Roman Holiday

Like the girls of our era that idle such movies as The Princess Bride and The Princess Diaries, I would image that girls of the 1950's worshiped Roman Holiday as their Princess movie.

Roman Holiday was released in 1953 and stars Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Peck, known for such classics as Twelve O'Clock High, Moby Dick, the Guns of Navrone, and the original Cape Fear, plays a journalist covering the news in post-World War II Italy. One evening he runs into a young lady played by Hepburn, most noted for Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady, who had been drinking and was in no condition to be lying on a park bench in the middle of the night. He takes her to his place to allow her to sleep it off.

Before she awakes he hears the news that a visiting Princess is missing. He puts two and two together and realizes that she is the Princess, but he never lets on that he knows who she is. Meanwhile, his buddy, Eddie Albert, helped him conceal her.

To play the game, Peck takes the Princess on a wonderful 1 day tour of Rome. She enjoys herself immensely, but finally she must return and breaks her silence. The next day at a ceremony, the Princess is presented to the press and is asked light questions about politics and travel. Peck and Hepburn exchange knowing glances at each other, but their secret is maintained as she retreats from the gaggle in classic Hepburn style.

In an interview in the 1980's Gregory Peck said that he found out that Carey Grant was first offered the lead role but turned it down. When asked about this Gregory Peck commented that he figured every role he got was something that Carey Grant had turned down.

Additionally, when the movie was finished, Peck was to be the headline on the marquee above the name of the movie and Audrey Hepburn, who was only 24 at the time, was to appear below the name of the movie. Peck demanded that Hepburn be above the title with his name as he knew that she was going to be a star.

Roman Holiday satisfied two of my obsessions. First, I think Audrey Hepburn is one of the finest and most attractive actresses ever. Gregory Peck, on the other hand, is a respectable and classic actor with his distinctive voice and chiseled face.

Roman Holiday is nearly 2 hours long. It is too old to be rated, but would probably get a PG rating, not because of anything like language or violence, only because if it was G, no one would go see it! Easily one of my favorite movies from the 1950's, Roman Holiday gets 5 stars.

Funny Face

The 1950's can often be considered the paramount of film production. Many classic movies were made, including Ben-Hur, Rebel Without A Cause, On the Waterfront, Singing in the Rain, and to some degree Old Yeller. It was also the beginning of the end of the musical.

Luckily for me, the library decided to stock up on some classics for their DVD catalog rather than all this newfangled crap that kids these days watch.

Funny Face is a classic musical staring Fred Astaire as Dick Avery and Audrey Hepburn and Jo, the attractive starlet with no relation to Katherine Hepburn.

In this movie, Dick works for a fashion magazine and they are looking for that new hot face. They want an intelligent, sophisticated look to their model, so they take her to a bookstore for a photo shoot. Much to Jo's chagrin, the uninvited guests trash the bookstore.

However, after reviewing the photographs, Dick decides that it is Jo they need for the photo shoot. Unfortunately, Jo wants nothing to do with the magazine, but after some finagling, they convince her to do it and head off to Paris. Along the way, Jo and Dick start to fall in love, which is kind of weird because he was, what 40 years older than her???

Unlike many other classic musicals, this one contains no songs that I knew. I am usually pleasantly surprised when I watch an old film and hear a song I know. This was not the case with Funny Face.

Funny Face is not rated because it's too old, but if it had to be rated, I think it would be PG for smoking and some romance. The movie is 103 minutes long, and is in color. This is important information when reviewing a movie in the 1950's!

I have a bias in reviewing this movie. I like Audrey Hepburn. I loved her in Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sabrina, and My Fair Lady. I have Roman Holiday on my list of movies to see. I give this movie 4 stars. I have an appreciation for classic movies, for musicals, and for Audrey Hepburn. Enough said.