Holiday
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Movie Reviews of Holiday
Movie Review: "Well, I feel like a goat being prepared for the sacrifice.'
Summary: 5 Stars
For the life of me, how come not enough people know more about this movie, a movie that is smart and sophisticated and just damn funny? Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn have co-starred in other film ventures - SYLVIA SCARLETT, the quintessential screwball comedy BRINGING UP BABY, and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY - but, personally, I don't know that any of those other films got to me on an emotional level quite as deeply as did HOLIDAY. This 1938 picture rails humorously and subversively against the stodginess and conventions of he Establishment, but it never lets us forgot that it's also an amazingly moving romance.
Mr. Seton, master of his domain: "There's a strange new spirit at work in the world today, a spirit of revolt. I don't understand it, and I don't like it." Mr. Seton is, of course, referring to Johnny Case.
Johnny Case, a self-made low-class man of finance, has toiled away all his life, in fact from when he was ten years old. He harbors this dream of retiring at thirty to travel the world and experience life and then returning to work much later once he'd figured out just what it is he's working for. Johnny hasn't yet had a chance to confess this to his fiancee, a girl he proposed to after ten days of whirlwind courtship and a girl who didn't have the courtesy of telling him she belongs to one of the top sixty most prominent and most wealthy families in the country. Julie Seton - as played by Doris Nolan - must have come off as nicely grounded and unstuffy to win over Johnny so during the holiday in which they met. Julie's true colors don't show until much later, when it's almost too late.
The New York Setons are presided by an exacting, domineering patriarch, one of them old intimidating gents whose iron will is so palpable it's managed to choke off the exuberance and spirits of his children. As we learn, only Julie has willingly adapted to the constraints imposed by Mr. Seton and the exacting pressures of the expected social obligations. The likable Ned Seton (Lew Ayres) deals with his life of sad compromise by drowning in drink, and yet there is a wistful clarity about him. He regrets the bed he sleeps in. He's not strong enough to stand up for himself. He may be the most tragic creature in the movie.
More than anything else, Katherine Hepburn's luminous presence elevates the movie. She plays Julie's wounded, nonconforming older sister Linda. Hepburn's performance marvelously informs you on just how desperately trapped she feels by her stuffy lifestyle. In the carefree Johnny Case, Linda recognizes a kindred spirit, a fellow dreamer on his way to achieving that sense of freedom. at least, until his fiancee and her meddling father jeopardizes things. That key moments take place in the Seton nursery playroom can't be a coincidence; the symbology is implicit. When in the imposing Seton household Linda, Ned, and Johnny - and, later, Johnny's jolly (and liberal) professorial chums - are only ever comfortable in that playroom. Not too surprisingly, Julie when she enters the playroom regards it with disdain. She's accepted her plight, you see, and doesn't need to wallow in the retreat provided by childhood memories.
It's been said that only a strong leading male could stand up to Hepburn's brilliance and ferociousness as an actress, and Cary Grant is one of those rare partners who can hold his own when sharing a scene with her. There's this unpredictable chemistry between them. They easily segue from snappy banter to physical comedy to giddy, softlit romantic moments. Peep that intimate New Year's Eve sequence as Grant and Hepburn linger by the window, and tell me you don't get palpitations. Compared to Hepburn, Doris Nolan fades in the background. It seems ridiculous now that, around that period, Katherine Hepburn had been hailed as "box office poison" by the Independent Theater Owners Association. Director George Cukor had to fight tooth and nail to get her as his female lead. Not that anyone had any doubts as to which actors were going to pair up by closing credits, but the death knell to Johnny and Julie's romantic interlude is officially rung when Julia tells Johnny: "There's no such thrill in the world as making money."
Freedom from "the excitement of business" (another of Julie's exhortations) is embodied in a back flip-flop, and Cary Grant, with stage gymnastics under his belt, conducts several lively somersaults. He even teaches Hepburn a tumbling maneuver and their execution of it is one of the many delightful highlights. HOLIDAY isn't as screwball as people would make it out to be. There's some great wacky comedy here and some hugely entertaining lines, but there's also a bittersweet element and serious discussions about class consciousness and holding on to your true self and what it means to be in love and how very hard it is to break free of the mold. And then Cary Grant falls arse over face...
Movie Review: "Just One Day Out Of Life"
Summary: 5 Stars
I never really liked this movie much until my wife and I invested in one of those newfangled "Hepburninators" on TiVO, which allow you to watch a full-length Katharine Hepburn movie in half the time by eliminating all scenes in which she appears. Now, as I watch HOLIDAY in relative comfort, freed from the worry that at any moment she may show up and spoil all the fun, I can relax, for like the old saying goes an hour without Katharine Hepburn like a month in the country. My posture improves, there's a bloom of youth n my cheeks, I've got that old joie de vivre again. There's a swing in my step even the neighbors have noticed and commented on. I think this Hepburninator is the greatest thing since sliced bread and It'll make 'em a mint.
In the meantime it's funny watching a HOLIDAY in which Julia Seton, not Linda Seton, is the heroine. For one thing, since Julia never liked the childhood playroom in which most of the movie takes place, we don't spend much time there. Linda and her brother, the bibulous "Neddy," played so beautifully by Lew Ayres, went there all the time whenever it got tough being the richest people in America. Julia prefers to stay downstairs. Doris Nolan isn't much of an actress, and most of her early scenes when she's engaged to Cary Grant involve her trying to maneuver an enormous mink muff or armpiece, and keep in on her elbow. What is that thing, anyhow? It's triangular in shape, or really more like a conch shell, and sometimes it seems she can get her whole arm into it, up to one shoulder, and at other times it seems tiny, designed to cover a few fingers. Clearly it has the better of Doris Nolan. She's great and she can really stand up to Cary Grant for most of the movie. He plays Johnny Case, a former circus acrobat, who gets engaged to Julia in the Finger Lakes and never knew how rich she really was until given a tour through her mansion by one of those 1930s butlers, the kind who can't stand their own kind but don't like their bosses either.
Johnny Case uses his circus training by somersaulting his way through the cvault like depths of the Seton mansion. He stops in front of an imposing John Singer Sargent painting of an elderly statesman. It turns out to be Julia's grandfather. "Judas!" he cries out. "Julia, why didn't you tell me you were descended from THAT Seton?"
The best actors are probably Jean Dixon and Edward Everett Horton, who play Johnny's "gay parents," Nick Potter and Susan Elliott. They just love the way he scrambles over them, a young puppy in their tiny Bohemian village set-up. He kisses them equally, calls them both "fellas," he's enthusiastic and wriggly as a kid. At first when he tells them he's engaged to Julia, they can only imagine that she must be some kind of gold-digger and they plead with their "lad" not to let it get too far. Piles of books tremble on the floor and sheet music flies everywhere as the three collapse onto a couch, Nick and Susan sitting literally on top of Johnny to keep him single and out of Julia's clutches. Well, the last laugh belongs to them of course. They have magnificent timing and Dixon especially has so much Sapphic panache I wonder why I have never noticed her performance before. Once your Hepburninator has been installed, you too will be noticing all sorts of marvelous details about HOLIDAY you never had the energy for before.
(After researching the matter, I see that oddly enough, this was Dixon's last role in the movies, though she lived another 43 years! Who could she have pissed off with her performance here I wonder!)
Movie Review: Not just a holiday, but a way of life
Summary: 5 Stars
For a film that just turned 70 years old, "Holiday" is remarkably timely. The question of what to do with your life, whether there's more to it than just making money & accruing power & status, resonates all the more in contemporary times. Everywhere the emphasis is on getting more, More, MORE!
And for what?
That's what Johnny Case (a young Cary Grant at his most charming & energetic) is wondering as the story begins. Not averse to hard work & making enough to live on, he's thinking beyond that, wanting to use his money as the means to an end, rather than as an end in itself. And he assumes that his brand-new fiancée Julia (Doris Nolan), with whom he's head over heels in love, feels the same way ... until he meets her family, which just happens to be one of the richest in America. He soon discovers that something more mainstream is expected of someone with his financial acumen.
But Julia's siblings Linda (a scintillating Katherine Hepburn) & Ned (an equally good Lew Ayres) agree with Johnny's notion of a "holiday," making enough to live on for a couple of years while he sorts out his life, discovers what it is he really wants. As do his eccentric friends Nick & Susan Potter, played to a delicious turn by Edward Everett Horton & Jean Dixon. Still, he loves Julia, and wants to work out some sort of reasonable compromise ... even as he begins falling for Linda, and vice-versa.
It's the all too relevant dilemma of living in a society that glorifies, even deifies wealth. What is Johnny to do? How much of his personal dream should he, can he put aside for the sake of his intended wife & her family? What are his obligations to use his talents? What does he owe himself? In many ways, he's a close cousin to Tyrone Power's Larry Darrell in "The Razor's Edge."
These questions wouldn't be out of place in any American household today, especially for someone fresh out of college, just beginning a career. Is the goal of life a McMansion, a Hummer, a wall-sized plasma TV? Or is there more to life than that, something more meaningful & satisfying, even though scorned by the majority?
And note the attitudes of Julia's cousins at the big party, snobbish & arrogant & verging on fascist. To them, society belongs to a handful of the very wealthy, superior to the mere masses, who exist solely to serve their masters. Which might remind more than a few viewers of the people currently running & devouring America right now.
It's a film rich with food for thought -- but never at the expense of entertainment, which makes it even better. The acting is uniformly wonderful, and the banter is witty as only dialogue from the classic era of film can be. Yet after the credits have rolled, and the smile still lingers on your face, you'll find yourself thinking about the film's deeper message. Most highly recommended!
Movie Review: The Battle of The Banter--Hepburn and Grant Make This A "Holiday" Worth Taking
Summary: 5 Stars
There was a big controversy earlier this year with "The Cary Grant Box Set" which is a great collection in its own right. Many people were upset that it included the first release of "Holiday" which was new to DVD (unlike the other films in the collection), but no stand alone disc was being offered. Well, good news. If all you wanted was "Holiday" and you held out, here it comes ten months later.
Now, I've always had a soft spot for "Holiday." It hasn't achieved quite the classic status as a couple of other Hepburn and Grant pairings--"The Philadelphia Story" and "Bringing Up Baby"--but I actually think that works to its advantage. I might get into trouble for this, but I somewhat prefer this to the more antic "Bringing Up Baby" (Don't shoot me, I know it's a great film too).
Cary Grant plays a carefree soul that becomes engaged to a millionaire's spoiled, socialite daughter. He is expected to take life more seriously and responsibly--but that's not necessarily in his master plan. Grant, as always, is charming--the quips and physicality that were his trademark are used to good effect here. Katherine Hepburn, as the girl's sister, is obviously a better match for him! Hepburn uses her rapid fire delivery and plays smart and wry better than anyone else in her era. Of course, Grant and Hepburn have great chemistry and it's a joy to see these two masters banter. There's plenty of slapstick, but part of "Holiday"'s charm is that it balances this with real romance. It's funny and sweet.
Any fan of Grant, Hepburn, director George Cukor, classics and/or screwball comedy needs to check this film out. It'll make you smile. KGHarris, 10/06.
Movie Review: Breezy Comedy with Hepburn & Grant Making A Perfect Match!
Summary: 5 Stars
Freethinking Johnny Case (Cary Grant) finds himself betrothed to a millionaire's daughter (Doris Nolan). When her family, with the exception of black-sheep Linda (played with great comedy flair by Katherine Hepburn!) and drunken Ned, (Lew Ayres) want Johnny to settle down to big business, he rebels, wishing instead to spend the early years of his life on "holiday." With the help of his friends Nick (Edward Everett Horton) and Susan Potter, (Jean Dixon) he makes up his mind as to which is the better course, and the better mate!
The dialogue in this 1938 classic makes "Holiday" one of the most enjoyable Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant movies ever! The same year the duo made "Bringing Up Baby" (available in an essential DVD 2-disc special edition!) under the direction of Howard Hawks. Then re-teamed two years later for the ultra-comedy classic, "The Philadelphia Story" (a must own in the 2-disc DVD special edition!) would once again prove what a dynamic comedy team Hepburn and Grant made! Director George Cukor directed both "Holiday" and "The Philadelphia Story" creating two of Hollywood's true comedy gems and (as always) did a fantastic job! "Holiday" may not have gotten the attention that "The Philadelphia Story" or Hawk's "Bringing Up Baby," received, however, it is thoroughly entertaining and showcases Hepburn and Grant beautifully!
Having these wonderful films on DVD and as part of my Classic Comedies DVD Library is fantastic! For sometime now "The Philadelphia Story" and "Bringing Up Baby," (both in a 2-disc Special Edition) have set together on their shelf awaiting "Holiday," and now the set is complete!