Holiday Inn (1942)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

This film introduced the world to Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," with Bing Crosby singing it here as he does in the 1954 movie named for the song. Crosby's "White Christmas" has been the standard against which all other versions have been measured. Featuring Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, and Virginia Dale and directed by Mark Sandrich, this black-and-white classic reflects the mores and styles of the 1940s. All the corny jokes and smug sentimentality serve only to expose the racial divide in apartheid America, especially when the cast dons blackface to sing about Abraham Lincoln. No one seems to have noticed the irony in "dreaming of a white Christmas" while wearing blackface. The inclusion of Louise Beavers and her children singing "Abraham" merely adds salt to the wound. But Astaire's drunken dance scene is worth a watch, and the Irving Berlin tunes, including "Easter Parade," are lovely to hear.

Like many other wartime movies-this came out early during our involvement in World War Two-this movie was meant to be light entertainment, meant to be spectacle rather than meaningful. Of course the premise is unrealistic-an inn that is only open 15 days per year, and being so fancy to boot? But we're not here to see the story, we're meant to see the singing and dancing. Indeed, the theme is about a great singer (Bing Crosby) and a great dancer (Fred Astaire) competing for the affections of a beautiful woman who is also a performer.The competition is part of the comedy-the blackface disguising the woman's true identity from other people, the changing of the music back and forth during the dance scene when the dancers threaten to kiss, the cars "accidentally" driving into the lake-all these are meant to be farcical. As for the blackface being offensive, how is that any worse than men dressing up as ladies? And the real black people in the movie are hardly racist stereotypes. In fact, Mamie is the one to give sound advice-to one of the leads.The movie is meant to be an excuse for dancing, singing, and light comedy, nothing more. If you want deep meaning, you won't find it here.

This film just has so many flaws. Aside from "White Christmas," the music isn't even that good; it's like the Irving Berlin junk drawer. All of the main characters are completely unlikable. The story's misogyny is only balanced by its misandry. You can't really "root" for anyone to get their way, because you want them all to get some sense smacked into them.The only character who exhibits good sense is the jaw-droppingly stereotypical maid, Mamie. In fact, everything related to race is horrifyingly cringe-worthy to modern audiences. In a better movie, perhaps that could have been forgiven as an unfortunate aspect of life in that era. But here, it's the final nail in the coffin.The film's only saving grace -- the only reason it gets a 2 rating from me instead of 1 -- is that you still get to hear Bing Crosby sing, and watch Fred Astaire dance with Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale. If only they were singing and dancing to better songs in a better movie...

This is a great movie. Bing Crosby is part of a team of singers and dancers. When he decides to retire to a farm this splits up the team that happens to include his intended wife. She wants to keep entertaining so goes with Fred Astaire. When Bing comes to the realization that his farm is failing he goes to plan B. He only opens the inn only on the holidays. This leads to Astaire trying to find the girl he danced with the night he came there drunk. A black woman is finally cast in a decent, all be it still subservient, role. Her two kids are so precious, precocious, and cute that they rise above the unfortunate stereotypes of the era. This is a fun movie with lots of dancing and singing plus pretty good acting and excellent humor.