Holiday Inn (1942)

Safe and amiable enough... Jim Hardy retires from show business to become a farmer in New England. Once set up he finds that it's a life that is somewhat more demanding than he had first thought. Hitting on an idea that should make his life more fulfilling, he turns the farm into an Inn that only opens on public holidays. But things get complicated when Jim's old partner, Ted, turns up and sets his sights on Linda, Jim's gorgeous "friend", this holiday period may not be so happy after all. Boasting great star power in the form of Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, Holiday Inn still feels short of the required genre excitement. There is no doubting the benefit here of having both the leading men's respective abilities on show, where Bing croons with the best of them and Fred of course dances with majestic grace. We get a firecracker sequence that's particularly memorable, but sadly the women of the piece are forgettable, while outside of the songs and dances the film drifts into almost sleepy auto pilot. All those involved have done far better, that's for sure, but at least here we get to hear the first airing of the Academy Award winning song, White Christmas. The film is a favourite of many, certainly it is, yet it's just a very average picture and not one that under revisit scrutiny survives away from nostalgic glows. 5/10

A mildly entertaining movie if you don’t mind watching classics. There are witty and funny moments, but the romantic aspects aren’t very convincing. Perhaps this is how romance is with celebrities— no passion? No, I doubt that. The dance numbers aren’t up to Fed Astaire’s usual imaginative standard and a few of the songs about lesser holidays are rather lame. The sets are unconvincing- would a farmhouse really be this large? But this is picky stuff. If you don’t mind classic black and white films this is entertaining enough, especially if you are watching with friends or family, as it doesn’t require close viewing to stay caught up with the plot. I only wish it had a bit more real romance and less talking about romance.

Simply a must-watch at Christmas time. An Irving Berlin musical made in the forties. Yes, please!