Holiday Inn Parent Guide
Celebrate the season at the Holiday Inn.
Parent Movie Review
Three is definitely a crowd for Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire), Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby), and Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale). The song and dance team plans to split right after its last scheduled performance on Christmas Eve so Ted can pursue a solo career while Jim and Lila tie the knot and retire to a quiet country life.
Or at least that’s what Jim thinks. Unbeknownst to him, Lila hasn’t committed to hanging up her dancing shoes, or her engagement. Without even a decent apology, the fickle female follows Ted’s lead instead, and the two tango away to promises of limelight leaving Jim with a broken heart and an already purchased farm in Connecticut.
Jim tries to build a new life for himself, but quickly finds his romantic notions of a pastoral existence as exhausted as all the hard work and chores have made him. So the singer/songwriter hatches a plan that will let him enjoy the best of both worlds: Call his property the Holiday Inn, and host musical extravaganzas especially created to celebrate each annual occasion. With the refreshing prospect of only having to work fifteen days out of the year, Jim contacts his former showbiz buddies to see if they want in on the act.
Although not enthusiastic about his project, Ted and Lila’s manager, Danny Reed (Walter Able), does pass on Jim’s offer to an aspiring talent named Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds). She appears to be the perfect tonic for both Jim’s ailing heart and his budding business until fate interferes in the form of a jilted Ted. When the dejected dancer shows up on the Inn’s doorstep looking for a new partner, the all too familiar triangle develops again.
As in most Hollywood musicals, the plot is really only a clothesline on which to air song and dance routines. In this case the movie provides fourteen works by composer Irving Berlin that showcase American national holidays. Sung by the versatile Bing Crosby, some of the enduring tunes include In Your Easter Bonnet, Be Careful—It’s My Heart, and of course White Christmas. Fred Astaire is best remembered in this film for his fabulous 4th of July performance where his tap dancing is accompanied by exploding firecrackers.
With the exception of both main characters smoking, and the use of alcohol to drown sorrows, this Christmas classic invites families to pull up a cozy chair and make themselves at home in the Holiday Inn.
Directed by Mark Sandrich. Starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds . Running time: 100 minutes. Theatrical release November 26, 1942. Updated July 17, 2017About author
Holiday Inn
Rating & Content Info
Why is Holiday Inn rated Not Rated? Holiday Inn is rated Not Rated by the MPAA
Overall: BAfter the break up of his engagement, a disillusioned singer/songwriter retires to the country where he tries to make a living running a dinner club called the Holiday Inn... but distance doesn’t prevent him form being caught in another love triangle. Featuring dance and musical numbers for every occasion on the American calendar, the film introduced the Irving Berlin classic, White Christmas.
Violence: B+
In comedic fashion, a man falls down while carrying firewood, pitching hay, attempting to hang a sign and trying to catch piglets. An angry man rips his feather pillow and blanket in mock frustration. Three bottles of peach preserves explode. Two cars sink after being driven into a stream, no injury implied but a woman is dropped into the water while being carried to shore. Some patriotic war footage is shown. Man is locked in a closet. Two men escape from a locked room by climbing down a rope made of bed sheets.
Sexual Content: A-
Male character helps a female character do up the neck hook on the back of her dress.
Couples kiss on a few occasions. Lyrics of a song refer to a woman as a “Hotty Totty”. A child is dressed as the New Year wears only a diaper. Some of the dancers wear dresses with low bodices, or show lots of leg.
Language: A
One character uses the expression “son of a gun.”
Alcohol / Drug Use: C
Both male main characters are shown smoking pipes and cigarettes. A character turns to alcohol when his heart is broken: he is portrayed as drunken, and later as suffering from a hangover. A female patron slurs her words when drunk.
Miscellaneous Concerns:
A character lacks commitment to the promises of marriage that she makes. Passing remarks are made about recovering from a mental break down. One dance number is done “black-faced”, and African Americans are referred to as “darkies” in the lyrics of a song. The Inn’s domestic staff is a black woman and her two children.
Page last updated July 17, 2017
Holiday Inn Parents' Guide
In this movie, Jim is excited about the prospect of only having to work 15 days a year, and many of the dance numbers are portrayed as impromptu or ad-libbed. What part of showbiz “work"does the movie fail to acknowledge or portray? In reality how long do you think it would take to create sequences like Fred Astaire’s firecracker tap dance? (Apparently, the scene took two days and 38 takes ... and that’s not including the many rehearsal hours or years of dancing lessons.)
This film was made in 1942. How did the political climate of that time influence the depiction of the Independence Day celebration and Irving Berlin’s song Freedom?
What is considered “politically ” constantly changes. Given the attitudes of today’s society, would the main characters be portrayed as smokers? How do you feel about the Lincoln’s Day performance where the white characters wear black makeup, and the lyrics use the term darkie?
Home Video
The most recent home video release of Holiday Inn movie is October 7, 2014. Here are some details…
Home Video Notes: Holiday InnRelease Date: 7 October 2014
Holiday Inn releases to home video (Blu-ray + DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet) with the following extras:
- Digital Copy of Holiday Inn (Subject to expiration.)
- UltraViolet (Subject to expiration.)
- A Couple of Song and Dance Men
- All-Singing All-Dancing
- Feature Commentary by Film Historian Ken Barnes Including Archive Audio Comments from Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby, and John Scott Trotter
- Theatrical Trailer
- Coloring a Classic
Related home video titles:
Bing Crosby also starred in the 1954 remake of this film entitled… White Christmas (named after the signature song which appears in both movies.) If you love Hollywood musicals, then be sure to check out Singin’ in the Rain.