Scene Pick: ‘Roman Holiday’ – Hit Him Again, Smitty!

Scene Pick: ‘Roman Holiday’ – Hit Him Again, Smitty!

Think of one romantic comedy that never loses its charm, and you’ll find Roman Holiday. The classic from 1953 casts Audrey Hepburn as a crown princess visiting Rome where she gets fed up with the suffocating formal, scheduled life of a royal. So one night, she just runs away from the embassy and meets an American reporter Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck).hit him again smitty

Not knowing at first that she is “Princess Ann”, Joe treats her much like he’d treat a silly girl – a tramp called “Smitty”. But after learning about her identity, he acts as a guide to her, working on a story about her for his paper, and the two of them board a roller-coaster of adventures, realizing that they can’t be together for long, yet falling in love.

Every scene in the Roman Holiday is enjoyable, and for the humor part, Audrey takes the lead. The fight scene at a public dance party marks the climax of the adventure when secret agents out for the princess try to take her back to the embassy and Joe and his photographer friend Irving (Eddie Albert). And there comes the moment when the girl joins the band. She hits one of the agents with a guitar as Irving is trying to shoot the scene. Not quite capturing it, Irving call out “Hit Him Again Smitty!” Down comes the guitar again, crashing on the agent’s head. That is when the camera flashes.

The video on YouTube showing this moment starts with the hitting action, excluding the funny dance scene with Smitty and the barber. But it also shows the other memorable moment – Joe kissing Smitty, which is where the serious, sad part of the story begins.

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