Saturday, October 29, 2011

Holiday [1938]




Director: George Cukor
Writer: Philip Barry (Play)
            Donald Ogden Stewart and Sidney Buchman (Screenplay)
Featuring: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Nolan


As i had noted earlier, 'Guess who's coming to Dinner' made me want to watch all of Katharine Hepburn's movies. So, I started with one of her earlier films - "Holiday".
Although this movie was a flop when it was released, it got termed as a Classic later on. Maybe the time just wasn't right when the movie was released, because it didn't deserve a flop. As stated in Wikipedia, "Hepburn biographers have speculated that Johnny's plans to give up working did not appeal to the 'Great Depression' audiences who were struggling to find jobs".

Johnny (Cary Grant) is about to marry a girl Julia (Doris Nolan) when he learns that she is a millionaire's daughter. He feels a little uneasy with the wealth and the lifestyle but still sticks with his marriage plans as he believes he is in love with Julia.
He then meets Julia's father, her sister Linda, and her brother Ned. Linda is referred to as the black sheep of the family, and the long-suffering Ned, trapped in a world where he doesn't belong, is almost always drunk.

Linda (Katharine Hepburn), being the loyal and protective elder sister, wants to know everything about her sister's fiancé. Johnny, wanting to know more about his fiancé's family, finds Linda to be someone who shares his ideals and understands his dreams.
It turns out that Linda has more in common with Johnny than her sister does, and they instantly hit it off and become good friends.

Linda and Johnny are attracted to each other. But, both of them deny it, even to themselves, due to their loyalty to Julia.

The tables get turned when Julia doesn't seem to understand Johnny's plans for a "holiday" in the early years of his life, and pressurizes him to join the family business. Johnny, who doesn't care to have more money than is just enough for a living, starts to rebel. Now, Johnny has to decide whether his love for Julia is enough for him to desert his plans for the "holiday", and has to decide on which sister he wants to spend his life with.

Other characters of note were of Johnny's friends Professor Nick Potter (Edward Everett Horton) and Susan Potter (Jean Dixon), and of Linda's sympathetic brother Ned (Lew Ayres). The acrobatic sequence by Katharine and Cary, and the antics of Johnny's friends are very charming.

It was interesting to look at the lifestyle of the wealthy as depicted in the movie. Also, as I had just read in a book ("Everyday Living" to be precise - a must read!!) a description of how introductions are to be made, I found it delightful to note how the characters made the introductions in the good, old-fashioned way. Movie clips of these 'introduction' scenes should be shown to kids while teaching them good manners.

Rating: 7/10

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