“It’s always open season on princesses.”
Roman Holiday is one of those classic films that had an extremely hard time getting made. Frank Capra had the rights to the story for several years. Most of what he had was based on a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, but that was extremely problematic, as Trumbo was one of the original Hollywood Ten and was blacklisted. They were a group of Hollywood people who refused to answer questions before the Joe McCarthy-led House Un-American Activities Committee that was pretty much rooting out communist with little regard to whether they were there or not. The committee ruined thousands of lives, and in 1947 the group had turned their attention toward Hollywood. Many played along by attending the hearings, and some even passed on names of others to avoid trouble for themselves. The Hollywood Ten stood up to the madness, and it got them blacklisted. They couldn’t work for any studio in the country. That meant Trumbo could not be given credit for his screenplay, and it was Ian McLellan Hunter who acted as a beard for Trumbo and took the credit and sold the rights to Frank Capra, who planned on directing the film with Gary Cooper and Elizabeth Taylor in 1949. By then at least eight other writers took shots at revisions, and the piece truly suffered under the “too many cooks” situation. The budget appeared to skyrocket, and Capra ended up selling it to Paramount for $35,000. Paramount also spent too much money and time going through various rewrites. Finally the project ended up with William Wyler, who went back to pretty much the script that Trumbo wrote under Hunter’s name, and in 1991, Trumbo’s writing credit was deservedly restored.
Wyler pleased the studio by securing Gregory Peck for the male lead, but from then on he had constant fights with the studio. He wanted to cast an unknown for the female lead, and that lead him to Audrey Hepburn, who had a screen test filmed by British director Thorold Dickenson, who followed Wyler’s instructions to let the camera run several minutes after the test. He wanted an idea of how Hepburn’s natural reactions came across on film, and he was pleased enough to, again against studio wishes, delay filming for six months because Hepburn was staring in a Broadway production as the lead in Gigi. Wyler fought and got his unknown actress, but of course, it wouldn’t stay that way for long. Hepburn would win an Oscar for this, her very first American role, and would launch an impressive career. Wyler also went against studio instructions by insisting the film be shot in Rome and not on the Paramount back lot. This is why the film was changed to a black & white shoot to make up for the location costs. The film still came in over $700,000 over budget, which would be over $8 million in 2023 dollars. Both Peck and Hepburn found their future spouses on the location, so it worked out quite well for all involved. Wyler wasn’t a studio darling, but he did produce an iconic film, and who can imagine it without either Audrey Hepburn or the Rome locations? Not I.
Princess Ann (Hepburn) has just completed a European tour of goodwill where she had to put on appearances for the benefit of trade and goodwill. After another tedious ball in Rome, she goes a little crazy at bedtime. She’s given a sedative and reminded of duty. She sneaks out and finds comfort on a park bench where she’s sleeping off the effects of the drug. American Press writer Joe Bradley (Peck) has spent the evening in a press room where reporters are waiting for their opportunity to meet and speak to the princess. They leave with a promise of an interview the following morning. Along his way back home, Bradley comes upon the sleeping princess and mistakes her physical signs for drunkenness. Feeling gallant, he takes her back in his taxi to safely sleep it off. By morning he gets a better look at her and recognizes who she is. He sneaks away to see his editor and promise a big-time exclusive story on the princess. With the help of his pal Irving Radovich, played by Eddie Albert, they take her on a day where she can do whatever she wishes, pretending not to know who she is. Meanwhile Irving is sneaking pictures for their $5,000 story. Irving almost slips a few times, leading to a running gag of him spilling things on himself and tripping, all of course with the unwanted help of Bradley. But at some point in the carefree day, Peck starts to feel guilty about what they’re doing and feels sorry for the princess. To Irving’s dismay he kills the story, and that leads to a final encounter when the princess finally meets the press and learns who Bradley was and discovers his kindness in killing the story. Old Irv even makes a gift to her of his collection of pictures.
The film couldn’t have been any simpler. It’s hard to image what all of these writers did or could have added to the plot. The growing chemistry between Peck, Albert, and Hepburn is what carries the film at every turn. The three performances are among the best in Hollywood history. Of course, Hepburn completely captivated the world with her role. The nuance and innocence she exudes throughout the film are both compelling and immersive. You simply find yourself enjoying this little adventure the three embark on to just enjoy a day. You don’t believe for a minute that Bradley will end up betraying the princess, because she has enchanted both her co-stars, and every audience who has come to see the film for the first time … or the 100th time. I’ve only seen the film uncut by television once before when Paramount issued their Audrey Hepburn Blu-ray Collection. It hasn’t aged or waned a moment since then.
Video
Roman Holiday is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1. The ultra-high-definition image presentation is arrived at with an HEVC codec at an average of 70 mbps. The film was shot on 35mm so is native 4K. Contrast is essential for a black & white film, and it’s done to perfection here with the help of HDR and Dolby Vision. You won’t find age or digital artifact here. Most small flaws are the result of what was shot: A soft focus here, a little lighting issue there. The film retains wonderful atmosphere and a ton of detail that justifies Wyler’s insistence on actually being in Rome. The film grain adds that extra bit of organic flow to the already nice atmosphere. Black levels are nice and deep, offering wonderful detail and shadow definition throughout.
Audio
The Dolby True-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is identical to that of the earlier Blu-ray. It’s fine. Dialog is served here, and I’m not too demanding of anything else from this kind of film.
Special Features
The extras are found on the Blu-ray copy, and this is the exact same disc released in the Audrey Hepburn Collection.
Final Thoughts:
Credit Wyler for making bold choices and for sticking to his guns to make it happen. He knew what the rest of us came to know. Magic requires that ever-so-careful combination of elements, or it simply doesn’t work. Roman Holiday worked, and 70 years later, it still does. Paramount’s release of this classic in 4K takes me on my own Roman holiday. ” I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live.”
