The Age of Innocence

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Remind her how it used to be with pictures in frames of kisses on cheeks tell her how you must have lost your mind. When you left her all alone, and never told her why

Amid the silent ruins of Rome’s once mighty Forum, a pair of young lovers, one early morning not long ago, walked slowly to small bower that had shielded lovers for centuries. As the dark-haired, round-eyed girl moved into her sweetheart’s arms, a far-away clock chimed three. “If I were to die this moment,” she whispered, “I would die knowing I had always loved you.” The youth moved to brush a kiss against her cheek, but jumped to his feet when the air was split with a terrific clatter. A huge water can rolled from the Forum wall and William Wyler, director of Paramount’s forthcoming Roman Holiday, wailed “cut.” Gregory Peck, the young lover, grinned wearily, and Audrey Hepburn, his Roman Holiday sweetheart, moaned and buried her face in her hands. The noise had ruined the scene. 

This minor crisis was nothing new to Peck and the rest of the cast. “This has been going on since June 16, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything I have ever done,” Peck told me that morning. “I’ve lost 16 pounds, worked every day, from dawn to long after dark, and been so exhausted I couldn’t sleep, but every second has been worth it. Here, working in the natural settings with live audiences, has been wonderful. The other day, Audrey and I did a cozy little scene with 4,000 Romans crowded around us. – columnist Larry Newman from The Milwaukee Sentinel, dated November 9, 1952

“All I can do is follow my instincts because I’ll never please everyone.”

Look, all you need to do is maybe… you could loosen up a little, you know?