Release Year: 1953
Director: William Wyler
*****
There is a reason Audrey Hepburn is such a beloved film icon. First, there is her ability to play any kind of role convincingly (see her take on Princess Ann here juxtaposed to her fun loving Anya, right). Then there is her look: the girl next door, someone any mother would want her son to marry. And then there's the way she makes even the most cynical of people let their own guards down.
Roman Holiday is about, succinctly, growing up. Taking responsibility for your actions, putting others before yourself, doing "the right thing" though it may not be what you want to do. Princess Ann sneaks out of the embassy one night while in Rome and falls in with a reporter, Joe Bradley (Peck). Once he realizes who she is, he hatches a plan to get an exclusive story-with pictures-for the paper. As the two grow closer, Joe realizes if the pictures he has are shown to the public, Ann would be ruined.
Filmed entirely in Rome, Roman Holiday takes full advantage of the location, spinning the duo through the streets of the city to the landmarks we all hear about. Ann, pampered her entire life, has never gotten a haircut, eaten gelato or other seemingly trivial things we all take for granted. That's all she really wants: to be normal for one day. No schedules, ceremonies, procedures...to be free. Can she be the person to bring a sense of "fun" to the monarchy? That's not really the question here. Through the day she spends outside the embassy, Ann is reminded constantly of responsibility: heeding traffic laws in the street, being able to pay for goods and services, sticking to your "friends." It does help her, in the end, to make her own decision about what she must do.
Joe is another creature entirely. His only angle on Ann is to use her to pad his bank account. If he get candid pictures and an exclusive story, he stands to make a small fortune in 1953 terms. A funny thing happens to him, though. He falls in love with her. It seems at this point he can't use her the way he intended to. They both learn just a bit about maturity and taking ownership of their responsibilities. Good fun with another great performance from Hepburn.