Holiday by George Cukor (1938)
28 April 2008I have actually bought 2 old Carry Grant Box sets of late, and this little joy is from the first, The Cary Grant Box set which seems the more deluxe and includes some post cards of the movie posters and promotional stills. This was the first time this film was released on DVD, and it is a good thing they did because the print is really showing it’s age, and could use a good restoration before it deteriorates even more, and that would be a tragedy, because this is a gem of a film. A wonderful little love story inter-tangled in the worlds of the rich and those with dreams of a happy life.
Cary Grant plays John “Johnny’ Case who returns from a vacation to drop his bag at his friends house, Professor Nick Potter (Edward Everett Horton) and his wife Susan Eliott Potter (Jean Dixon) who drops the bomb on them that he is engaged, and on his way to see his fiancee who he hasn’t seen in days now. They are blown away, but finally let him go. Johnny shows up at his fiancee’s place and seeing a huge mansion decides he should go in through the servants entrance, figuring wrongly that she must be a servant. He is led through the enormous house, and up to a library where his fiancee Julia Seton (Doris Nolan) shows up. He then meets her older sister, the self proclamed black sheep of the family Linda (Katherine Hepburn), and Julia makes plans to go to tell her father Edward (Herny Kolker) at church, and to have Johnny return later to meet him. Johnny returns, a bit early and still rumpled, and is sent up to the games room where he sits and talks with Linda, telling her of his dream to make some money, and then go on Holiday and really live life before getting into a daily grind. Linda loves the idea, and likes him right off, though he hasn’t told Julia yet. And they go down to meet the father as well as the brother Edward who is known as Ned (Lew Ayres) and who is a serious alcoholic who wants nothing more to escape his life, but will never manage it.
REVIEW CONTAIN SPOILERS...
Edward does not want to allow the engagement, especially because Johnny is not high class enough, even though their family also worked it’s way up. Johnny is working on something right now that will make him a decent amount of money, but Julia and her father want him to go to work for the father, and get a career in business. They decide to go ahead with the engagement, and Linda wants to plan the party to be a little simple affair for New Years with just friend, but Edward makes it a huge galla affair.
Nick and Susan show up and don’t fit it, and end up in the game room with Linda, who hates big parties like this. And they get on splendidly. At the party people are wondering where Linda is, and Julia sends Johnny up to get her, and he ends joining the fun, which Ned has also joined. Johnny tells him that his deal has gone through, and he is ready to quite and take his Holiday, but he hasn’t told Julia.
Finally Julia and her father Edward come up, to bring him down for the announcement. He tells them about his plan, and they are flabbergasted, and want him to give it up, and join Edward’s company for 2 years first. They are rude to Susan and Nick, and they quickly leave, and the couple and father go down, though Linda stays up. Ned comes to her with some champage, and after he passes out. Johnny takes off, because it is not what he wants, and Linda tries to find him, but can’t as he is gone.
After a couple of weeks Johnny shows back up, and is coming to see Julia. He has decided to give in and give up his dream of a Holiday and join the company, but when Julia starts talking how they will be getting a small house from her father, and getting servants and all that, he realizes it is too much, and decides to leave on his Holiday, which leaves that night, and Nick and Susan are going on the trip as well. So Johnny decides to go with them alone.
Linda confronts her sister Julia, who is not who she thought she was, and it turns out didn’t really love Johnny. And when Linda realizes this, she knows she does, and decides to go with him for the Holiday. Her father is furious, but she is dead set, and tries to get Ned to leave as well, but he won’t do it.
On the ship, Nick and Susan are distressed until Johnny shows up, and they are elated, but not as much as when Linda shows up telling him she loves him, and they leave on the cruise together.
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A lovely little romantic comedy, with great writing, and great actors who really blow this film out of the water.
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