Holiday Inn (Special Edition) [1942] [DVD]

Just thought I ought to point out that one of the extras - the documentary "A Couple of Song and Dance Men" - features Astaire's otherwise unavailable "Puttin' On The Ritz" from Blue Skies, COMPLETE and UNEDITED. Seeing as it is, in my opinion, the greatest dance number he ever did - which is saying a LOT - it makes the DVD worth buying for that alone. Watch it and weep.

...oh, and Holiday Inn is fantastic too.

Always thought of as a Christmas film, and seen mostly at Christmas, this film stands watching at any time of the year. Watch it when you need a lift, want to watch something you know will end well, or just want that warm fuzzy feeling inside. On a wet Sunday afternoon, with a bar of chocolate, this films is a must!

Few things are as enjoyable as watching the two old smoothies, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, at the top of their game doing what they do best, and doing it better than anyone else. With Holiday Inn, make it three old smoothies: Crosby, Astaire and Irving Berlin. In fact, the only thing to get in the way of the movie is the plot. It's boy meets girl, boy loses girl to his best friend and partner. Repeat with another girl. Then bring back the first girl. Do another roundelay until boy and second girl and partner and first girl all have a happy ending.

What makes the movie work so well and is such a pleasure to watch, of course, is Crosby singing, Astaire dancing, and both doing their charming best with songs, some new, some old, by Irving Berlin. Berlin was one of the great American song writers who hit their peak from the late Twenties through the late Forties. Many of the cognoscenti sniff their noses at him as corny or just too popular. Berlin was, in fact, a highly skilled and immensely talented song writer. He wrote songs which were original, catchy, varied and inevitable...that rare quality in a song that hits a listener with a melody never heard before yet which seems as if each note could never have been placed in any other way. He also was a shrewd businessman. Holiday Inn is one of several movies Berlin personally pitched to Hollywood. The stories were never much, but Berlin would mix hits from his catalogue and write new songs. In addition to Holiday Inn, think of There's No Business Like Show Business, Blue Skies, Alexander's Ragtime Band, This Is the Army and White Christmas. The genesis in each case was Berlin. They worked so well because Berlin could write hits in so many styles, lush and romantic, sad and romantic, waltzes, comedy numbers, ballads, syncopated struts, jazzy, patriotic, sentimental or bawdy. It's not for nothing that Cole Porter and Fred Astaire were close friends of his. Personally, I think he could write in more styles and yet keep his own personality intact than any of the great American songwriters except Richard Rodgers. Considering his competition included Gershwin, Porter, Kern and Rodgers, I realize that's quite a statement. If I were stranded on a desert island and could only listen -- over and over -- to the songs of one Broadway composer, Rodgers would be first choice. Berlin would be second.

In Holiday Inn, the idea is simple. Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) leaves the team of Hardy and Hanover (Fred Astaire as Ted Hanover) to lead a lazy, country life on a Connecticut farm, far away from the incessant work of show business. He thinks he's going to marry the third member of the team, Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale). For those keeping score, she's girl number one. But Ted wins Lila, who is good natured up to the point where her ambition takes over, with promises of a bright dancing career. Later, Jim mets Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds) and gets the idea of turning his farm into Holiday Inn, a cozy, bucolic supper-club which will open only on holidays. But Lila has left Ted, Ted meets Linda, and...you get the idea.

From his catalogue, Berlin provided major hits such as "Lazy" and "Easter Parade." Among the lesser known songs or songs written specifically for the movie are "You're Easy to Dance With," "Be Careful, It's My Heart" and a song that got off to a slow start but which turned into one of Berlin's powerhouse hits, "White Christmas." Notable numbers include...

--"I'll Capture Her Heart Singing" - This starts the movie and introduces us to the team of Hardy and Hanover. It's jaunty, funny and perfectly matches, with tongue in cheek, the singing skills of Crosby and the dancing skills of Astaire.

--"You're Easy to Dance With" - Astaire and Virginia Dale do this number as a star supper-club number from their act. It's a smooth, fluid routine, part swing, part tap, that's sophisticated and perfectly executed.

--"White Christmas" - It's sung with few embellishments by Crosby. The song is such a perennial and is heard so incessantly over the Christmas holidays that it's almost impossible to listen to it objectively. What strikes me about it is how carefully Berlin paired a deceptively simple melody with such evocative and concrete imagery.

--"Abraham" - For contemporary audiences, this song probably reaches new heights (or lows) in political incorrectness. The song is sung by Crosby as a celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday and Lincoln's freeing of the slaves. So far, so good. But Crosby, the singers and dancers, even the members of the band, are all in blackface. It's like watching a reverential minstrel show. This sort of thing was acceptable a generation ago. Now, we can only remember history, try to understand, then flinch and move on.

--"Be Careful, It's My Heart" - The number starts out being sung by Crosby, then turns into one of those great, romantic wooing numbers by Astaire with Marjorie Reynolds. The conclusion is a knock out. Astaire and Reynolds sweep around behind a large valentine and, backlit so only their shadows show, pause and hold a classic pose in silhouette, then continue back to the dance floor. They sweep around again behind the valentine, but this time they leap through it toward us, tearing what had seemed a solid backdrop into paper shreds. It's highly dramatic and unexpected.

--"Say It With Firecrackers" - This turned out to be one of Astaire's most complicated dance numbers; it took 38 takes to get it right. He starts out with fast tapping and never lets up...then takes it higher by incorporating firecrackers and exploding torpedoes into the dance, pulling them from his pockets and hurling them on the polished dance floor, matching the explosions in perfect rhythm to his taps. It's quite a sight.

Holiday Inn has charm, first-class performances by Crosby and Astaire and memorable songs by Berlin. The picture transfer is very good; so is the audio. Extras include a commentary track by Ken Barnes, identified as a film historian, and two extras, one of which features an interview with Astaire's daughter. For those interested in the composer, I recommend As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin by Laurence Bergreen and The Complete Lyrics of Irving Berlin by Robert Kimball.