Holiday Inn [Import]

My dad was always making sure I knew that the song "White Christmas" originated in this film, and not the Crosby/Kaye movie named "White Christmas", so that's the first trivia question answer about "Holiday Inn". The other interesting tidbit is that the hotel chain "Holiday Inn" was named for this movie! Seems the owner saw the movie and thought it was a good name for the new hotels he was opening up, and presto! There you go.

It's an easy enough plot line: Bing and Fred used to be partnered with a gal engaged to Bing, but she throws him over to be with Fred. Bing, a performer fed up with working so hard, retreats to a farm and eventually dreams up the idea of an inn which is ONLY open on holidays, giving him the rest of the year to loaf around. Aspiring entertainer Marjorie Reynolds shows up on Christmas just on cue to be serenaded with "White Christmas", and things look pretty cozy for them pretty fast. But complications arise when the now-jilted Fred turns up at the inn on New Year's, and the gal chase is on again, but now after Bing's new star/girlfriend. Jealousy plays a few tricks on everyone before every Jack gets the proper Jill by movie's end.

A few of the other reviewers say that the film is marred by the Lincoln's birthday number Bing leads in blackface. While I agree that the segment unfortunately makes the movie one with a limited audience in today's more racially charged atmosphere, I think a bigger problem with the movie is...Bing himself! Yep, I don't think Bing is a very nice fellow in the movie, even though Fred is supposed to be the cad, as one reviewer put it. When Bing gets wind of Fred's interest in the new gal as a dancing partner (before any protestations of love, mind you), Bing immediately begins to dissemble and lie to prevent Marjorie Reynolds from having her big break. His proposal to her on Lincoln's Birthday is somewhat lackluster, and then when Fred asks him about the engagement, Bing backpedals and says basically that he's not engaged. Uhm, that kind of behavior would make Bing a bum, not a hero. Let's face it: he deserves to have his girlfriend walk out on him! Even when he finally goes to Hollywood to win Marjorie back, it's only to cramp her style and make her give up her burgeoning movie career to return to his lazy lifestyle at the inn. There should be recriminations for the Bing character, and there are not.

Lest you think that I hate "Holiday Inn", let me assure you that that's not the case. Bing always is a good performer, and Fred makes even the most difficult numbers seem effortless--check out the firecracker dance on July 4th! It was a bit wild to see the superpatriotic song of the Freedom Man, done by Bing with his big ole Uncle Sam hat because of the sudden interpolation of the armed forces footage, culminating in images of MacArthur and FDR. Just in case anyone was doubting whether the film came from the war years, y'know! All of us watching the movie thought it a shame that Marjorie Reynolds didn't really catch on, because she's quite cute in many shots and she is more graceful with Fred than the other lady who earlier jettisoned Bing.

Final verdict? "Holiday Inn" is pretty good still, though the blackface number may offend some viewers and Bing's character is not exactly a white hat himself. Have a happy holiday with Bing and Fred down at the inn!

Fred Astaire once was asked who his favorite dance partner was in all his films, and half jokingly stated...Bing Crosby! HOLIDAY INN was one of two movies the two stars made together and the chemistry between the two is evident in this film. A basic Hollywood story (based on a concept by song writer extraordinaire Irving Berlin) of boy finds girl,boy loses girl, and boy wins back girl. Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire are two-thirds of a night club act trio in which their act is a song and dance routine of two guys vying for the affection of a girl. This night club routine is hilarious in which Bing Crosby croons that he could win a girl through his singing, and then Fred Astaire counteracts that he can win a girl through his dancing. This is a clever device because it sets up the whole basic premise of the film. Bing Crosby quits the act hoping to be a farmer. However, it doesn't work out and then renovates the farm into a nightclub only opened on holidays. Hence, the title of the film and nightclub HOLIDAY INN. Bing Crosby hires a girl to help him with his act (Marjorie Reynolds), then Fred Astaire steals her away...and Bing Crosby must find a way to win her back..etc. Great Irving Berlin songs, great dance numbers (i.e. Fred Astaire's solo dance routine with firecrackers) and excellent comedic moments. One of the best musicals of the 40's.
Note: One downside scene in the film when one of the holidays being celebrated at the Inn is Abraham Lincoln's birthday. There is a "blackface" routine reminicient of the minstral shows of vaudeville. Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds participate in blackface also. Some may find this part of the film offensive. During a revival of the film at a college a few years back, a friend of mine stated that some audience members booed the scene. At the time this film was made, there was no harm intended.

How could reviewers say this film has no plot? Actually it's a classic plot. The scene in which Marjorie Reynolds first falls in love with Bing - by the fireside at Holiday Inn - has a lovely wisdom to it. She realizes that he's the simple type, just like her father was! But, because he can't express himself well enough to her, she's stolen away by the fancier Astaire and the Hollywood biz. The final scene is an irresistable tearjerker as Bing recreates that fireside scene on the set of her latest film, winning her heart and taking her back to Holiday Inn. Reviewers writing that the film is "offensive" show little perspective on the times. African Americans are not represented in a demeaning way. It's just that characters like Mamie and blackface numbers now SYMBOLIZE racism to us! This is a timeless gem.