Roman Holiday

This near-perfect romcom gave an unknown actress called Audrey Hepburn her ‘hello world’ moment in 1953 – making her an overnight star at 24. Hepburn sparkles as Princess Ann, an elfin European aristo bored to tears of ambassador’s receptions and majors with walrus moustaches. One night, during a state visit to Rome, she slips out of the palace to slum it with commoners – and falls into the clutches of an American reporter, Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck). ‘Is this the elevator?’she asks sweetly, stepping into his tiny flat. Joe can’t believe his luck: here’s the scoop of the century. Of course, the runaway princess and the hack fall in love. But this is a fairytale with a bittersweet ending. In a packed press conference filled with reporters, the lovers end the affair with a few tender, coded words (you can bet Richard Curtis watched this before he wrote ‘Notting Hill’). Forget ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, this is the real deal.