Roman Holiday (1953)

Last Thursday I had my first day completely off from work with nothing to do but relax so I enjoyed watching some Audrey Hepburn movies on Netflix while blogging.

Believe it or not I'd never seen Roman Holiday before or even knew about the plot! But I enjoyed it immensely and since I don't often review black & white films I decided to review this one.

How can you go wrong with a super sweet story and the ever lovely Audrey Hepburn?

Story: 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.

Costumes: Audrey Hepburn's style is always classic and this film has some of the prettiest outfits! I loved her long hair, probably more than her short hair, but her new haircut is very cute.

Scenery: This film was shot on location in Rome and there's some pretty amazing sites and places that they visit. The last scene in the grand place is quite stunning!

Music: The music didn't really stand out to me but I know that it was good and fit the film. The scene with the wild ride through Rome was such fun and I'm sure had some fun music.

Actors & Characters:

• Audrey Hepburn as Princess Ann - Although she is prim and proper she longs for adventure, she longs to live! A very sweet but interesting character and she grows into a truly beautiful character. Audrey Hepburn was a gorgeous actress and always makes me smile and feel deeply for her characters. She is brilliant as always in this film!
• Gregory Peck as Joe Bradley - Joe is not your typical ruthless American newspaper journalist, he is very caring and kind. He helps Ann find humor and fun in life and falls in love with her but doesn't demand anything of her. He is so honorable and gentlemanly, I liked him right away! I'm not sure I'd ever seen Gregory Peck in anything (I must have at some point in my life) but he was so charming and quite handsome. 
• Eddie Albert as Irving Radovich - Joe's photographer friend who follows Ann around taking fun photos of her. His scenes are rather hilarious! Eddie Albert stared in Green Acres and in several other TV shows and movies and has one of those faces I always recognize but a name I can never remember! I don't always like the characters he plays but it was fun to see him so young, with a beard and wearing sandals.
• Margaret Rawlings as Countess Vereberg - Princess Ann's personal secretary type, she organizes all of her events. She looks familiar but I still can't place the actress. 
• The Barber - I can't remember the name of the barber in the film but he was such a fun character, I loved the scene where they are dancing and he stops to rearrange her hair! What a neat guy!

My Thoughts: It was actually kind of nice not knowing anything about the plot because I really got to enjoy the story as it unfolds. Audrey Hepburn's character is very easy to like and her story is fun. It's also neat to see an old-fashioned story where even though the guy and girl are left alone together there's no inappropriate scenes even implied! Joe Bradley is such a gentleman and doesn't take advantage of Princess Ann's youth and inexperience, indeed he protects her on every available occasion. The ending was a real surprise to me, not at all how I expected but it made a lot more sense than the more sappy romances we see today (like The Princes and Me). It was a fun film, not my favorite Audrey Hepburn film (Charade is my favorite, followed closely by How To Steal A Million) but a lovely fun story and I'll definitely watch it again sometime soon!

Recommendations: This film has no inappropriate scenes, language or themes so it is completely appropriate to show to children. They don't make movies with sweet stories like these anymore so films like this deserve to be watched over and over again. I highly recommend Roman Holiday, it's a wonderful film!


Have you seen Roman Holiday?

Which Audrey Hepburn movie is your favorite?