Roman Holiday, a Paramount production directed by William Wyler was one of the most popular films of Hollywood during the Post-World War II years.

Its genesis is interesting. Even veteran filmmakers like Frank Capra and William Wyler who returned to Hollywood after serving the American army found that Hollywood was now a different ball game with new rules and scores. Studio heads had fixed a rigid budget of 2 million dollars, which old-timers felt was too low! Especially Frank Capra. Capra who had made immortal classics of cinema during 1930’s like It Happened One Night (1934) and Mr. Deeds Goes To Town (1936) was eager to get back to filmmaking. Unwilling to join any studio, he along with his friends, William Wyler, George Stevens and screenwriter Sam Briskin promoted Liberty Films as an independent production company. Many projects were worked but nothing really took off for Capra and soon he was left with no option than to sell the company to Paramount Pictures. He had a number of ideas and also scripts in development and he was toying of re-making his 1934 mega success It Happened One Night.

Somewhat surprisingly Paramount had a story which was written by Dalton Trumbo considered as one of the best screenwriters of Hollywood. The story was inspired by a real-life happening in the life of Princess Margaret of Great Britain. During a tour of Italy she was believed to have been involved in a romantic tangle with someone which raised a furore in Great Britain and she was recalled. This incident inspired Trumbo who created an interesting story incorporating certain elements from Capra's It Happened One Night. It was titled Roman Holiday!

As Trumbo was blacklisted another writer Ian McKellan Hunter ‘fronted’ for Trumbo and worked on the script. As Capra was under the scan of the American government which felt that he was some kind of leftist he was scared to undertake a project involving a member of the British royal family. Indeed Paramount approached the British Board of Film Censors who made it very clear after going through the story that the film would be banned in Great Britain! Somewhat disappointed Capra gave away the script to his colleague of the defunct Liberty Films, William Wyler who was on the lookout for a script and took it at once.

Paramount gave a rigid budget of 2 million dollars and Wyler had no option than to shoot the film in black-and-white, on actual locations in Rome. As he needed a star he approached Gregory Peck who at first was not inclined to act because he thought that his role was limited and secondary to the female lead. However Wyler easily persuaded him to nod his head.

The role of the princess posed problems for Wyler. For a while he had Jean Simmons in view for she was pretty and also British! But she was not free and also expensive! Consequently Wyler decided to cast a new face for the female lead.

It was then Wyler heard about an English girl playing in Colette’s ‘Gigi’ in Broadway in New York. He travelled to New York and saw her in the play and was impressed. As she had travelled back to London Wyler gave instructions to have a camera test of the girl. One of the noted British director Thorold Dickinson shot the test and Wyler instructed him to keep the camera rolling even after calling ‘CUT!’

The camera test proved a sensation and Wyler was highly impressed and delighted that he cast the girl for the female lead. She was Audrey Hepburn!

Roman holiday is all about Princess Ann, (Hepburn) heiress to the throne of an unspecified European country, who is faced with endless boring meetings and parties and can't take it anymore. She flees from it all and, without revealing her royal identity, meets on a street in Rome an American journalist Bradley (Peck). She doesn't know that he is a journalist. But he finds out who she is and promises his editor a sensational story. But they fall in love. Soon they realize that they can never be together for life. The princess realizes that she has her regal obligations and goes back to the palace. The journalist abandons his story for he does not wish to hurt her and walks away alone, sad but with the satisfaction that he has proved himself a real human being with values.

Wyler shot the movie in and around the ancient monuments of historic Rome City and expectedly crowds gathered around watching the shooting and also gaping at Gregory Peck. Often someone in the crowds shouted instructions in Italian to Wyler what shots to take! And sometimes to keep the crowd in good humor he obliged them!

Wyler, Peck and others realized that they had a new star in the making, and the director shot many close-ups of Hepburn in preference to Peck who did not mind because he knew that the film was going to be a major hit!

While shooting a scene on a Rome City street, Wyler was setting up the camera angle for a shot. Smiling at the director Gregory Peck remarked, "Willie, this new girl is stealing the movie right under our noses. Don't bother about camera angles. Just shoot the picture fast!" Later he graciously told the producers to have Hepburn’s name to appear along with his in the title of the film. Few Hollywood heroes would extend such gesture to newcomers and unknowns!

During the shooting of the famous last scene of poignant leave-taking, Hepburn could not produce the required tears even after many ‘takes’. In the presence of the crew, cast and watchers Wyler exploded, colorful abuses followed! Hurt to the quick Hepburn burst into sobs and tears flowed freely out of her eyes. Wyler rolled the camera and got them all on film! Afterwards he apologized to Hepburn for his shouting and said that he did it deliberately to bring out the real emotion out of her!

Released during the year of the Queen Elizabeth Coronation, Roman Holiday turned out to be not only a box-office bonanza around the world but was also nominated for as many as ten Oscars! Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Story, Best Screenplay, Best Black-and-White Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, and Best Costume Design. It won three Oscars for Best Actress (Audrey Hepburn), Best Story (Ian McKellan Hunter) and Best Costume Design (Edith Head).

Ironically Gregory Peck did not receive a nomination!

More ironically even Ian Hunter who ‘fronted' for the black-listed Dalton Trumbo could not be present at the Oscar Awards ceremony for he was hiding somewhere in Mexico trying to evade a Los Angeles court summons! Years later Dalton Trump’s widow received the Oscar which should have been given to her husband during his lifetime.

One of the interesting spin-offs of Roman Holiday was the enormous increase of tourist traffic to Rome. Many American families made a beeline to Rome City and took pride in telling their folks back home that they had visited every location seen in the movie! And they took keepsake photographs with the famous 'Mouth of Truth' a la Peck and Hepburn!

Even after fifty years Roman Holiday continues to be a favorite of many. Recently Paramount released a DVD of the movie and it met with unexpected success. As bonus the DVD has a short documentary about the making of the movie, reminiscences of Edith Head, the famous dress designer of her years with Paramount, and the trailers.