Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Rec. #288: Holiday


What: Cary Grant is a young man with a bit of money, about to marry a young woman with a lot of money. Katharine Hepburn is not that woman. And Cary Grant isn't so sure about the money in the first place, anyway.

Comparable to: Grant and Hepburn starred in three other films together: Sylvia Scarlett, Bringing Up Baby, and The Philadelphia Story, and Holiday has something in common with each of them.

It's got the Serious Talking About Self-Examination and Life Plans from The Philadelphia Story; the mixed tone of Sylvia Scarlett (is it a romantic comedy? is it a social commentary? it's both); and the daffy screwball edge of Bringing Up Baby (so. much. tumbling).

Representative dialogue: 
"Did you have an accident, Ned?"
"Apparently. I don't seem to have been there when it happened."

You might not like it if: You meant to get The Holiday instead. But no house-trading, no Kate Winslet, no Jude Law here. Totally different movie.

How to get it: To avoid the above confusion, it's worth noting that this film is from 1938 (not 2006) and the title does not contain an initial article.

Connections to previous Wreckage: Holiday was directed by George Cukor, who also gave us Born Yesterday (Rec. #94). And, as if this cast weren't great enough already, Holiday also features the delightful Edward Everett Horton (List #20).

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