1942, Paramount. Directed by Mark Sandrich. Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Abel, Louise Beavers.
Decent Films Ratings
| Overall Recommendability |
?B |
|---|---|
| Artistic/ Entertainment Value |
? |
| Moral/Spiritual Value (+4/-4) |
? +0 |
| Age Appropriateness |
?Kids & Up* |
External Ratings
| MPAA | ?NR | USCCB | ?A-I |
|---|
Content advisory: Romantic complications; comic inebriation; a musical number involving blackface.
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Going My Way / Holiday Inn (DVD)
Holiday Inn (VHS)
From a National Catholic Register review
By Steven D. Greydanus
Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire respectively sing and dance their way through the slight but pleasant holiday-themed romantic comedy-musical Holiday Inn, which casts the two entertainers as romantic rivals vying for the same woman — twice. Numerous Irving Berlin songs include the classic "White Christmas," sung twice by Crosby (twelve years before the more mediocre film of that name). Astaire’s fancy footwork, meanwhile, includes a literally explosive Independence Day tap-dance with a pocketful of firecrackers that go off when thrown to the ground.
True to type, Crosby plays nice and Astaire shallow: Jim (Crosby) loves his dance partner and wants to marry her and settle down, but Ted (Astaire) wants to dance with her, and steals her away from Jim. Heartbroken, Jim retires to the Connecticut farm where he had hoped to settle down, but soon finds that show business is in his blood, and hits on the novel idea of turning his farmhouse into a dinner theater that operates only on holidays.
Soon Jim has a new dance partner — and romantic interest — in Marjorie Reynolds. Naturally, that’s when Ted shows up, having lost the last woman to a Texas millionaire. From there the story writes itself, careful never to get in the way of big production numbers for every holiday on the calendar, especially Christmas.
Buy at Amazon.com
Going My Way / Holiday Inn (DVD)
Holiday Inn (VHS)
