{"id":29806,"date":"2013-03-27T12:26:17","date_gmt":"2013-03-27T19:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29806"},"modified":"2020-12-31T14:52:22","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T21:52:22","slug":"holiday-1938","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29806","title":{"rendered":"Holiday (1938)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got all the faith in the world in Johnny.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Poster-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-29811\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Poster-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Poster-87x128.jpg 87w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen an heiress (Doris Nolan) brings home the man (Cary Grant) she intends to marry, her eccentric sister (Katharine Hepburn) is thrilled to learn that Grant possesses a rebellious, anti-materialist streak; but will their fiscally conservative father (Henry Kolker) approve of Grant as a future son-in-law, given Grant&#8217;s desire to retire as soon as possible and explore the world?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cary Grant Films<\/li>\n<li>Cross-Class Romance<\/li>\n<li>George Cukor Films<\/li>\n<li>Katharine Hepburn Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Nonconformists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary notes in his brief review, &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Holiday_%28play%29\">Philip Barry&#8217;s play<\/a>&#8230; makes an excellent vehicle for Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn&#8221;, who would more famously co-star in an adaptation of another Barry play two years later &#8212; <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29064\"><em>The Philadelphia Story<\/em> (1940)<\/a>. Peary argues that while the &#8220;story is predictable&#8221; &#8212; we know from the beginning that Hepburn and Grant will fall for each other, and that Nolan will turn out to be a bad match for Grant &#8212; the &#8220;writing is first-rate&#8221;, the &#8220;stars, particularly Hepburn, [are] excellent&#8221;, and it&#8217;s &#8220;well directed by George Cukor&#8221;. The supporting actors are all excellent as well &#8212; most notably Edward Everett Horton as one of Grant&#8217;s lifelong friends (while still undeniably fey, he&#8217;s nonetheless quite convincing as a happily married professor), Jean Dixon as Horton&#8217;s wife, and Kolker as Hepburn and Nolan&#8217;s father.  <\/p>\n<p>While <em>Holiday<\/em> can certainly be enjoyed on a surface level as simply a smart romantic comedy, it possesses nuanced social and psychodynamic subtexts. As noted in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/1997\/03\/21\/zacharek970321\/\">Stephanie Zacharek&#8217;s touching homage-review<\/a> (she considers it a personal favorite), &#8220;a mantle of sadness hangs over this most stylish of comedies&#8221;, which in its &#8220;ruthlessness&#8221; not only &#8220;makes a case for building a life in which you\u2019re surrounded by people you love&#8221; but is &#8220;also unflinching about steeling yourself against people who can only hurt you, no matter who they are&#8221;. With that said, as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1891cary.html\">DVD Savant points out<\/a>, the play\/screenplay, for better or for worse, &#8220;pussyfoots around its central issue without ever really addressing it&#8221;, given that we never really learn &#8220;what the blazes [Grant&#8217;s character is] babbling about, and how&#8230; a kid who supported himself from age ten and rose to become a Wall Street genius fit[s] into [the nebulous] philosophy&#8221; of &#8220;big, exciting new ideas coming into the world&#8221; (will he join the war in Spain?). Regardless, we&#8217;re clearly meant to see that nonconformist Grant and zany Hepburn (who, in Zacharek&#8217;s words, &#8220;is not just stifled by her upper-crust lifestyle but almost destroyed by it&#8221;) are a couple simply meant to be &#8212; and we take immense pleasure in watching how they will finally come to this realization themselves. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cary Grant as Johnny<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Grant.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Grant.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"704\" height=\"528\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29808\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Grant.png 704w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Grant-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Grant-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Katharine Hepburn as Linda (nominated by Peary as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Hepburn.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Hepburn.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"704\" height=\"528\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29809\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Hepburn.png 704w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Hepburn-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Hepburn-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Henry Kolker as the Seton patriarch<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Kolker.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Kolker.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"704\" height=\"528\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Kolker.png 704w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Kolker-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Kolker-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Edward Everett Horton (reprising his role from the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Holiday_%281930_film%29\">1930 version of the film<\/a>) and Jean Dixon as Professor and Mrs. Horton<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Horton-and-Dixon.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Horton-and-Dixon.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"704\" height=\"528\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29812\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Horton-and-Dixon.png 704w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Horton-and-Dixon-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Holiday-Horton-and-Dixon-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A fine screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart and Sidney Buchman (based on Philip Barry&#8217;s play):<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;You know, most people, including Johnny and yourself, make a big mistake about Julia. They&#8217;re taken in by her looks. At bottom, she&#8217;s a very dull girl and the life she pictures for herself is the life she belongs in.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as an excellent, expertly directed romantic comedy, and for the fine performances. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0030241\/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1891cary.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.salon.com\/1997\/03\/21\/zacharek970321\/\">Stephanie Zacharek&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/209\/holiday#articles-reviews?articleId=31489\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/holiday.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=9091\">Digitally Obsessed Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/SbEdOyS-XIM\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got all the faith in the world in Johnny.&#8221; Synopsis: When an heiress (Doris Nolan) brings home the man (Cary Grant) she intends to marry, her eccentric sister (Katharine Hepburn) is thrilled to learn that Grant possesses a rebellious, anti-materialist streak; but will their fiscally conservative father (Henry Kolker) approve of Grant as a future son-in-law, given Grant&#8217;s desire to retire as soon as possible and explore the world? Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Cary Grant Films Cross-Class Romance&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=29806\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29806"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60745,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29806\/revisions\/60745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}