By Taylor Neumann, ReMIND Magazine
Roman Holiday
Roman Holiday (1953) starred Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Hepburn is, fittingly enough, a princess in the film, one who wants to shake off the confining nature of her duties. After an anxiety attack where she is prescribed a sedative, she passes out on a park bench and is helped by Joe Bradley (Peck), a reporter, who takes her home and soon discovers her true identity. The next day, as the princess tries to hide behind a new name, Bradley wonders if he can get an exclusive interview without betraying his knowledge — until the two begin to develop feelings for each other. Roman Holiday was originally supposed to be shot in Hollywood, but director William Wyler insisted it be shot on location in Italy. Finally, the studio agreed, only on the conditions that the film be shot in black and white and that an unknown actress be cast in the lead role — of course, she wasn’t unknown for very much longer.
Some Like It Hot
One of the most classic “rom-coms” of the ages rounded out the decade, released in 1959: Some Like It Hot. In the film, two Chicago musicians, Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon), witness a mob crime and immediately try to move out of town. Unfortunately, the only gig they can find is with an all-girl band heading to Florida. So both men go undercover as women in the band, making fast friends with the other women, including Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe). Joe soon falls in love with her and her ukulele-playing ways, and things only get more complicated when the mob boss comes to town.
Born Yesterday
In Born Yesterday (1950), Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford), a rich tycoon, brings his mistress Billie Dawn (Judy Holliday), an ex-showgirl, with him to Washington D.C. He’s embarrassed by her etiquette, so he decides to hire newspaperman Paul Verrall (William Holden) to tutor her properly and make her more presentable for society. But as Billie learns from Paul, she discovers that Harry is nothing but a deplorable crook, and soon falls in love with Paul instead. The film won Holliday her first and only Oscar for Best Actress, and was based on a stage play that starred Holliday as well.