Roman Holiday

A romantic comedy drawing from the traditions of the American genre. Young Princess Anna, heir to the throne of an imaginary European country, arrives in Rome for a state visit. After an exhausting schedule, she is given a sedative – and before it takes effect, she secretly ventures into the night streets. Drowsiness overtakes her along the way, and she ends up spending the night in the apartment of a journalist, who the next day wants to use her for a sensational story and shows her around Rome together with his photographer friend.

Director William Wyler cast Gregory Peck in the role of experienced journalist Joe Bradley (_The Paradine Case, Roman Holiday, The Big Country, Cape Fear_). Princess Anna was played by Audrey Hepburn (_Breakfast at Tiffany's, Charade_), who won an Oscar for this performance. Another Oscar went to Edith Head for best costumes for a black-and-white film and to screenwriter Ian McLellan Hunter for the original screenplay – his name covered for the real author Dalton Trumbo, who was blacklisted.