A Holiday Movie For A Holiday Weekend

 The Second Best “White Christmas” Movie

Holiday Inn (1942) – When the female dance partner in a nightclub trio chooses one guy over the other, the jilted one calls it quits. Instead, he opens an inn with an interesting hook. It’s only open on holidays.  Along the way there’s a beautiful new female dancer, and the conflict starts all over again.

Directed by Max Sandrich, Robert Allen

Starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale

Why I Liked It: Great dancing and some fun interplay between Bing and Fred

So the first thing you need to know about this movie, quite possibly the only thing you need to know, is that it is the “other” “White Christmas” movie.  (OK, before anyone jumps down my throat, Bing also sings the song in 1946’s “Blue Skies”.  Which you never heard of before now.  And neither had I!)  The beloved holiday tune debuted here, twelve years before the Bing Crosby/Danny Kaye hit the big screen.  Curiously, neither Crosby nor the studio thought much of the Irving Berlin tune.  It was a nice little toss in and nothing more.  Instead, the song became one of the biggest hits of all time, and then became an iconic part of the season.  Berlin would win an Oscar for the song, and have the unusual chance to give the award to himself!  It’s not the only overlap between the two movies, either.  They used the set for the inn in both of the movies.

Jim Hardy (Crosby), Ted Hanover (Astaire) and Lila Dixon (Dale) are a successful singing and dancing trio.  Jim and Lila are engaged, but Jim wants to retire to a farm and Lila wants no part of that.  She keeps working with Ted, who is also smitten with her.  When farming turns out to be harder work than expected, Jim turns the farmhouse into an inn that’s only open on holidays.  There are special performances for every one.  Along the way, he meets the beautiful and talented Linda Mason (Reynolds), and it looks like it’ll be happily ever after for him.  But after Lila dumps Ted, he shows up at the inn and falls for Linda as well.  It looks like the story may be back for an encore between the friends.

This movie struck me as being more of a showcase for Berlin’s music than a full-blown story.  The original concept was Berlin’s and the fifteen holiday idea (of which we only see eight), gives the musical giant lots of room to show off.  Add in Bing’s singing and Fred’s dancing and you only need a little story to fill in the cracks.  The romances here never feel as powerful as the ones in “White Christmas”, which further throws the spotlight on the singing and dancing.  Which is fine.  The male leads have wonderful chemistry and are at the height of their talents here.  So, the whole thing is a lot of fun.

The movie isn’t without its awkward moments.  If you get the original version, there is an act in blackface for the Lincoln’s birthday holiday (back before President’s Day was a holiday).  That scene is deleted in most TV versions, and the movie loses nothing for the absence.  Feel free to zip through it.  Filming for the movie was still underway during the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941.  The studio wanted to add a little extra patriotic “oomph” following that, which explains the odd inclusion of a film montage of  the military and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

On the other hand, watch during the Thanksgiving sequence.  You’ll see the animated turkey bounce back and forth trying to get to the “right” Thursday.  Until FDR decreed that the fourth Thursday of November would be Thanksgiving, it was the “last” Thursday.  Hence, the poor bird’s confusion.

So, second choice to “White Christmas” for me, but a completely enjoyable time at the movies.

Rating – *** Worth A Look (Call it a high 3 star with reservation about one scene)

FYI -Trailer includes a short clip from the blackface scene.