Royalty, Romance and Style in Roman Holiday

In the movie Audrey Hepburn is a princess. We don't know where she is a princess of. We just know she is 'A Princess'. Its the idea of being a princess. A rich royal.

Just like all the Disney Films with their princesses. Its not exactly the same as this one.

In the Disney stories the princesses usually end up happily ever after with the prince. But in this movie she doesn't wind up with the guy. Its a modern romance, not a fairytale romance, because they don't exist in real life. This romance looks serious. But he's not not fancy enough. He is fancy, as a newspaper man, with cologne, but not part of the royal family.

Its a classic romance. Its the kind of film that parents might watch. To remind them of their own romantic holidays when they were young, at that age. Or old grandparents that remind them of when they were young. My parents like this film. They also like all the British romances as well. The film was made in nineteen fifty three.

I have a section on Romance and Melodrama in my book Great Movies: a hundred years of cinema. I thought Roman Holiday would be in there somewhere. It turns out that movie isn't in there, but another famous Audrey Hepburn movie is, Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Audrey Hepburn is also in my fashion book The Dress, 100 iconic moments in fashion. It says she was memorable in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's in her little black dress, with the pearls and cigarette in the foot long cigarette holder.

- Can we talk more about the cigarette. Do they do that in England? Can you tall me about the history of it?

- Well in the old films, everybody is smoking because they didn't know how bad it was for you.

- Just like villains do? They smoke.

- These days it is more the villains who smoke in films because now we know how unhealthy it is, and only people who don't look after themselves do it.

- Like Maleficent. She smokes with that green smoke, of her power. And Cruella deVille. She has a cigarette holder like Audrey Hepburn.

I also like the dress she wears in Roman Holiday. How do you get that. Its like the dress dress of someone in the Royal Family. Can we talk about more of Royalty.

- Why does she have to obey the rules of the Royal family?

- Well I guess she is born into the Royal family so she has to follow its rules.

- And their rules for Romance. What does that mean?

- Well it means that she has to fit in with her family.

- Its very sad when I watched it at the end. Its tragic for love that she can't be together with that guy that she meet, Gregory Peck.

- Why does she have to hide it? All her Royal Secrets. How she slept in a park. How she got her hair cut off. Her romance with Gregory Peck. And her holiday in Rome, which is where I've been on my holiday as well. She wants to fit in with ordinary people. Why does she have to hide herself?

- I guess they're all worried about her, and she's been having a good time with her holiday romance. Its not what she's "supposed" to be doing.

- Whats that word romantic attachment mean?

- I guess its when they get to like each other.

Gregory Peck says its a long story about why he doesn't have the story about the princess. He was supposed to have an interview with her. He was supposed to have an official interview. But he never gets to do the interview because he meets a girl (who is actually the Princess Anne).

The camera loves leading lady in the film, even thought its set in a beautiful location. We see she is the centre of attention. The Palazzo Colonna is the palace where they filmed the final scene, its very delicate and beautiful. I'd love to go there one day.

I'd like to a royal number of stars all the stars in the sky for this romantic classic.