Tonight's Christmas Classic was "Holiday Inn" (1942), starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire as two thirds of a popular song and dance trio in New York. Both men are in love with third member Virginia Dale. At first, she has promised to marry Bing, who wants to retire and take her to live on a farm in Connecticut (hmmm, farms in Connecticut seem to be prevalent in our Christmas movies of late). But then Fred Astaire steps in with a few moves and sweet talks her, and soon they are dancing off to stardom as a duo, leaving Der Bingle out in the cold. He is miffed, and what's worse, he finds that life on his new farm isn't the leisurely experience he thought it would be. He's working ten times as hard as he was in show business.
Bing returns to New York with an idea. He wants to turn his farmhouse into an Inn. He visits his former manager and pitches the concept : it will be called the Holiday Inn and will only be open on Holidays, which adds up to about 15 days a year. He hopes to earn enough to stay in business, doesn't care about getting rich, just wants to have the leisure time he was expecting when he retired from show biz. Now he is back, but he only has to put on 15 shows per year. Nevertheless, each one will be spectacular, based on a theme of the Holiday it represents.
Bing's manager tentatively agrees with the idea. He is more of a New York guy, believes in the tried and true - make it big on the stage in NYC and then shoot for the movies in Hollywood. But Bing has been insistent, and he already owns his farm. Costs will be low, not much to lose if the idea is a flop.
Now all Bing needs is a new partner, and he finds her - through a series of serendipitous plot devices - in the person of Marjorie Reynolds, a plucky young dancer with every bit as much talent as had Virginia Dale. Soon Bing and Marjorie are partnered up romantically as well as professionally, and the Holiday Inn is a go. They are filling the Inn with deluxe productions beginning with Lincoln's Birthday, then Valentine's Day, then Washington's Birthday. As an aside, the musical production numbers in this movie are 100% Incredible, as is the dancing and the overall magic which is the most important ingredient. The "Abe Lincoln" number is a Hollywood Classic of the first order.
But back to the romantic aspect of the plot, which is really the main theme : now the Inn is a success, but all of a sudden Fred Astaire is back. He shows up on the doorstep, drunk and disheveled. It seems that Virginia Dale, a gold digger in the final analysis, has left him for a millionaire. Now he wants a job at the Holiday Inn with Bing, his former partner. Bing doesn't trust him, though, because Fred has already stolen one girl from him. What if he tries to steal Marjorie Reynolds, too?
That's all I will tell you of the romantic plot, but I should add that it is played lighthearted as the dance numbers come at you fast on their feet. "Holiday Inn" is all about the Holidays and the celebration involved. The music is all by Irving Berlin, if that gives you any indication. He not only wrote "White Christmas" but also "God Bless America". Top that.
"Holiday Inn" is not a through-and-through Christmas Movie ala last night's "Miracle On 34th Street", but it begins and ends with Christmas, and it contains the biggest selling Christmas song of all time, so just on those accounts it qualifies as one of the greatest of the Christmas Classics produced in the 1940s and early 50s. America needed feel-good sentimentality as it recovered from the war and these movies provided that feeling as we have been discussing.
You couldn't get bigger Thumbs Up than we are giving to "Holiday Inn". Ten Stars!
I'm sure you've seen it, but if you haven't, watch it on Netflix before Christmas is over. ///
We had good success with our Christmas anthems this morning in church. Nailed both "Christmas Lullaby" and "Gesu Bambino". Tomorrow evening we will sing "Gesu" again for the Christmas Eve service, along with "One Small Child" and a whole bunch of carols. If you happen to be in Reseda, stop in and give us a listen. The service begins at 6:30.
This afternoon I made it out to Santa Susana. Long time, no see! (one month). I was determined to try and get back into some kind of physical shape, so I hiked up to the top of the Devil's Slide. Not a huge deal for me, but still a good leg workout. Also did a full CSUN walk this evening, to bring the day's total to 6.5 miles.
Reading books and listening to KUSC. Don't forget to tune in to the station to hear King's College in Cambridge, England give their annual Christmas Eve reading of "Nine Lessons And Carols", their school tradition for nearly one hundred years. It's an early broadcast, at 7am pacific time, but if you happen to be awake that early, it's well worth hearing, and you might become hooked for the next one, as I was, and now I never miss it.
See you in the morning. Merry Christmas and much, much love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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