Product: Holiday (1938)
Rating: 5.0
Are ye a goat, or are ye a sheep?
I am a huge fan of "The Philadelphia Story". Looking for more from the trio of Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and director George Cukor, I turned to "Holiday" (I haven't seen "Sylvia Scarlett", their other joint venture). Although it doesn't reach the glorious heights of their later triumph (not many movies do), "Holiday" comes close. Damn close. Closer than I thought possible.Cukor once again proves that he is a master at handling actors. He manages perfect performances from his entire ensemble, even managing to position them in such a way that the film's main themes are amplified. Those themes, the very same ones found in "The Philadelphia Story", focus on the predicament of love across class lines. Johnny Case, a pulled-himself-up-by-his-bootstraps type, falls in love with Julia Seton over ten days in Lake Placid. Unknown to him, she is a wealthy socialite. Johnny only wants to make enough money so that he can vacation while he's young enough to explore the world and his place in it. How will Julia's family, stuck up in their "museum" of a mansion (equipped with an elevator!), react to this sort of anti-gluttony? This is the central question of the film. Cukor does a marvelous job balancing these social issues with the comedy and romance of the piece, and vice versa. Sure, we get the standard take on the matter (i.e., rich people are stuffy bores; the working class are charismatic and lively), but the story never feels standard. The points the film is trying to make are all in perfect proportion with the more entertaining aspects. Cukor does a fine job.Also doing a fine job are Grant and Hepburn. This seems like a redundant statement, coming off "The Philadelphia Story" (and their non-Cukor pairing in "Bringing Up Baby"), but it should always be pointed out that these two screen giants are just so appealing and fun to watch. Their chemistry together is magic. Grant, once again in debonair mode (but with a grassroots appeal), plays a man that every woman in the room falls in love with and every man in the room wants to have a drink with. He fulfills each obligation, with room to spare. And Hepburn as Linda Seton, the free-spirit sister cooped-up in the "play room" (the only room in the mansion that is at all inviting to good humour), does some of her best work portraying a woman who sees her only shot at happiness walk through the door on the arm of her sister. These two have some wonderful flirtation moments when they first meet (my favourite: they trade-off making obnoxious goat noises in the other's face. Hepburn's is particularly fun to watch; she has to make a dash through deep-focus, sneaking up on Grant in the foreground. Anytime a classy actress like Hepburn gets to be the goofball for a moment, I'm there).There's a wonderfully goofy scene that takes place in the play room, where Johnny, Linda, Ned and Johnny's life-long friends Prof. Nick and Susan Potter get to know each other. They are all witty, charming, and ready for a good time. The scene features some nifty acrobatics, a Punch and Judy puppet show, and Grant's turn through the paddywhack machine. This scene features perhaps some of the purest expressions of joy I've ever scene on film. It's power is made even more apparent when contrasted to some of the sadder moments, such as when Johnny realizes that he may have to leave his dreams behind, and take a dour bank job, just to be with a women who probably doesn't really love him. The quick transitions between frothy mirth and heartbreaking melancholy are what make this movie such a moving treat.Hepburn and Grant are ably supported in these transitions by a wonderful supporting cast. Lew Ayres leads the way, as little brother Ned. He plays much the same role as Jimmy Stewart did in "The Philadelphia Story": the drunken conscience of the film. He doesn't get the girl, and he may be stuck in his unwelcome position, but he is blessed with wisdom unparalleled. Ayres acts as a sort-of Greek chorus, making under-his-breath cynical comments on the other characters. He does well in this respect, as well as in showing Ned's inherent sadness without making him melodramatic. Edward Everett Horton and Jean Dixon are frolicsome fun as the put-upon Potters (or "Porters" as their new snobby acquaintances insist on calling them). Henry Kolker's patriarch Edward Potter could have easily lapsed into the realm of one-dimensional despotism. Kolker manages to imbue some humanity into the tired old man. And Doris Nolan, as bride-to-be Julia Seton, begins the film as a charming young lady, only to show her true colours later on. She goes from being beloved by Johnny (and, vicariously, the audience), to being loathed with much ease."Holiday" has not the glowing reputation of its more celebrated sibling. But I felt such warm glows of satisfaction permeate over me while I was watching, that I will do my best to trumpet its name. It is easily as fine a film.