HOLIDAY (George Cukor, Columbia, 1938)

I absolutely love it when I watch a film for the first time and become utterly captivated by seeing it.  Then I marvel about how I could have went so long without knowing of its greatness.  This is exactly how I feel about HOLIDAY (George Cukor, Columbia, 1938).  The film is a revelation.  It is smartly written with crisp dialogue and a narrative that doesn't feel stodgy or stale.  The direction moves the film along brilliantly, keeping the film flowing at a brisk pace.  And the casting and performances.  With Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn you just simply can't go wrong.  Add in great supporting roles and you have a fine film.

What makes this film particularly impressive is the examination it makes on our societal belief systems; what motivates us, our never ending pursuit and desire for money, our ideas on love, the values we associate with proper behavior.  Both Johnny (Grant) and Linda (Hepburn) are idealists and as such in order to live their lives the way they see fit both must compromise.  Johnny must forgo his dreams; he must succumb to societal pressures and become a promising young businessman.  His dream, to live life to the fullest while he is young enough to enjoy it, is deemed "un-American" by his expectant father in law.  Linda has made the simple mistake of loving the man engaged to her sister, except that her sister doesn't quite love Johnny.  Still, she struggles with what she has been taught is the right thing to do and it isn't until near the end of the film she chooses to pursue her love.

The narrative to this film is daring in its attack upon what we have been conditioned or taught as the way to live our lives.  Most of the films characters look down on our two protagonists and demeans their pursuits as frivolous. The narrative questions the validity of the belief that all must pursue the endless accumulation of wealth and it focuses a harsh light on the emptiness of that belief.  Johnny and Linda are not characters often seen portrayed in film.  I happen to love them and this film has instantly become one of my favorites.

One final thought and it concerns my favorite line from the film.  Johnny is rejecting Julia (Doris Nolan) and Edward's (Edward Kolker) notions of what their married life will be.  He says "if we begin loaded down with possessions and obligations we'll never get out from under them".  A line uttered in a film almost seventy five years ago and a line which could be spoken to so many people today.  It would be advice well heeded.