Holiday Inn (1942)

 

Holiday Inn - 1942

Coming up next is 1942's "Holiday Inn", a story about an inn that is only open on holidays.  Also, a dancer and a singer are in competition for the affections of the inn's showstopper.

The film's cast includes Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Abel, Louise Beavers, and Irving Bacon.

In New York City, Jim Hardy and Ted Hanover have a very popular music act.  They are ably assisted by Miss Lila Dixon.

On the final night of their act, Ted and Lila declare their love, which leaves Jim out in the cold.  He decides to retire to a farm in Connecticut.

Farming isn't all Jim hopes it to be.  After a year, he's pretty sick and tired of it.

So, he decides to turn the farm into an entertainment venue.  The idea is that it will only be open on holidays, thereby becoming the aptly named "Holiday Inn".

By the Christmas season, Jim is back in New York visiting Ted and Lila at their nightclub.  He meets Miss Linda Mason.  The two hit it off, and he agrees to give her a chance to sing at the Holiday Inn.

While Jim has been farming, Ted and Lila have been doing very well in the nightclub business.  They are quite the successful pair.

At the Inn, Jim and Linda work on a number destined to be a hit.  The two sound very good together as they sing "White Christmas".

By New Year's Eve, the Holiday Inn is ready to open.  It proves to be a huge success.

The next holiday is Abraham Lincoln's birthday.  A minstrel number entitled "Abraham" is performed for the patrons of the inn.

Valentine's Day is next, and Jim gives Linda a special card of his own design.

Jim's got to stay on his toes.  Ted arrives, minus Lila, and proceeds to dance the night away with Linda.

On George Washington's birthday, Jim watches while Ted and Linda continue to dance together and dazzle the audience.

But by Easter, Jim and Linda are decidedly together as a couple.  They drive through the picturesque town with a horse and buggy.

The Fourth of July finds a huge celebration amidst a great deal of patriotic fervor.  We also find out that Hollywood has come calling.  Producers want to make a film about the Holiday Inn.  There's an argument between Jim and Linda, and she decides to leave for Hollywood to make the film.

After a lonely Thanksgiving, Jim heads to California and surprises Linda on set.  He joins her in a chorus of "White Christmas".  She rushes into his arms and any misunderstandings between them vanish into thin air.

And on New Year's Eve, we find that Jim and Linda have returned to the inn.  And Ted, who thought he was going to be dancing through life alone, is delightfully surprised at the reappearance of Lila.

Cast rundown:

   Bing Crosby.....................................Jim Hardy

   Fred Astaire.....................................Ted Hanover

   Marjorie Reynolds.............................Linda Mason

   Virginia Dale....................................Lila Dixon

   Walter Abel......................................Danny Reed

   Louise Beavers.................................Mamie

   Irving Bacon....................................Gus

And that's it for Holiday Inn.  It was in this film that the song "White Christmas" was first introduced to audiences.  It would later be included in another holiday movie, 1954's "White Christmas".  Holiday Inn has proved enduringly popular.  In 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May declared that it was her favorite Christmas movie.

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Arise, My Love (1940)

 

Arise, My Love - 1940

Coming up next is 1940's "Arise, My Love", a film about two people who find love amidst the onset of World War II in Europe.

The film's cast includes Claudette Colbert, Ray Milland, Dennis O'Keefe, Walter Abel, Dick Purcell, George Zucco, Frank Puglia, Esther Dale, and Bess Flowers.

In Spain, American pilot and prisoner of war Tom Martin is saved from execution at the last moment by his wife.  However, the lady is not his wife.  She is newspaperwoman Augusta "Gusto" Nash, and she's looking for a big story.  She figures this is her chance.  So, she poses as Tom's wife, gets the prison governor to grant a pardon, and springs him from jail.

By the time they make it to a nearby airfield, they've been discovered and are being pursued.  Tom commandeers an airplane and takes them up, where they are followed by two enemy planes.  They take refuge in the clouds.  "We hid in the clouds, a sanctuary of whipped cream," writes Gusto as Tom rolls his eyes.

They make it to Paris, where Gusto publishes her story.  She's suddenly a very famous and in demand writer.  Tom finds himself very attracted to her.  For her part, Gusto only wants to be involved with him so far as the story goes.  She's got no thoughts of love in her mind.

While Gusto wants to work on additional stories with Tom for syndication back in America, Tom only wants to enjoy his time in Paris.  So, he takes Gusto along with him to Maxim's, strictly for work purposes.  However, by the end of the night, she finds she's falling hard for him.

Gusto gets herself all worked up over the fact that she's falling for Tom.  In order to keep her head on straight, she packs up all of her shoes and locks them in the hotel safe, so she can't go out.

Soon afterwards, Gusto's boss comes to her with the news that she's been named Special Correspondent in Berlin and she's to leave for Germany as soon as possible.  Wanting to throw herself into work and not think about Tom, Gusto jumps at the chance.

Surprise, surprise, Tom finds his way onto Gusto's train.  He's bound for Warsaw, where he's enlisted in the Polish Air Force to fight Hitler.  Right in the middle of the train ride, Gusto succumbs to her feelings and lets herself fall head over heals for Tom.

Before continuing on their journey, they decide to spend some time in the Forest of Compiegne, which works its wonders on them.  "Look at it, like a kind grandmother dozing in her rocking chair.  Old trees practicing curtsies in the wind because they still think Louis XIV is king.  In the shade, well-behaved crickets and woodpeckers scarcely breaking the silence," says Tom poetically.

War breaks out before they can reach their final destinations.  Tom and Gusto decide to sail for America and be married once they arrive.  However, a German submarine torpedoes there ship and sinks it.

They are both rescued.  Instead of going home to America, they decide to stay in Europe and work for the war effort.

Gusto writes a riveting firsthand account of the ship's sinking and eventually starts to cover very important stories for the newspaper with regards to the war.  Tom joins the British Air Force.

On assignment for the newspaper, Gusto finds herself near the Forest of Compiegne, and she decides to take a walk there remembering her time with Tom, which now seems so long ago.

Unbeknownst to her, Tom has discovered where she is and is waiting for her.  They embrace.  He's been injured and can't fly anymore.  He and Gusto decide to return to America and stir the hearts of their countrymen into fighting the terrors of Hitler.

Cast rundown:

   Claudette Colbert..............................Augusta Nash

   Ray Milland......................................Tom Martin

   Dennis O'Keefe.................................Joe Sheppard

   Walter Abel.......................................Phillips

   Dick Purcell.......................................Pinky O'Connor

   George Zucco....................................Prison Governor

   Frank Puglia......................................Father Jacinto

   Esther Dale.......................................Susie

   Bess Flowers.....................................Dancer At Maxim's

And that's it for Arise, My Love.  The film won the Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Story.  The title of the film comes from the Bible, Song of Solomon 2:10, "My beloved speaks and says to me: 'Arise, my love, my fair one..."  Claudette Colbert once said that this was her favorite of the films that she made.

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