Second Day of Holiday Movies

On the second day of Christmas, the holiday movie recommendation I present to you…

Is… Holiday Inn (1942) starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.  This is a musical about a retired nightclub singer, Jim (Bing Crosby), who decides farming isn’t for him and he decides to open a supper club on his farm.  The catch is it’ll only be open for holidays.  Jim hires the up and coming Linda Mason to star in his shows and love develops between them until Jim’s former nightclub partner, Ted (Fred Astaire), arrives back in the picture. Comedic misdirection and hilarity ensue.  When they say it’s always about a dame, they were referring to the plot of this classic. 

I grew up watching this film and loved the singing, dancing and comedy.  Fred Astaire’s dancing is always amazing to watch but the New Year’s Eve dancing number takes the cake for me.  In the last 15-20 years, most networks have stopped showing the film due to the use of black face, lyrics of the Abraham Lincoln number and the treatment of the African-American characters.  I want to make it clear that I agree with the criticism of the film for these issues.  When the film has been shown on networks like TCM, I have very much appreciated the introductions that address this controversy instead of ignoring it.  Knowledge is power and enlightenment.   I hope that you the viewer can look past the controversy and enjoy the film.  I think that you can still catch this on TCM each holiday season or find it online.

 

Irving Berlin’s song “White Christmas” makes an appearance in this film a full 12 years before being used as the title song in another movie. 

Life lessons from this film – always be weary of short-cuts, when in doubt you can always try saying your name with emphasis and confidence and stealing your best friend’s girl doesn’t usually work out.