- When filming the scene where the princess (Audrey Hepburn) says her goodbyes to Joe, the inexperienced Hepburn was unable to produce the necessary tears, eventually causing director William Wyler to complain at the number of wasted takes. Hepburn promptly burst into tears and the scene was filmed successfully.
- The joke where Joe (Gregory Peck) pretends that his hand was bitten off in the mouth of the stone carving was adlibbed by Peck, and thus Hepburn's reaction is genuine.
- After filming, Peck informed the producers that, as Hepburn was certainly going to win an Oscar (for this, her first major role), they had better put her name above the title. They did and she did.
- William Wyler at first wanted 'Simmons, Jean' to play Ann, and reportedly nearly canceled the project when Simmons proved unavailable.
- Peck said he borrowed the "missing hand" gag he pulled on Hepburn from a Red Skelton routine.
- Audrey Hepburn won the role of Ann thanks to a legendary screen test. In it, she performed one of the scenes from the film, but the cameraman was instructed to keep the cameras rolling after the director said, "Cut." Several minutes of unrehearsed, spontaneous Audrey Hepburn was thus captured on film and this; combined with some candid interview footage, won her the role.
- William Wyler's daughters, Judy and Cathy, appear as schoolchildren when Joe borrows a camera from some kids.
- The original writer was blacklisted and therefore could not receive acclaim for the screenplay, even when it won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay. His wife was finally presented with the award in 1993 long after his death.
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