Laden with laughs, this classic romantic tale follows the adventures of Ann, the Crown Princess of an unspecified country, who has embarked on a much publicised journey of several European countries.
While in Rome, she finds herself unable to bear the strictly scheduled and supervised life and longs to break free. Leaving the embassy secretly, with the hopes of experiencing Rome on her own, she finds herself in the company of an expatriate American reporter, Joe Bradley.
When Joe doesn't recognise her, Ann takes on an alias, Anya Smith, and enjoys a magical adventure with him, to the extent that they both find themselves falling in love with each other. How will their respective futures unfold? Is there any possibility for a royal princess to find love with an ordinary man?
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck
Crew: William Wyler (Director), Franz Planer (Director of Photography), Henri Alekan (Director of Photography), Georges Auric (Music Director)
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Release Dates: 02 Sep 1953 (India), 30 Oct 1953 (Australia), 05 Oct 1953 (Brazil), 09 Apr 1954 (France), 02 Sep 1953 (United States)
Tagline: Audrey Hepburn at her Oscar-winning best in an immortal comedy-romance!
Did you know? Shot in black and white so that the characters wouldn't be upstaged by the romantic setting of Rome. Read More
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as Irving Radovich
as Joe Bradley
as Sculptor
as Correspondent at Poker Game
as Taxicab Driver
Supporting Actor
as Embassy Aide
as Man on Phone
as Admiral Dancing with Princess
as Embassy Aide
as Schoolgirl
as Prince Istvan Barossy Nagyavaros
as Giovanni
as Girl at Cafe Waving at Irving
as Princess Ann
as Agence Press
Supporting Actor
as Senhora Joaquin de Capoes
as Girl at Cafe Waving at Irving
as Flower Seller
as Correspondent at Poker Game
as Shoe Seller
as Speaking Correspondent
as Ambassador
as Mr Hennessy
as Countess Von Marstrand
Supporting Actor
as Julian Cortes Cavanillas of 'ABC Madrid'
as Speaking Correspondent
as Correspondent at Poker Game
Supporting Actor
as Schoolgirl
as Hennessy's Secretary
as Pallid Young Man Dancing with Princess
as Countess Vereberg
as Young Boy with Car
as Faceless Man on the Barge
as Charwoman
as Mario Delani
as Teacher at Fontana di Trevi
Supporting Actor
as Lady in Waiting
as Correspondent at Poker Game
as Undetermined Role
as Hari Singh
as De Limie
as Francesca - Irving's Model
as Ihre Hoheit die Furstin von und zu Luchtenstichenholz
as General Provno
as Embassy Aide
as Embassy Aide
Supporting Actress
Direction
Director
Production
Producer
Production Company
Associate Producer
Camera and Electrical
Director of Photography
Music
Music Director
Art
Art Director
Costume and Wardrobe
Costume Designer
Editorial
Editor
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
English
Spoken Languages:
German, Italian
Colour Info:
Black & White
Sound Mix:
Mono
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
1.37:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Taglines:
Audrey Hepburn at her Oscar-winning best in an immortal comedy-romance!
Romance in romantic Rome!
Romance in romantic Rome!
Movie Connection(s):
Remade as: Suhana Safar (Hindi)
Goofs:
Audio/Video Mismatch
When Ann and Joe are on the scooter, her words don't match her mouth.
Audio/Video Mismatch
After Joe rolls Ann out of his bed onto the couch, Ann mumbles, "So happy." However, her mouth doesn't move.
Continuity
After Joe throws his drink on Irving, a visible wet mark appears on Irving's shirt. Yet when they emerge from the bar just moments later, the wetness appears to have disappeared.
Continuity
When we see for the first time the truck where the princess is escaping the palace, there is a Cinzano box inside. But when Anne climbs into the back of the truck the brand "Cinzano" is not seen any more and another brand appears instead.
Continuity
When Joe is saying farewell to Princess Ann when she first leaves his apartment, he places his hand on the door handle. In the next shot, his hand is at his side and he then places it on the door handle again.
Continuity
As Ann surreptitiously speeds away from the embassy, stowed away in the back of a delivery truck, the crates that she hides behind change.
Continuity
In Joe's apartment, when he gives the pajamas to Ann, the pajamas hang covering her left arm. In the following shots her left arm is bare around the pajamas.
Factual Mistake
When we first see Joe and Irving, they are playing five-card draw poker. There are eight men at the table playing, but it is not possible to play five-card draw poker with eight players. After the initial deal, there would only be twelve cards remaining for the draw, not enough for everyone to draw up to the three cards allowable in such a game. They could only play five-card stud. Interestingly, when Joe leaves the table, the dealer calls for seven-card stud, which is the only game playable with the seven remaining players
Revealing Mistakes
It is a known fact that when riding a scooter or bike, one leans to the inside of the curve of the road, and not the opposite as it appears in the scene of the couple in the scooter shots, especially on the photos selling around the Rome tourist shops. It is then clearly obvious they're riding at the back of some 4 wheeled vehicle.
When Ann and Joe are on the scooter, her words don't match her mouth.
Audio/Video Mismatch
After Joe rolls Ann out of his bed onto the couch, Ann mumbles, "So happy." However, her mouth doesn't move.
Continuity
After Joe throws his drink on Irving, a visible wet mark appears on Irving's shirt. Yet when they emerge from the bar just moments later, the wetness appears to have disappeared.
Continuity
When we see for the first time the truck where the princess is escaping the palace, there is a Cinzano box inside. But when Anne climbs into the back of the truck the brand "Cinzano" is not seen any more and another brand appears instead.
Continuity
When Joe is saying farewell to Princess Ann when she first leaves his apartment, he places his hand on the door handle. In the next shot, his hand is at his side and he then places it on the door handle again.
Continuity
As Ann surreptitiously speeds away from the embassy, stowed away in the back of a delivery truck, the crates that she hides behind change.
Continuity
In Joe's apartment, when he gives the pajamas to Ann, the pajamas hang covering her left arm. In the following shots her left arm is bare around the pajamas.
Factual Mistake
When we first see Joe and Irving, they are playing five-card draw poker. There are eight men at the table playing, but it is not possible to play five-card draw poker with eight players. After the initial deal, there would only be twelve cards remaining for the draw, not enough for everyone to draw up to the three cards allowable in such a game. They could only play five-card stud. Interestingly, when Joe leaves the table, the dealer calls for seven-card stud, which is the only game playable with the seven remaining players
Revealing Mistakes
It is a known fact that when riding a scooter or bike, one leans to the inside of the curve of the road, and not the opposite as it appears in the scene of the couple in the scooter shots, especially on the photos selling around the Rome tourist shops. It is then clearly obvious they're riding at the back of some 4 wheeled vehicle.
Trivia:
After filming, Gregory Peck informed the producers that, as Audrey Hepburn was certainly going to win an Oscar (for this, her first major role), they had better put her name above the title. They did and she did.
Director William Wyler normally films a lot of takes getting the movie right. But The Mouth of Truth scene only took one take. Not known to Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck hid his hand in his sleeve when he took it out of the Mouth. Hepburn's reaction therefore is both genuine and spontaneous: exactly what Wyler was looking for.
The first American film to be made in its entirety in Italy.
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.
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.
A lot of the film's success was attributed to the public's then fascination with Britain's Princess Margaret who was creating a stir over her much publicized relationship with commoner Peter Townsend. (The Princess was forced to renounce her true love because he was divorced and marry more "suitably".)
At the beginning of the movie, the elder gentleman dancing with princess Ann says to her, in Italian: "I want absolutely to die on the ship!"
Shot in black and white so that the characters wouldn't be upstaged by the romantic setting of Rome.
Paramount originally wanted to shoot this movie in Hollywood. William Wyler refused, insisting it must be shot on location. They finally agreed, but with a much lower budget. This meant the movie would now be in Black-n-White, not the expected Technicolor, and he would need to cast an unknown actress as the Princess - Audrey Hepburn.
Director William Wyler normally films a lot of takes getting the movie right. But The Mouth of Truth scene only took one take. Not known to Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck hid his hand in his sleeve when he took it out of the Mouth. Hepburn's reaction therefore is both genuine and spontaneous: exactly what Wyler was looking for.
The first American film to be made in its entirety in Italy.
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.
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.
A lot of the film's success was attributed to the public's then fascination with Britain's Princess Margaret who was creating a stir over her much publicized relationship with commoner Peter Townsend. (The Princess was forced to renounce her true love because he was divorced and marry more "suitably".)
At the beginning of the movie, the elder gentleman dancing with princess Ann says to her, in Italian: "I want absolutely to die on the ship!"
Shot in black and white so that the characters wouldn't be upstaged by the romantic setting of Rome.
Paramount originally wanted to shoot this movie in Hollywood. William Wyler refused, insisting it must be shot on location. They finally agreed, but with a much lower budget. This meant the movie would now be in Black-n-White, not the expected Technicolor, and he would need to cast an unknown actress as the Princess - Audrey Hepburn.
