Where to watch Roman Holiday (1953)
Roman Holiday is available to stream in US on YouTube TV, YouTube, Hoopla and Kanopy. It can also be rented or bought from Amazon and AppleTV.
A restless princess escapes her tightly controlled schedule to explore Rome on her own. After a sedative takes effect, she is helped by an American reporter who soon discovers her identity and sees a chance for a career-making story, but their carefree day together brings unexpected complications.
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power, Harcourt Williams, Margaret Rawlings, Tullio Carminati, Paolo Carlini, Claudio Ermelli, Paola Borboni, Alfredo Rizzo, Laura Solari
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Trivia & production notes
- Cary Grant turned down the male lead role, believing he was too old to convincingly play opposite Audrey Hepburn, though he would later star with her in Charade a decade later.
- Gregory Peck's original contract stipulated he receive solo star billing above Hepburn, but halfway through filming he asked director William Wyler to give her equal billing—a rare concession in 1950s Hollywood.
- Audrey Hepburn's screen test was sent to William Wyler by another director while Wyler was in Rome, and his enthusiastic response to the test sparked interest from Paramount producers.
- Director William Wyler deliberately sought an unconventional European actress who contrasted sharply with the glamorous Italian starlets of the era, describing his vision in strikingly unflattering terms.
- Roman Holiday marked Audrey Hepburn's first appearance in an American film, though she had already acted in Dutch and British films and on stage since 1948.
- The Italian Ministry of Tourism initially refused to grant permission for filming in Rome, claiming the movie would degrade Italians, but eventually reversed this decision.
- Director William Wyler wanted to shoot the film in color but was forced to use black and white because filming on location in Rome would have made color photography prohibitively expensive.
- The film's success in the UK was significantly boosted by a contemporary romance between Princess Margaret and commoner Peter Townsend, providing what one critic noted was publicity no studio could have purchased.
- The Academy Award for Best Story was initially credited to Ian McLellan Hunter on behalf of blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, but the Academy later recognized Trumbo directly, and his widow received his Oscar in 1993.
- As of 1990, Roman Holiday was cited as the favorite foreign film of all time among Japanese audiences.
Adapted from the Wikipedia article Roman Holiday, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.
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