The movie was written by John Dighton and, fronting for Hollywood Blacklist author Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter. It was directed by William Wyler.
It won Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Audrey Hepburn), Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (Edith Head) and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. It was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Eddie Albert), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Picture.
Hepburn won the role thanks to a legendary screen test. 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 captured on film and this, combined with some candid interview footage, won her the role.
In 1999 the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.