly turns back to depart. However, Joe remains behind after everyone else leaves, stares sadly at the door through she left, and then turns back to walk out from the room with echoing footsteps.
Shot entirely on location around the city of Rome and in the Cinecittà Studios, Roman Holiday (1953), is described by many as more than a romantic film, rather a beautifully told modern fairy tale. Filmed in black and white, due to expensive filming on location, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. With Audrey Hepburn luminous in her American debut, Roman Holiday is considered a timeless classic by twenty-first-century viewers and reviewers, and sets the standard for the modern romantic comedy. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won three, which included the Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, played by Audrey Hepburn.