Hepbu

       Katharine Hepburn made three films in a row with Cary Grant when she brought her career back after being branded "Box Office Poison." The pair had first made "Sylvia Scarlett" together in 1936, the infamous film where Hepburn's character pretended to be a boy. In 1938 they made the classic screwball comedy "Bringing Up Baby" with director Howard Hawks and in 1940 Hepburn returned to stardom and Jimmy Stewart won an Oscar for "The Philadelphia Story." The latter had been a play specifically written for Hepburn by Philip Barry. In between these two classic films, #97 and #51 respectively on AFI's Top 100 Film of all-time, Hepburn and Grant did "Holiday," another film based on a Barry play. Hepburn had been the understudy for Hope Williams in the original 1928 Broadway production and it was the way she picked up a glass in her screen test of a scene from the play that inspired director George Cukor to cast the young actress in her debut...Read more

     There was a big controversy earlier this year with "The Cary Grant Box Set" which is a great collection in its own right. Many people were upset that it included the first release of "Holiday" which was new to DVD (unlike the other films in the collection), but no stand alone disc was being offered. Well, good news. If all you wanted was "Holiday" and you held out, here it comes ten months later.Now, I've always had a soft spot for "Holiday." It hasn't achieved quite the classic status as a couple of other Hepburn and Grant pairings--"The Philadelphia Story" and "Bringing Up Baby"--but I actually think that works to its advantage. I might get into trouble for this, but I somewhat prefer this to the more antic "Bringing Up Baby" (Don't shoot me, I know it's a great film too).Cary Grant plays a carefree soul that becomes engaged to a millionaire's spoiled, socialite daughter. He is expected to take life more seriously and responsibly--but that's not...Read more

By A Customer Holiday is the antithesis of Bringing Up Baby. Both movies have Grant and Hepburn. Both are comedies. Both are artistic works of geniuses. Holiday was made less than a year after Bringing Up Baby. Yet, they are as different as day and night, with Holiday being night. Bringing Up Baby is a bright romp, cheerful and energetic. Holiday is pleasant; the comedy results from witty dialogue rather than screwball physical comedy; the subtle acting is brilliant. It seems to be a darker comedy about human nature. The characters seem to have matured, from the flighty Susan Vance and the confused David Huxley, to a mature Linda Seton and a confident Johnny Case. The plot, too, is subtle, human, and down-to-earth. To summarize it is to be unfaithful to the movie. Holiday is my favorite movie. Not only that. Holiday is a story told to me by two dear friends.