Movies from the Heart—Roman Holiday

Last week’s down-to-earth pairing of Pat and Mike, in the world of women’s sports, is a far cry from this week’s film, set in Italy where the main character is a princess.

Roman Holiday [1953] by Dalton Trumbo and John Dighton tells the story of a pampered princess who is tired of it. Princess Ann looks at the scenes out her window as she visits Rome on a royal tour, and longs to do the things that ordinary people get to do.

We see her world where she’s surrounded by handlers and chaperones who care for her every need and give her little freedom to do anything except what she’s told to do. And she’s not a child princess, Ann’s a young adult, and clearly wants a bit of a say about how she spends her time and lives her life.

Her frustration with the life she has leads her to escape her princess prison and, dressing like a normal young woman, heads out into Rome to see what it’s like to NOT be a princess and just live for a day.

Take a look at a trailer for the film.

When Ann is discovered missing, her palace handlers want to keep it under wraps and send out a squad of their own men all over Rome to try and find her.

Of course, what makes the film so enchanting is that she meets a down-on-his-luck newspaper reporter, Joe Bradley, who is desperate for a story. Initially, Joe just helps out this lost girl. But when his photographer friend Irving makes him realize who she is, they agree that this could be the shot in the arm that both of their careers need.

So they set about showing her Rome—with Irving surreptitiously taking pictures all along the way.

But something happens that no one expects—Joe and Ann fall in love. But, of course, she’s a princess, so getting involved with a lowly newspaper reporter wouldn’t be allowed. And he’s using her for his story—and once she discovers that, her feelings for him would no doubt change.

As a writer, you should look at how carefully this dilemma is set up. So many plots rest on manufactured dilemmas that don’t seem at all plausible, and you can figure out right away how the two will get together. But this one is different. It seems like there’s no way for this to work out. And the writers are smart enough to realize this relationship is worthy of a different ending.

And, ironically, it’s that different ending that makes the film seem real, and makes it extremely memorable.

Another small tidbit about this film. Dalton Trumbo was one of the original two screenwriters, but he was blacklisted at the time and studios couldn’t hire him. So Ian McClellan Hunter, then from the studio’s script and continuity department, fronted for him. When the film won an Oscar for best screenplay, Hunter had to accept the statue. But years later, when blacklisting was long over, Trumbo was awarded his Oscar.

Next week, another charmer: Sabrina.

Copyright © Diane Lake

21Jan24

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