Product: Holiday (1938)
Rating: 5.0
Top notch in every respect!
The truth is that I had never even heard of this 1938 romantic comedy before I purchased the five disc Cary Grant Collection box set several months back. Having said that I must tell you that "Holiday" turns out to be an absolute delight. Cary Grant plays the role of Johnny Case who has fallen in love with Julia Seton (Doris Nolan). Johnny is a self-made man and something of a free spirit while Julia is the spoiled daughter of a wealthy industrialist. The couple had only known each other for a very short time when they abruptly decide to get married. Bad idea! Julia's overbearing father (Henry Kolker) is not at all impressed with Johnny's rather pedestrian background and immediately opposes the marriage on a number of grounds. Julia lobbies hard for her father's blessing and he finally relents but with certain strings attached. Julia and her dad are cut from the same cloth and both have big plans for Johnny. The problem is that Johnny does not share the same ambitions. Mr. Seton not only wants his future son-in-law to work in his organization but also has definite ideas about how Johnny should conduct his personal life. As much as he is smitten with the lovely Julia Johnny is extremely reluctant to acquiesce to their demands. Johnny's philosophy of life can best be summed up in this memorable line from the film: "When I find myself in a position like this I ask myself `what would General Motors do?' And then I do the opposite." That's Johnny! Along the way Johnny meets Julia's sister Linda (Katherine Hepburn) who is sort of the "black sheep" of the family and does not share the rest of her family's desire for wealth and power. She is an impulsive and fun-loving young lady who longs to extricate herself from the tentacles of her snotty and domineering father. As you might have guessed Johnny and Linda are immediately smitten with each other and ultimately discover that they are kindred spirits."Holiday" is blessed with an outstanding cast including Lew Ayres as Julia's spineless alcoholic brother Ned and most especially Edward Everett Horton and Jean Dixon as Johnny's dear friends Professor Nick Potter and his wife Susan. I have had an opportunity to see this film several times now and find that I enjoy it more every time I see it. The screenplay is simply outstanding and the acting first rate. If you enjoy classic movies from Hollywood's golden age and have never seen "Holiday" I urge you to give this one a try. You will not be disappointed. Very highly recommended!