At the time, in the 1950s, the studios did not like filming in natural settings. Too many uncertainties. William Wyler, filmmaker who has the reputation of being a head of mule, wants to shoot “Roman Holiday” in Rome. Worried about threats from the Un-American Activities Committee, Wyler wants to get away from Hollywood. He knows that the scenario of “Roman Holiday”, a charming comedy which tells the meeting of a journalist and a princess, was proposed to Frank Capra – who refused it -, and that the Paramount studio imposes a condition: either you make the film in Hollywood in color, or on location in Rome, but in black and white.
Hepburn will rise to star status
Wyler, happy to escape the control of the producer, chooses to settle in Italy for twelve weeks. He arrives by transatlantic boat, takes the opportunity to rework the dialogues, is amazed by the city. Then he looks for an actress. The studio wants Liz Taylor. Wyler doesn’t want it. He is introduced to a stranger, Audrey Hepburn. He finds her too fat (marked by the war, she stuffs herself with chocolates as soon as she can). She has no experience, having only made a few timid appearances in “De l’or en barre” with Alec Guinness, and in “We will go to Monte Carlo” with Ray Ventura. Daughter of a Dutch baroness and a Nazi banker, the young actress, then aged 23, was terrified: the role offered to her was overwhelming, she would be present in all plans. But she will reach star status. Gregory Peck, charmed by her kindness, insists that she have her name at the top of the bill.
The sequel after the ad
Shot in August 1952, in a crazy heat that melted make-up and made the technicians unfriendly, the film was also impossible to sound, because of the incessant shootings between communists and fascists. The most amusing, of course, is that screenwriter McLellan Hunter, who won the Oscar for best story that year, served as a figurehead for Dalton Trumbo, banned from practicing because he was on the Hollywood blacklist. …
Monday April 10 at 8:50 p.m. on Arte. American romantic comedy by William Wyler (1953). With Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn. 2:00.
