Roman Holiday is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance; the story and costume design also won.
Theatrical release poster
Joe and Ann careen through Rome on a Vespa scooter
Ann and Joe meet on the Spanish Steps in the Piazza di Spagna
Image: Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday trailer cropped
Romantic comedy is a subgenre of comedy and romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typical romantic comedy, the two lovers tend to be young, likeable, and seemingly meant for each other, yet they are kept apart by some complicating circumstance until, surmounting all obstacles, they are finally united. A fairy-tale-style happy ending is a typical feature.
Kathryn Grayson in Seven Sweethearts (1942), a musical romantic comedy film