Holiday Films: Holiday Inn (1942)

In my opinion there may be no more personal movie preference than Christmas Movies. Many people have more connection to the Christmas films they grew up with than any other films. I preface this review with that because I realize that there may be some that will very much disagree with what I am about to write. I would remind those who find this review unappealing that just as they have films that they cherish and grew up with I also have my own attachments.

With that out of the way I will say that I think the 1942 film Holiday inn is a criminally underseen film. This probably has a lot to do with the larger amount of publicity that its semi-remake White Christmas gets. I first saw Holiday Inn and only watched White Christmas after having already made Holiday Inn a holiday season tradition. I have tried to be as objective in my assessment as possible and I can honestly say that Holiday Inn is far superior. While White Christmas is probably a good film if that is the only version you've seen In my opinion it pales in comparison to the original in many ways. While it may be in "color" and "VistaVision" White Christmas does not have the same charm as the original.

There are several reasons for this. Firstly while White Christmas has Bing Crosby, Holiday Inn has both Bing Crosby AND Fred Astaire. Fred Astaire is truly one of the greatest talents of the movie musical and paired with Crosby it is pure magic. (No offense Danny Kaye but your not quite Fred Astaire). It's a shame that too few people ever knew the two collaborated because for many this is a Movie Musical dream. Secondly Holiday Inn is the premiere of the song "White Christmas". Many people don't know this and the song has never felt more fresh or been as integral to a movie as it was in this original rendition. It was this and not the later film that caused sales of that song to go crazy. Finally Holiday Inn has a lot of good songs by Irving Berlin that are comparable to the quality of the title track and there are some really cool dance numbers to match. Holiday Inn was also the premiere of the nearly as popular song "Easter Parade" which was later turned into its own Astaire vehicle. All of these add up to make Holiday in a fresher and more complete film than the semi-sequal.

One thing that must be mentioned is that there is a number in Holiday Inn which by today's standards is very politically incorrect. while this scene may be offensive, I do not believe that it should make people not see the film. I also don't believe it detracts from the quality of the rest of the film. I do not think that it is completely fair for us to apply our presentist beliefs to a film made at the start of 1942. This sequence is not as far as I can tell malicious in intent and it is an isolated incident in the film. There are several other such scenes in musicals of the era which are still acclaimed by critics (Notable Swing Time with Astaire and Rogers which has a scene that seems even more offensive)

Overall, Holiday Inn continues to be the best holiday musical and one of my favorite musicals period. This is a type of film that really isn't made any more and the premiere of "White Christmas" is one of the great moments in film. The cast and the dance numbers are almost pitch perfect and there is a wonderful undercurrent of humor. This is the complete package and a holiday delight! 4.5/5

Holiday Films: The Bishop's Wife (1947)

It's that time again, the Christmas film season. There are so many beloved holiday films tat it can sometimes feel overwhelming. Many people have there own set of perennial favorites and I've always felt that people take their favorite Christmas movies more personally than any other type of film. The films that I will review with this header will be my personal favorites. That does not mean these are the definitive holiday films but are instead the movies that to me best express the Christmas spirit.

The Bishop's Wife is probably the ultimate feel-good Christmas movie. As a film it's not a masterpiece but as a warm bit of holiday cheer it's hard to beat. I mean who wouldn't want Cary Grant as their guardian angel? The film centers around a bishop and his attempt to build a cathedral. In the process of doing this he becomes less aware of the parts of life that truly matter and Cary Grant is sent as his angel to give him a little more perspective. The situation is really a very relatable one, especially around the holiday season when many people are so worried about things that don't really matter. It is this that the Bishop's Wife captures best of all. Cary Grant brings youth and joy to the household and demonstrates why we really love Christmas. This film also is more directly tied to the religious aspects of Christmas than most which I actually find refreshing. The film has great lessons and it's a lot of fun along the way.

The only complaint I might have is that it is a little bit too long but there are so many fun characters and sequences (especially one involving ice skating) that I really can't dock it that much. If you're looking for some holiday cheer then you can't do much better than this classic with it's superb cast. Along with Grant, David Niven plays the bishop and Loretta Young plays his wife. The film is also filled with the great character actors you could only find in classic Hollywood. I you haven't seen this gem my recommendation would be to pick it up, It's a fantastic film that works like a warm cup of cocoa on a snowy day, 4.5/5