*The movie is guaranteed to make you cry, I mean. Not this week’s Gush. Although, hey, if Clay and I make you cry happy tears over all the cool movie facts you learn from us, well…then…okay.
I realize that not everyone in the world is as crazy about old movies as I am. And that’s okay. Mostly.
But whether or not you adore old movies, there are some movies you just HAVE to see. And I realize I say that about a lot of films, but really…Roman Holiday is near the very top of the “no, seriously, you really MUST see it” list.
It’s the movie that made Audrey Hepburn a household name. In fact, Gregory Peck called her Oscar win before the movie was even released. It has one of the most romantic and brilliantly acted closing scenes ever. (Like EVER!) And there’s so much cool backstory about the people behind the scenes (the director, writer, costume designer, etc.) We talk about that and more in this week’s episode of Classic Movie Gush:
Have you seen Roman Holiday? Like it? Love it?
And just for fun, who’s your leading man of choice: Cary Grant or Gregory Peck? I only ask this because I know SO many people who only like one or the other. I don’t get it. Why not love both? Still, random votes are fun–so who’s your pick?
p.s. As always, feel free to throw out suggestions for future flick picks. Miss a past Gush? Just take a little jaunt on over to our YouTube channel…
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I have the whole Audrey Hepburn collection on DVD and Roman Holiday is my favorite of the bunch! gotta say that I prefer Harrison Ford’s remake of Sabrina to Audrey’s original. That would make an interesting convo for you and Clay.
I love both Gregory Peck and Cary Grant, although there’s a couple of Grant movies that drive me bonkers. 🙂
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Ooh, old Sabrina versus new Sabrina. My natural inclination is to vote for the old one BUT I have to admit that I haven’t watched either for some time. That would make a fun convo!
I know I’ve seen this movie but don’t remember a lot about it. I’ll need to remedy that and rewatch, methinks!
And Cary Grant, hands down.
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Um YES, Linz. I think every week you say you need to watch whatever we talk about. You need to schedule yourself a movie marathon week or something. 🙂
Ohhhh, Melissa! Love-love-love Roman Holiday! (I know–I’m really trying not to overuse that word.) But…Roman Holiday is truly a hands-down classic. And for romance fans, an absolute MUST. Incredible acting, awesome story!
Leading man…hmmm. I like them both! 🙂
Here are some fun ones to review (unless you have already, and I’ve missed them): The Man Who Knew too Much (Doris Day, Jimmy Stewart), Enchanted Cottage, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Breakfast at Tiffanys–need I go on??? haha
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Yup, such a classic!
I love the Man Who Knew Too Much, though I always have Que Sera Sera in my head for days after watching. My favorite thing about Breakfast with Tiffanys is absolutely the wardrobe. Just watched Seven Brides this summer. You mentioned some good ones!
Okay, I love, LOVE this movie!! One of my all time faves. 🙂 So glad you shared it here! And, for the record, Gregory Peck was the perfect leading man, IMHO! Very fun Movie Gush.
Are you guys going to review Christmas movies? A couple of my faves are White Christmas (and I believe, not certain, Edith Head did those costumes as well) and going My Way. 🙂
Great Gush today!
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Thanks for watching, Jeanne. We are definitely going to do Christmas movies and have, in fact, already planned out our line-up. Sadly, I don’t think White Christmas made the cut. But I do love watching that one. Danny Kaye is my favorite in it. So, apparently Bob Hope was offered that role initially…he turned it down and I’ve always wondered if he regretted it. I like Vera-Ellen in it, too. She had a sad personal life, though, which I always inevitably end up thinking about during the movie.
Love Roman Holiday! So many great moments in this film. And what’s not to love about Audrey Hepburn—her speaking eyes, great style, mega-charm. I also love her in Sabrina, Charade & Love in the Afternoon. (That last scene of Love in the Afternoon w/ Gary Cooper and the train . . . So good)
You mentioned The Best Years of Our Lives. Have you all seen that? A great film which features a WWII vet who lost both hands in real life. The scenes where his fiancee tries to convince him she wants to marry him anyway are powerful. William Wyler also directed another favorite: Mrs. Miniver . . . And I agree w/ Cynthia’s comment above about The Man Who Knew Too Much & The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. All good suggestions for your Gushes 🙂
As far as the vote for leading man: once I saw Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, it was true love for me. Then seeing him as Penny Baxter in The Yearling reinforced my choice. GP turns me to mush!
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I agree–SO many great moments in Roman Holiday. I haven’t watched Love in the Afternoon since college. I’m due for a re-watch.
We’ve talked about doing the Best Years of Our Lives actually. It’s based on a book by a guy from my hometown, so it’s going to have to make the lineup eventually. 🙂
I love this movie so much! (I watched it again last night because I saw on YouTube that it was this week’s featured film on Classic Movie Gush. =) I love the story and the scenery and the romance and everything else. Audrey Hepburn’s genuine reaction at the mouth of truth is so priceless…sometimes I rewind that part over and over because it always makes me smile. She really is just perfect in this film. I love how her character grows up so much from the beginning to the end. This was probably the first Audrey Hepburn film I ever watched, and it made her one of my favorite classic film actresses right from the start.
I think it was also my first Gregory Peck film, and it made me smitten with him. Seriously…his voice? I could listen to him read the phonebook. =) I love both Gregory Peck and Cary Grant. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Cary Grant because I’ve seen a lot more of his films. (He’s probably my favorite actor ever, to be honest.) I haven’t actually seen too many Gregory Peck films, maybe five or six, but I’ve enjoyed all of them that I have seen.
I know I’ve already put in quite a few recommendations that I’d love to see you guys talk about, but I’ll add another since we’re talking about Audrey: Sabrina! So lovely.
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Oh I like that it was your first Audrey Hepburn film. I think it’s definitely my favorite of hers, too, though Charade would come in a close second. And yeah, that genuine reaction at the Mouth of Truth is great. We forgot to also mention that her tears at the end of the movie were real tears, too. She’d just been harangued by the director for not being able to cry on demand for the scene…which in turn made her cry. So they hurried and shot the scene while she was still emotional. 🙂
I lean toward Cary Grant, too, but I think that’s mainly because he was in more of my favorite movies. And I think he does comedy better than Gregory Peck. Not that Gregory Peck isn’t funny…he totally is with the right script. But to me, he’s more suave and polished, whereas Cary Grant more easily slips into crazy and funny. But still, I see no reason why a person can’t love both!
And that’s the second or third mention of Sabrina, so we’ll definitely have to add it to the lineup.
Roman Holiday is my favorite Audrey Hepburn movie that I’ve seen so far. Except for that ending. I always hope it changes, even though I know it won’t. It’s so bittersweet, like y’all were saying.
The mouth of truth scene gets copied so often because it never fails to get the laugh. I know that scene in RH yanks a hysterical laugh from me every time I see it. If I miss that scene for any reason when I’m watching it, I have to rewind the DVD to see it.
When y’all do the Classic Movie Gushes, how do you decide which movies to gush about? If you didn’t like the movie, would you find it harder to gush about?
Blessings!
Andrea
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I hear ya on the ending. Leading up to it, I always want it to change…and yet I don’t because it’s so beautiful the way it is…and yet I do…but don’t. But that’s the beauty of the movie. You get to feel as torn as the characters as you watch it. And that’s good storytelling!
How do we decide? Well…a lot of times it starts with Clay telling me it’s my turn to pick and me saying no, it’s too hard to decide, you pick. 🙂 We’ve taken some that were suggested by viewers (like Arsenic & Old Lace) and some that fit current events (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) and some that are just plain favorites…like the one we’re doing next week which I can’t wait for! So far, we haven’t done a movie I couldn’t stand or anything, though Suspicion was a little harder for me to get into…one day we’ll need to do a Classic Movie Bash and hate on a bad film just for fun.
Classic Movie Bash… I like how you’re sticking to the ‘sh’ theme there. 🙂 Looking forward to next week’s Gush!
Yes! Gregory Peck AND Audrey Hepburn? What’s not to love about this? They are two of my favorites!
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Yep, they’re so great!
Finally catching up! Watching gushes on Arsenic and Old Lace and Roman Holiday tonight, which was pretty much perfect since that meant talking about both Cary Grant and Gregory Peck! I love that listening to y’all talk about these movies I learn fun facts, but also I get to remember the story and the joy of the film even if I don’t have time to watch it again right this minute! 🙂