I have to admit, these kinds of films have a big sentimental value for me. The old black and white classics of the Hollywood era when made right are always great. Sure, they don’t have a complex form or boast as big an artistic ambitiousness as say Tarkovsky or Bergman. What they do have though, is an impeccable craft, charismatic actors and wonderful narratives. I remember falling in love with such films as The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949), Letter From an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948), Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) and many, many others. Classic Hollywood has a lot of treasure in store, although I feel sometimes that my peers neglect these because of their commercial nature and sometimes lacking a complex narrative. But I don’t agree with this, these old films are great, and put most similar Hollywood movies made since the 70’s and today fall in shame.
I’m not too familiar with the old comedy genre of Hollywood. Certainly I am familiar with contemporary comedy, but it is quite different from the old Hollywood. One of my very favourite films though is a comedy of this era, The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960). I also loved It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934). Roman Holiday is a very similar story to that of It Happened One Night, almost to the point of plagiarism I would say. However, the film manages to distinguish itself through some interesting and original twists, great dialogue and humour, the fantastic setting, and maybe most importantly the great chemistry and acting between Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn and Eddie Albert. The simple plot is that of a young heiress to the throne of a country that goes unnamed, although she and everyone around here has a sophisticated English accent, who decides she is tired of the life as a princess on official duty and runs away. This is while she is on tour in Rome. She meets Gregory Peck on the street, who is a reporter looking for the story of a lifetime. This is what is similar to It Happened One Night, where a young heiress to a rich family escapes to meet her lover, and is helped on the way by Clark Gable, who is a reporter looking for the story of a lifetime. Lo and behold, in both films the reporter and girl end up falling in love. However, Roman Holiday does distinguish itself quite clearly through the intricate details and humour, which is a bit different from It Happened One Night. And in the end, I didn’t feel bad towards the movie because of the many ways it reminded me of It Happened One Night, but for the great craft, charm and comedy.
The comedy in this film is very good. It is at times understated, but rarely becomes over the top. It does go to quite high places, but it doesn’t retract from the film because it has only few such moments and they are usually crucial to the narrative and very funny. A lot of this is due to the terrific performances, and although Audrey Hepburn takes a lot of the attention through her natural charm, I do feel this is quite a group effort. Gregory Peck always gets a bad deal from me when I watch him in films, because the first film I saw with him was To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962) and to be honest, I don’t think he has ever done anything as good as that role, where he was fantastic. But he does hold his own in this film, and is always a presence, and has a wonderful comedy bit with Eddie Albert, who also adds a lot to the quality of the comedy in the film. One of the interesting elements of the film is how much of the narrative is about the spectacle of the ordinary. While people from ordinary lives in film escape to experience epic adventures, in this a woman from a very high position run escape to experience the ordinary. The director William Wyler does a great job creating spectacle out of the mundane and ordinary, and although a lot of this comes from the script, there is something about his directing which heighten the moment, and really captures the beauty of Rome in black and white. Roman Holiday was also one of the very early Hollywood films to go to such location shooting, and while I’ve never thought location shooting important or adding to the “realism” of a film, it really does create a wonderful atmosphere, which I feel is the most important part of location shooting.
Roman Holiday is a wonderful example of the classic Hollywood. It has got a strong script, great directing, wonderful cast and a fantastic location. This was also Audrey Hepburn’s first staring role, and she does a fantastic job with it, and won an academy award with it. As I’ve said, I have a sentimental feeling towards these old films, but if I look more objectively at them I can still tell that they are marvellously crafted. They really knew how to make films in those days…
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