Robert Osborne, who classes up Turner Classic Movies enough to make us all forget about Ted Turner’s plans to colorize Citizen Kane, has made the point that Holiday was more than just a dry run for The Philadelphia Story. His position might seem difficult to support, especially when we consider that the films shared the same screenwriter (Philip Barry) and director (George Cukor) in addition to the irresistible cloud of chemistry that is bound to intoxicate us in any love story featuring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. But Holiday really is much more than strong enough to stand on its own. The best analogy that I can think of for explaining how unfortunate it is for Holiday to be stuck in the shadow of The Philadelphia Story comes from football: It’s just as regrettable as the fact that Steve Young spent so many years eclipsed by Joe Montana. We owe it to ourselves to appreciate cinematic gems like this one, even when there’s another, more familiar gem nearby.
If there’s anything we don’t see enough of anymore, it’s attractive couples. I suspect that the main reason for the cinematic success of Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man was the incredible playfulness that we see between Nick and Nora Charles on the screen. In the '30s, audiences apparently had a healthy tolerance for charming couples, as they endorsed not only Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man, but Nick and Susan Potter of Holiday. If we still saw such couples on film today, we would be likely to categorize Nick and Susan Potter as stock figures. But since we don't, let me go on record as saying that I would be happy to sacrifice the entire state of New Jersey for a world in which we return to charming couples as stock figures. (I’m willing to sacrifice New Jersey on any pretext, but I may as well ask for something nifty, eh?) (Incidentally, if we get rid of boy bands while we’re at it, I’ll throw in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.)
Holiday is a love story, the kind of love story that Hollywood used to make before the accountants figured out that it wasn't cost effective to try to come up with love stories that would appeal to men. Because the characters actually think about what they want from life and each other instead of constantly weeping and exchanging useless gifts, it's the kind of love story that is likely to appeal to men and women (and not just little girls).
When Johnny Case (Cary Grant) comes to visit his fiancee Julia Seton (Doris Nolan) in her mansion, he is astonished to find that he has betrothed himself to a woman of means. He has no qualms about marrying into a wealthy family, but doesn't want to allow Julia's father Edward (Henry Kolker) to bully him into taking a desk at the Seton Bank. Edward Seton keeps calling Grant's character "Mr. Chase" instead of "Mr. Case" because, as Linda Seton (Katherine Hepburn) explains, "Chase has that bankish ring to it."
Johnny Case gets on beautifully with Julia's brother and sister (Linda and Ned), but only succeeds with Julia and her father to the extent that he proves himself to be interested in amassing a fortune. He is not interested in spending his life piling up money. He is less comfortable in the marble dance hall of the Seton mansion than he is in the 'playroom,' a livable chamber with tacky upholstery and stuffed animals and a puppet theater.
Julia sees Case as banking magnate material; her sister Linda sees him as a man who is curious about life. We know that he must break off his engagement to Julia and end up with Linda, but we also know that there is still the matter of the duty that siblings owe to one another and that a man owes to a woman after proposing marriage. It would have been easy for the screenwriter to turn Julia Seton and her father into villainous creatures of greed deserving of misery, but no one has to be a loser when everybody wants something different as a prize. Instead of letting Johnny and Linda off the hook by depicting the other characters in a negative light, we see how our hero and heroine keep themselves on the hook until things work out for them. In refusing to make Linda and her father into two-dimensional villains, the writer also refuses to allow Johnny and Linda to act like spoiled children (as is so often the case in today's romantic comedies).
Hepburn and Grant are legendary not merely because of their talent, but because the actors of their generation were able to work with a superior kind of script. Holiday is a remarkably intelligent love story that every couple should watch. Johnny Case resents the idea of "talking practically" about his fiancee with her father, but he doesn't mind talking practically about love with the women to whom he is attracted. We must be able to explain ourselves to the people with whom we become romantically involved if our relationships are going to last. And our lovers must be willing to trust us. Hepburn and Grant teach this lesson with charming hilarity in Holiday.
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