Truly Dreadful Film

Better than most people think

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Holiday Inn crosses my mind at least once during every major holiday, and even some of the more minor ones as well. In fact, it's the first thing that pops into my head on Washington's birthday, (even though they call that President's Day now).It's a great musical that uses the talents of Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire to the fullest, as Bing Crosby tries to run an inn that's only open on holidays. Fred Astaire plays his romantic rival, as they both try to romance Marjorie Reynolds. There's terrific chemistry between the two stars and the other players as well. The songs are great. This movie took an Oscar for White Christmas, and that song has remained a standard to this day. If you've never seen it, make a point to watch it when it pops up around Christmastime. It's wartime Hollywood at its creative peak. If you wonder why they can't make them like this anymore, this movie will show you why there's no substitute for the talent of Crosby, Astaire, Berlin and the rest of the folks behind this movie and the other classics of the 1940s.

A vintage Crosby-Astaire musical directed by studio old hand Mark Sandrich, who is a stable purveyor of ace Astaire-Rogers collaborations, such as TOP HAT (1934), THE GAY Divorcée (1934) and SHALL WE DANCE (1937), and would sadly pass away from a heart attack at a young age of 44 in 1946. HOLIDAY INN traverses through all sort of American holidays and starts with a triad of musical act - Jim (Crosby), Ted (Astaire) and Lila (Dale), embroils themselves into a love triangle, both Jim, an enchanting crooner and Ted, a magnificent hoofer, are smitten with Lila and she loves both (almost) equally, and in the eleventh hour she chooses Ted because a retired rural life with Jim isn't really what she craves for. Jim departs alone and beavers away in the countryside, eventually comes up with an idea of opening a holiday inn there which literally only opens during holidays, approximately 15 days a year, to entertain guests with specifically themed performances. Meanwhile Ted and Lila continue their hot streak as a dancing duo in high demand, but soon she abruptly jolts him to marry with a Texan millionaire. (As if that is what every showbiz gal wants!)A disconsolate and well-oiled Ted arrives in the inn during one evening gathering and dances with Jim's protégée Linda (Reynolds), but cannot remember what she looks like the morning after, except that she is the new dancing partner he is intent on finding to revive his stalled career. To forestall a similar denouement as he loses Lila to Ted, Jim painstakingly tries to hide Linda from Ted and their agent Danny (Abel), the farcical trope, including one reactionary blackface act celebrating Lincoln's birthday, runs dry quickly and Linda is miffed by Jim's self-serving manoeuvre which doesn't trust her to make the decision and throws herself to Ted, then both go to Hollywood when a movie deal of transposing the story of Holiday Inn onto the celluloid is available. So it is up to Jim to win her back, in an old-fashioned, classic and romantic fashion just before Ted and Linda tight their knot.Quintessentially a perfect holiday movie in honor of Americana heritage, HOLIDAY INN makes great play of the dualistic fun of Crosby's soul-soothing singing and Astaire's pyrotechnic tap-dancing, choreographed by Danny Dare, at the expense of the storyline, which ruefully takes a back seat. Irving Berlin's WHITE Christmas, Crosby's signature song debuts here and is sung thrice, meanwhile Astaire's firecracker solo is an honest-to-goodness splendor to behold, along with his old soak dancing sequences, both Reynolds and Dale knuckle down the task of being a commensurate partner for him, but it is suffice to say they are no Ginger Rogers, although petticoat artistes are legitimately given the short end of the stick under the shadow of two male superstars of the time. Nevertheless, Louise Beavers' black housekeeper is permitted to hurl out an awakening speech to precipitate Jim into action is something we can only refer as "guilty compensation for racial stereotype". A patriotic reverie at the point of WWII (Pearl Harbor attack happened when the film was in production), HOLIDAY INN wears better than its peers owing to its sheer exuberance of songs and dances, one just cannot badmouth it too harshly after such a lavish feast, however bland its backbone is.

A trio of live stage stars breaks up and two of the stars are items: Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby), a talented but lazy crooner, intends to marry co-star Virginia Dale (Lila Dixon) and live the "easy life" on a Connecticut farm. Plans change when womanizer dancer and third co-star Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire) steals the flighty Lily and both run away to continue their showbiz career. In reality Astaire was a decent man who was cast against his normal type; Lily expects "presents on Father's Day." Meanwhile Jim learns about the difficulties in farming and fails; he has a nervous breakdown and recovers. He has a "brilliant" idea that he will open a song and dance dinner-club/nightclub from an old barn he is converting. Shows will run only on holidays (about 15 annually). Jim tells his old agent Danny Reed (Walter Abel) to sent him some talent. At a flower shop Danny meets pretty blonde Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds) who recognizes him and says she can dance well and even sing. She wants a new career, and Danny gives her Jim's address. Jim and Linda both put on airs, but each catches the other and Linda does earn a starting role in the upcoming New Years Eve show. Jim and the beautiful Linda begin to fall for each other, and Linda shows that she can really sing and dance very well. In the meantime unstable Lila wanders again: She leaves Ted for a Texas millionaire. Ted winds up at the opened Holiday Inn broken-hearted and drunk, but has a fabulous dance with Linda. Jim, having already lost a girl to Ted, maneuvers unsuspecting Linda away. Later Ted cannot remember anything about Linda, and all that agent Danny saw was Linda's shapely backside. If Danny can find Linda, he will try to link her with Ted for a new stage routine. Ted and Danny go back to the inn on the next scheduled holiday show, Lincoln's Birthday (12 February) in an effort to locate the unidentified dancing beauty. Spotting them, Jim smears the resisting Linda's face with black-face (acceptable at the time) backstage, to disguise her from Ted and Danny. The plan works, but St. Valentine's Day is only two days away. On that holiday, Danny eventually spots Linda despite unfortunate Jim's attempt at disruption. Jim and Linda perform a wonderful holiday dance ("Be Careful, It's My Heart."). With the situation up in the air between Jim and Ted, on Easter Sunday Jim sings a beautiful song to Linda, who really shines here. Before long though Linda agrees to join Ted in Hollywood. Over the next few holidays, Ted and Linda become an item, and an engagement is publicized in newspapers and showbiz magazines.Jim, devastated at losing the gorgeous Linda to Ted, closes the inn and to survive writes music for the Hollywood movie being produced based on his own Holiday Inn. But he feels sorry for himself as the months of the year move on. On Thanksgiving Day, his maid Mamie (Louise Beavers) shakes him out of his long spell. She tells him not to mope, but to return to California to win back his girl. "You could melt her heart right down to butter, if you'd only turn on the heat!" Jim arrives by train a day before the proposed wedding, but Linda obviously has had feelings for him all along. So when she spots him, Ted has lost Linda to Jim for good. But all is not lost for Ted, for Lila has returned and he has apparently taken her back. The movie ends on New Years Eve with "Happy Holiday."There are superb production numbers. Featured is perhaps the greatest hit of all time, the incomparable "White Christmas." There are other Irving Berlin tunes, including "Happy Holiday," "Easter Parade," and "I'll Capture Your Heart Singing." (By the way, Bing Crosby was rated the number one American pop singer in the 1890-1954 period by music historian Joel Whitburn. Bing's best period was the 1930s and 1940s; indomitable Frank Sinatra would later surpass Bing.) Catch Fred Astaire's fabulous solo firecracker dance on the 4th of July. What a talent! While smoking, he taps his way so perfectly with each sound from exploding firecrackers. It is certainly legit: see the accumulation of firecracker paper on the stage. Marjorie Reynolds did not have many starring screen roles, although she was "Peg" in the 1950s TV sitcom "Life of Riley." The movie concept may be flawed: Can one make money if the inn is open only on holidays? Only if it caters to a rich crowd willing to pay, say, $1,000 per seat! Besides salaries and expenses, the house does need to pay its live orchestra! But the flick affords a feel-good Christmas classic by Paramount, and although filmed in black and white, is a bit better than "White Christmas," made 12 years later. Obviously many holidays are skipped, or else we have a three-hour feature. Curiously, the Holiday Inn motel chain got its name from this movie just a decade after.CORRECT REASON FOR THE ANIMATED TURKEY ON THE November CALENDAR: The turkey moves back and forth from 20 November, the third Thursday of the month, to 27 November, the fourth Thursday of the month. At the time of the movie's setting (1941), the Thanksgiving holiday was not yet settled on the fourth Thursday of the month throughout the USA, despite earlier proclamations by Presidents Washington and Lincoln. Some states were still celebrating Thanksgiving on the third Thursday while most others celebrated on the fourth Thursday, and a few even on the last Thursday (when November has five Thursdays). So the turkey was "confused" where to settle. The situation soon changed with House Resolution 41 (26 Dec 1941) and President Roosevelt's proclamation that supported only the fourth Thursday of the month. So we now celebrate Thanksgiving only on the fourth Thursday in November.

This movie, which is something of a Christmas tradition, has a magnetic appeal about it. Bing Crosby's singing is as melodious as ever, Fred Astaire is superb in his dancing. And who would not fall in love with Marjorie Reynolds in this movie? The Connecticut scenery and the snow, though all are fake, are beautiful and appealing. (I've seen both the updated version and the original B&W version.) There is a sense of escapism in this movie, retreating from NYC to go to an unforgettable inn in a provincial area. Who wouldn't want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and go to a place where happiness and serenity are found? It is hilarious in places, and thus is decorative in more ways than one. Some of the songs are favorites, such as "White Christmas", "Abraham", and "Happy Holiday". In the love story aspect of this movie, there seems to be great chemistry 'twixt Crosby and Reynolds. It is one which I will add to my Christmas repertoire, because it is such a wonderful movie.