NR | 1 hr, 35 min | Comedy, Romance | 1938
How much influence films have on their viewers is an often debated topic. While some argue that movies are nothing more than entertainment, the amount of time people spend talking about movies, books, television shows, plays, and music shows that entertainment has a big influence on us. A movie can even change a person’s life. For instance, watching “Holiday” (1938) in 2016 changed the course of my life.
A Realistic Story
Johnny Case (Grant) is a 30-year-old man who has worked hard since he was 10 years old to make something of himself; he now works for a big New York financial house. He takes his very first holiday to go skiing at Lake Placid, where he meets Julia Seton (Doris Nolan). They quickly fall in love and become engaged. Once they get back to New York, he visits her house and discovers that she’s an heiress to a banking fortune.At the palatial Seton mansion, Johnny meets Julia’s snobbish father (Henry Kolker); alcoholic brother, Ned (Lew Ayres); and free-spirited sister, Linda (Katharine Hepburn). Linda takes an immediate liking to Johnny and is delighted for her beloved sister. However, she tries to warn her new friend that the Seton establishment won’t like his ideas about living life or his plan to quit business to enjoy life once he’s made his fortune, just as they haven’t accepted her dreams.
Linda has her heart set on throwing an engagement party for Julia and Johnny on New Year’s Eve in their old playroom, inviting just their closest friends. However, her father quickly turns the intimate affair into a lavish formal event, which devastates Linda. The only people Johnny invites to the party are his best friends, history professor Nick Potter (Edward Everett Horton) and his wife, Susan (Jean Dixon), who have been his partners in many adventures. They stumble upon Linda, who is sulking in the playroom.
A Holiday Film
The title refers to a vacation, rather than a designed day of celebration. Nevertheless, the story takes place during the winter holidays. It begins on Christmas Day, features an important New Year’s Eve scene, and ends in mid-January. Interestingly, there is no reference to the fact that the first few scenes take place on Christmas, either in dialogue or decorations. However, we know it must be Christmas because the following Saturday is New Year’s Eve. The only indication is that, when the Setons are in church that morning, the congregation sings “Adeste Fidelis” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Christmas was in fact on Sunday in 1938, so that checks out.
“Holiday” is more of a New Year’s Eve film than a Christmas movie. A very long scene takes place on Saturday night, the last day of 1938. We witness two New Year’s celebrations, one a formal extravaganza in the Seton’s grand salon and the other in the warm, intimate playroom. Linda’s party happens by accident, since Nick and Susan stumble upon the playroom by mistake. They quickly dispel Linda’s gloom at having been rejected by her family.
Real Characters
What I love about “Holiday” is that the characters seem so real that it’s hard to believe they are fictional. A lot of credit goes to the actors, as well as director George Cukor. His brilliance as a director was in being very gentle with his performers, allowing their natural talent to shine through. The dialogue is quirky and unpredictable but very believable and extremely quotable.This movie got me interested in 1930s cinema, since before that I mainly watched films from the 1940s to the 1960s. It inspired my research about the Motion Picture Production Code, which started my career as a film historian. “Holiday” may not change your career trajectory, but I bet it will inspire you.
