In the opening scene a young man named Johnny Case announces to his friends Nick and Susan Potter that he has fallen in love with a girl named Julia and that they are engaged to be married, although he admits that knows very little about her or her family background. In Scene 2 Johnny visits Julia's home and is astounded to discover that the address she has given him is a luxurious mansion and that her family are obviously extremely wealthy.
And then in Scene 3 we get to see Julia for the first time and we immediately realise (if we know something about the conventions of the Hollywood romantic comedy) exactly how the story is going to play out. The clue lies in those words in the opening credits, "starring Katharine Hepburn". And Hepburn does not play Julia. (She is played by a lesser-known actress called Doris Nolan).
Big-name movie stars have always disliked playing losers in love, so the general rule in all romantic comedies involving a love triangle is "First name above the title gets the girl". Or, in this case, the boy. If a rom-com stars two actors of the magnitude of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant we know that they are going to end up together. Nobody was ever going to make a film in which Kate loses her man to the milk-and-water Doris Nolan, so we just know that Johnny and Julia are going to split up for some reason so that he can get together with Hepburn's character, who is soon revealed to be Julia's sister, Linda. We just have to wait and see how this is going to be accomplished.
The title "Holiday" has two meanings. It refers to the fact that the action takes place over the Christmas/New Year holiday season. On the other hand it also refers to Johnny's plans for his future. He is a self-made man from relatively humble origins who has done well in business and made a considerable amount of money for himself, although he is nowhere near as rich as Julia's family. He intends to take a "holiday" from work after his marriage so that he can decide what he really wants to do with his life (which may not involve making money). Julia's autocratic banker father Edward is impressed with Johnny's success, so much so that he is prepared to overlook Johnny's humble background, something which under normal circumstances would have ruled him out as Edward's son-in-law. He is not, however, impressed by Johnny's plan for a "holiday from work". To Edward nothing is more important than making money, and he already has plans to use Johnny's talents in the services of his banking business.
More importantly, Julia is not impressed by Johnny's plans either, as she is a conformist who sees eye-to-eye with her father about most matters, especially the importance of money as the be-all and end-all of life. Linda, however, is portrayed as a free spirit and a rebel against her privileged background, a girl who instinctively sees Johnny as a kindred soul. No prizes for guessing who he ends up with.
Although the film was generally well received by the critics when it came out in 1938, it did not do well at the box-office, probably because America was only just starting to emerge from the Great Depression, and in a period of widespread poverty and unemployment audiences found it difficult to understand or sympathise with a man who would voluntarily walk away from a job which would assure him wealth and security for life. The movie was a remake of one from 1930, and both were based upon a stage play from the pre-Depression boom era of the Roaring Twenties. (As, however, Johnny gives his date of birth as July 1908 and his age as 30, we can date the action of the film to December 1938 and January 1939).
This was one of four films Hepburn and Grant made together, the others being "Sylvia Scarlett", "Bringing Up Baby" and "The Philadelphia Story". All of these, apart from "Bringing Up Baby", were directed by George Cukor. Hepburn and Grant were practised romantic comedy stars and do enough to make "Holiday" still worth watching nearly eighty years on, but it lacks the depth of "The Philadelphia Story" or the screwball zaniness of "Bringing Up Baby". (I have never seen "Sylvia Scarlett"). It relies too much on a predictable plot and well-worn clichés about how wealth does not lead to happiness and how money can't buy me love. And, yes, that was a cliché long before the Beatles pressed it into service as a song title. 6/10
And then in Scene 3 we get to see Julia for the first time and we immediately realise (if we know something about the conventions of the Hollywood romantic comedy) exactly how the story is going to play out. The clue lies in those words in the opening credits, "starring Katharine Hepburn". And Hepburn does not play Julia. (She is played by a lesser-known actress called Doris Nolan).
Big-name movie stars have always disliked playing losers in love, so the general rule in all romantic comedies involving a love triangle is "First name above the title gets the girl". Or, in this case, the boy. If a rom-com stars two actors of the magnitude of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant we know that they are going to end up together. Nobody was ever going to make a film in which Kate loses her man to the milk-and-water Doris Nolan, so we just know that Johnny and Julia are going to split up for some reason so that he can get together with Hepburn's character, who is soon revealed to be Julia's sister, Linda. We just have to wait and see how this is going to be accomplished.
The title "Holiday" has two meanings. It refers to the fact that the action takes place over the Christmas/New Year holiday season. On the other hand it also refers to Johnny's plans for his future. He is a self-made man from relatively humble origins who has done well in business and made a considerable amount of money for himself, although he is nowhere near as rich as Julia's family. He intends to take a "holiday" from work after his marriage so that he can decide what he really wants to do with his life (which may not involve making money). Julia's autocratic banker father Edward is impressed with Johnny's success, so much so that he is prepared to overlook Johnny's humble background, something which under normal circumstances would have ruled him out as Edward's son-in-law. He is not, however, impressed by Johnny's plan for a "holiday from work". To Edward nothing is more important than making money, and he already has plans to use Johnny's talents in the services of his banking business.
More importantly, Julia is not impressed by Johnny's plans either, as she is a conformist who sees eye-to-eye with her father about most matters, especially the importance of money as the be-all and end-all of life. Linda, however, is portrayed as a free spirit and a rebel against her privileged background, a girl who instinctively sees Johnny as a kindred soul. No prizes for guessing who he ends up with.
Although the film was generally well received by the critics when it came out in 1938, it did not do well at the box-office, probably because America was only just starting to emerge from the Great Depression, and in a period of widespread poverty and unemployment audiences found it difficult to understand or sympathise with a man who would voluntarily walk away from a job which would assure him wealth and security for life. The movie was a remake of one from 1930, and both were based upon a stage play from the pre-Depression boom era of the Roaring Twenties. (As, however, Johnny gives his date of birth as July 1908 and his age as 30, we can date the action of the film to December 1938 and January 1939).
This was one of four films Hepburn and Grant made together, the others being "Sylvia Scarlett", "Bringing Up Baby" and "The Philadelphia Story". All of these, apart from "Bringing Up Baby", were directed by George Cukor. Hepburn and Grant were practised romantic comedy stars and do enough to make "Holiday" still worth watching nearly eighty years on, but it lacks the depth of "The Philadelphia Story" or the screwball zaniness of "Bringing Up Baby". (I have never seen "Sylvia Scarlett"). It relies too much on a predictable plot and well-worn clichés about how wealth does not lead to happiness and how money can't buy me love. And, yes, that was a cliché long before the Beatles pressed it into service as a song title. 6/10