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In 1942, Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby teamed up at Der Bingle's Paramount Pictures for
Holiday Inn, a black-and-white musical that proves more entertaining than Crosby's color semi-remake
White Christmas in 1954. Astaire and Crosby play partner/rival song-and-dance men who compete for the hand of their performing partner, played by Virginia Dale. After Crosby loses, he moves to the Connecticut countryside where he creates a resort that is only open on holidays and puts on the shows with the help of Marjorie Reynolds. Dumped by Dale, Astaire makes a drunken arrival at the inn on New Year's Eve and dances with Reynolds. He decides she'll be his new partner, but doesn't remember what she looks like, setting off a frenzied search at every subsequent show while the once-bitten Crosby does his best to steer him off track. The theme gives Irving Berlin an excuse to craft or recycle a number of holiday-themed songs, such as (in the former category) "Washington's Birthday" or (in the latter) "Easter Parade." The most famous of the new material, of course, is "White Christmas," which became one of the bestselling songs of all time and the title song of Crosby's 1954 film. Astaire and Crosby also team up for "I'll Capture Her Heart," which playfully contrasts the stars' specialties, and Astaire's "It's So Easy to Dance with You" became one of the signature songs of his post-Ginger Rogers career. Astaire and Crosby teamed up again for
Blue Skies in 1946.
--David Horiuchi
New 3-disc Collector's Set due out October 14th, 2008! Details compared - Reviewed on 2008-08-08
2 customers found this review helpful, 1 did not.
This is one of the great films, with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire doing some of their most memorable work to some of the better music of Irving Berlin, including the debut of his all-time most popular "White Christmas." The plot is clever, if somewhat silly, the writing sharp, with lots of laughs, romance, ups and downs, and a happy ending for all. If you don't already have the movie, the new Collector's Set will certainly be the nicest package. But this 2006 Special Edition may have all you really need. The new Collector's Set will have a few new features not in the Special Edition:
-- a colorized version of the movie - don't worry, the original black-and-white version is included too
-- a featurette on colorizing the movie
-- a soundtrack CD (which is the third disc of the set)
The soundtrack CD would be a very nice bonus, I think. The new Collector's Set will also include all the special features from this Special Edition:
-- audio commentary by film historian Ken Barnes with archival audio segments from Crosby, Astaire and Crosby's longtime music director John Scott Trotter
-- "A Couple of Song & Dance Men," a biographical documentary about Crosby and Astaire with Barnes and Astaire's daughter Ava Astaire McKenzie (44:30)
-- "All Singing, All Dancing," a featurette on making musicals, again with Barnes (7:15)
-- the original theatrical trailer
Like this DVD, the new set will preserve the original 1.33:1 full screen format in both the black-and-white and colorized versions. The studio announcement for the new set doesn't say whether the video or sound will be remastered. The image and sound quality of the Special Edition is good but not exceptional, with room for improvement; the new one should be at least that good.
This 1942 film centers on Jim (Crosby), a singer and part of a successful three-person New York nightclub act with dancer Ted (Astaire) and singer and dancer Lila (Virginia Dale). Their act portrays a rivalry between the two men over Lila's affections, spelled out in terms of a contest between singing and dancing. Life imitates art, as Jim decides to leave the harried show business life and buy a farm in Connecticut, thinking he'll take Lila as his bride and they'll happily live the simple life together. But Ted has other ideas, and Lila chooses to stay with Ted in show biz, so Jim starts his new life on the farm alone. Soon learning that the simple farming life isn't as carefree as he had imagined, Jim hatches the idea of turning the farm into Holiday Inn, a lodge with nightclub entertainment open only for public holidays. Naturally, events bring Ted, just dumped by Lila, out to the farm, where a new rivalry develops over Jim's new love interest (Marjorie Reynolds). Much scheming, misunderstanding, singing and dancing and romancing ensue.
Both Crosby and Astaire were at their cinematic peaks in 1942. The way they interact is great fun and worth seeing the film for by itself. The songs included many new Irving Berlin numbers, with highlights "Lazy," "Be Careful, It's My Heart," "White Christmas," of course, and the reused "Easter Parade" all sung by Crosby. Astaire was actually a fine singer himself, and did "You're Easy to Dance With" full justice. As good as Crosby and the music is, what really steals the show for me is some of Astaire's all-time best dancing, especially a hilarious drunken reprise of "You're Easy to Dance With" with Reynolds, and the immortal "Let's Say It with Firecrackers" routine, a solo he's portrayed as improvising with pockets full of firecrackers as his props.
There might be a bit of controversy over a number done in blackface, which was still popular at the time, and which is accompanied by the wonderful black character actress Louise Beavers, as Crosby's maid/cook, portraying some stereotypes not so well appreciated today. There is also a reminder of the time in the form of a patriotic montage supporting the war effort, which was just beginning.
If you like old movies at all, are looking for a classic holiday movie (this one ends up at Christmas), or are a fan of Crosby or Astaire, this is a must, whatever edition you prefer. The Amazon page for the new set is here.
Love that Bing! - Reviewed on 2008-05-04
I am a sucker for Christmas, and I have always been a huge Crosby fan, plus I love to watch Astaire dance. This show has all 3 in it, so it is among my favorites! The Christmas theme isn't really carried out as the Holiday Inn is only open on Holidays. Berlin's songs are great - "Be Careful, It's My Heart," "I'll Capture Your Heart," the one about Lincoln and Washington, and of course, the best one, "White Christmas." The story line is cute also (I do love happy endings, and everyone can be a star!), and it just seems a fun picture!.Holiday Inn (Special Edition)
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