Holiday (1938)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Philip Barry (play)
Donald Ogden Stewart (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 June 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

So daring -- so tender -- so human -- so true -- that everyone in love will want to see it!

Plot:

Free-thinking Johnny Case finds himself betrothed to a millionaire's daughter. When her family, with...

Plot Keywords:

Holiday | Mansion | Snob | Free Spirit | Marly Horse

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Katharine Hepburn	...	Linda Seton
Cary Grant	...	John 'Johnny' Case
Doris Nolan	...	Julia Seton
Lew Ayres	...	Edward 'Ned' Seton
Edward Everett Horton	...	Professor Nick Potter
Henry Kolker	...	Edward Seton
Binnie Barnes	...	Mrs. Laura 'The Witch' Cram
Jean Dixon	...	Mrs. Susan Elliott Potter
Henry Daniell	...	Seton 'Dopey' Cram
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harry Allen	...	Scotchman (scenes deleted)
Frank Benson	...	Scotchman (scenes deleted)
Aileen Carlyle	...	Farm Girl (scenes deleted)
Edward Cooper	...	Scotchman (scenes deleted)
Robert Hale	...	Scotchman (scenes deleted)
Margaret McWade	...	Farmer's Wife (scenes deleted)
Frank Shannon	...	Farmer (scenes deleted)
Charles Trowbridge	...	Banker (scenes deleted)
Marion Ballou	...	Portrait of Grandmother Seton (uncredited)
Beatrice Blinn	...	Maid (uncredited)
Thomas Braidon	...	Downstairs Butler Admitting Johnny (uncredited)
Maurice Brierre	...	Ship's Steward (uncredited)
Leonard Carey	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Mabel Colcord	...	Setons' Cook (uncredited)
Luke Cosgrave	...	Portrait of Grandfather Seton (uncredited)
Beatrice Curtis	...	Maid (uncredited)
Ann Doran	...	Kitchen Maid (uncredited)
Neil Fitzgerald	...	Edgar, Butler at Party (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Dorothy, Party Guest on Staircase (uncredited)
Mitchell Harris	...	Jennings (uncredited)
George Hickman	...	Telegraph Boy (uncredited)
Howard C. Hickman	...	Man In Church (uncredited)
Maude Hume	...	Maid (uncredited)
Raymond Largay	...	Man (uncredited)
Raymond Lawrence	...	Butler at Party (uncredited)
Tom McGuire	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Matt McHugh	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
George Pauncefort	...	Henry, Setons' Primary Butler (uncredited)
Esther Peck	...	Mrs. Jennings (uncredited)
Hilda Plowright	...	Marjorie, Woman in Church (uncredited)
Charles Richman	...	Thayer (uncredited)
Lillian West	...	Mrs. Thayer (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Party Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
George Cukor

Writing credits
Philip Barry		(play)
Donald Ogden Stewart		(screenplay) &
Sidney Buchman		(screenplay)

Produced by
Everett Riskin	....	producer

Original Music by
Sidney Cutner		(uncredited)
Paul Mertz		(uncredited)
Joseph Nussbaum		(uncredited)
Ben Oakland		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Franz Planer

Film Editing by
Al Clark
Otto Meyer

Art Direction by
Stephen Goosson		(as Stephen Goossón)

Costume Design by
Robert Kalloch		(gowns) (as Kalloch)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cliff P. Broughton	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Lionel Banks	....	associate art director
Babs Johnstone	....	interior decorator

Sound Department
Lodge Cunningham	....	sound (uncredited)

Music Department
Morris Stoloff	....	musical director

Other crew
Paul Flato	....	jeweller

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1938) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Pictures Television (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Free to Live (UK)
Unconventional Linda (UK) (reissue title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Australia:G | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | Portugal:M/6 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #4269)

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Upset at the negative publicity that star 'Katherine Hepburn' was receiving in advance of the film, studio boss Harry Cohn proposed to take out an add in Variety asking "What is wrong with Katherine Hepburn?" Hepburn cautioned Cohn against the idea stating "Look out! They may tell you!"

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: At the start of the movie, Johnny goes to the Seton mansion and meets the family. Linda wants to plan the party announcing the engagement and tells him, "This Saturday is New Year's Eve." We know this scene takes place on a Sunday, because the family has just returned from church. That would make the date Christmas day. There are Christmas decorations on the walls and door of the church, and the church congregation sings the Christmas hymn "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," which is used exclusively during the Christmas season, often only as the closing hymn on Christmas Day.

Quotes:

Linda Seton: Someone stop me; O someone please, just try and stop me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.68)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Gwine to Rune All Night (De Camptown Races)

Now THIS is romance

Now THIS is romance Back in the mid-late 1930's, when Katherine Hepburn, though she had already won an Oscar, was labeled (along with several other actresses) "box office poison", it was Hollywood that suffered. Unfortunately, after the Production Code blasted out full throttle, strong roles for women disappeared because women no longer had a strong voice in cinema, so a lot of the heavier-hitters (Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Miriam Hopkins) ended up foundering in what they were given. In the case of George Cukor's 1938 film "Holiday", she had a couple of friends involved with the picture who insisted that she be used (she had been the understudy of her film counterpart on the stage) which turned out to be an excellent plan since she is one of the many great things about this film.

Set in New York, "Holiday" stars Carey Grant as Johnny Case, a fledgling businessman who is more concerned about making a career out of something he wants to do, and not what he should do in order to make a lot of money. He has a plan; he has been working hard at a job that he doesn't particularly like to save enough money to take an indeterminate time off to figure out what he wants to do with himself. While he takes a holiday, he meets Julia Seton (Nolan), the two fall in love and go back to New York to tell Julia's father. What Johnny doesn't know is that Julia comes from an extremely wealthy family, and while he is shocked and bemused by this fact, he finds himself taken with the other members of Julia's family; Linda Seton (Hepburn), Julia's free-thinking and dramatic sister, and brother Ned Seton (Ayres) a kind but dour alcoholic. Both siblings are discontented with being under their father's thumb (while he is not a bad person, Edward Seton has strong feelings about how things should be handled) and both take an instant liking to Johnny, particularly Linda who finds herself falling in love with him. As plans for the marriage begin to solidify, it becomes clear that Johnny is being forced to quash his dreams, not only to gain the approval of their father, but because Julia thinks it is the way to go as well.

Having never even heard of this film, I wasn't sure what to expect out of "Holiday"; I figured it might either be a screwball comedy (based on the Hepburn/Grant collaboration in "Bringing up Baby") or maybe a regular romantic comedy. What I got was actually a romantic dramedy that was not only charming but heartfelt as well. George Cukor's direction (as usual) is wonderful and the chemistry between Hepburn and Grant is simply electric. Hepburn, clearly the star of this production, acts each scene with an emotion and charm that is almost unheard of in the mainstream cinema of the present. While I watched the film, I found myself becoming so endeared to her character that I probably would have been completely devastated if she didn't get some sort of happiness in the end, probably one of the highest compliments that I can give to an actor's performance since I mainly pay attention to the story and the film itself primarily and the characters are important, but seem to be secondary. Grant, who is probably most famous for being debonair and dashing, often played the goofball in his films of the 30's and early 40's, and this was another one of those roles for him. He is such a fresh and passionate character however, (he often finds himself doing various acrobatic stunts with glee) that he quickly proves himself to be more than just the handsome doofus who makes bug eyes at the camera when he's confused. He and Hepburn actually look like they're having a good time together in this film; a wonderful thing to see when it seems that 90% of collaborations look like they are phoned in nowadays. If Doris Nolan isn't unremarkable and bland all the time, she did a really great job in her role as fiancée Julia – at some point you're really wondering what Johnny ever really saw in her and made him declare his bachelorhood over with at the age of 30. Lew Ayres, a name I had heard before, but didn't recognize by face was also very charming as the alcoholic brother. I found his character to be incredibly endearing, especially as the film progressed. A mention also has to be made of the actors who played Johnny's best friends, the Potters. (Edward Everett Horton & Jean Dixon) Anyone would be hard pressed to dislike these two intellectuals with senses of humor that are more arid than the Mojave. Every scene they were in became even more enjoyable.

What stuck with me is that between the script and the actors, I felt like I was actually watching a real slice of life, kind of like Booth Tarkington without the depression. "Holiday" is a fantastic hidden gem in the classic film catalogue and I would recommend it very highly. Not only is it short in length, but also its engaging story, steady pacing and brilliant actors made me wish it were longer. Watch this wonderful movie if you have any ounce of appreciation for classic film. 8/10 --Shelly