Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn

Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn at the ‘Bocca della Verità’ (Mouth of Truth) in Rome, Italy, in the scene that in my opinion made Audrey Hepburn a major star. The movie is William Wyler's American romantic comedy movie for Paramount Pictures, 'Roman Holiday' (1953), also starring Eddie Albert, British actors Hartley Power and Harcourt Williams, British actress Margaret Rawlings, German actor Hans Hinrich, and Italian actors and actresses Tullio Carminati, Paolo Carlini, Claudio Ermelli, Paola Borboni, Laura Solari, Alfredo Rizzo, and Gorella Gori. Gregory Peck wanted to play a joke on Audrey Hepburn and, shortly before filming began, Peck reported to director William Wyler that he would borrow a gag from the famous comedian Red Skelton: he would keep his hand hidden in his sleeve while pulling it out of the mouth of the sculpture in order to scare Audrey. Wyler agreed and did not tell Hepburn who, having recently learned about the legend of the Mouth of Truth, was really scared. Her reaction in the movie is so genuine and spontaneous because the director liked the scene so much that he decided to include it in the final cut. It was Gregory Peck who first recognized that this would be Audrey Hepburn's major breakthrough role. Originally only Gregory Peck's name was to appear before the title of the movie, but he insisted that Audrey Hepburn's name also appear above the title.