#holiday inn 1942

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

Anything Goes December

Holiday Inn / Marjorie Reynolds as Linda Mason

Another Edith Head design. I always knew this dress just had to be gold! The colorized version of this film is honestly not bad, and they took the trouble to research the actual color of the dress. As you can see in the bottom photo, they faithfully reproduced the color. It also has a slit down the back for easy movement. The silver strip creates an interesting effect like a yoked collar, and it also offsets the deepness of the V-neck so that it is less noticeable.

I'm sure Fred Astaire was glad that, unlike the most famous beaded dress on one of his dancing partners, this one didn't have wide sleeves to smack him in the face!

It's also too bad Marjorie Reynolds didn't have more of a film career, because I do find her enjoyable in this.

[queen-mabs-revenge]

watching holiday inn (1942) and in the first 15 minutes i'm like this film would be 18 minutes if polycule

[voidblacktea]

Christmas Classics: Holiday Inn (1942) 

Holiday Inn is a weird one, it's a musical-comedy starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, it's a love triangle at a country inn only open during the holidays, it's important because it's the film that gave the world the song White Christmas and this is where the hotel franchise got its name.

There is something very cozy and inviting about the film in general and about the inn where the characters pull together their shows; the story is fun; the songs & dance numbers are great and I really liked Bing Crosby's character, but it features a damn blackface scene that just kills me. In the context of the movie it's not "thaaat bad" I guess - it's a scene where the characters are trying to hide their identity AND the song is praising Abe Lincoln for freeing slaves AND it's 1942 - but it is completely JARRING watching it 80 years later.

You could say Holiday Inn, as a Christmas classic, is the time capsule of a film that contains some really interesting glimpses of both the good and the bad of the time.

[freddie-my-love]

Fred Astaire during rehearsals for Holiday Inn, 1942

[musicalfilm]

bing crosby, fred astaire and marjorie reynolds in holiday inn (1942)

✧ :･ﾟ*HAPPY NEW YEAR *:･ﾟ✧

[apicturespeaks]

Holiday Inn, Mark Sandrich

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[adamwatchesmovies]

Holiday Inn (1942)

For many reasons, Holiday Inn is a classic but one particular scene prevents it from being a film you'd happily watch over and over. It makes me uncomfortable for multiple reasons but I can kinda-sorta defend it in this movie because of the context in which it's used. It sounds like a weak argument but hold on, listen to what I’ve got to say before you judge. Even if the scene in particular is a deal-breaker, there's a solution.

Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby), his fiancé Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale) and Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire) are a trio of successful singer-dancers. As Jim prepares to retire from the hustle-and-bustle of non-stop performances to live on a farm with his future wife… his partners announce they have no intention of stopping and ditch him. Finding the farm life back-breaking, he converts his home into “Holiday Inn”, an entertainment venue open only on holidays and featuring elaborate dance and musical numbers. The first performer to join Jim's new troupe is Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds), whom he quickly falls for but is afraid to show his feelings to due to a broken heart.

Plot-wise, there’s plenty going on. After Holiday Inn is up and running, Linda catches the eye of Ted and his agent, Danny Reed (Walter Abel). They don’t know what her name is, which prompts Jim to hide her from the two and try to keep her “for himself”. It creates all sorts of drama and comedic situations between the whopping twelve original numbers featured throughout this musical. The best and most well-known is White Christmas - yes, this is where that tune comes from. It's never been better than here. The song is romantic and beautiful. Seeing it in its original context fills your heart with warmth. Overall, this is a charming, romantic story filled with sometimes insecure and often messy characters. This is one of those movies that on paper would look awful but in action, works. Big credit goes to Marjorie Reynolds, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, who are great together.

Now let’s address the giant stain at the center of this story; the reason why you’ll probably wind up seeing an edited version of it on TV. Once Jim realizes that Ted is searching for Linda, he is desperate to find a way to hide her from his former partner. Unfortunately, he also needs to keep his clients happy with a stage number for Lincoln’s Birthday (February 12, for those who don’t know). His solution is to run the minstrel show number Abraham. This means Crosby and Reynolds (along with the band) appear in blackface so that no one watching will recognize them. It makes your skin crawl and isn’t helped by the limited amount of dialogue given to the black actors in the film (other than Louise Beavers, there aren't any other people of colour in significant roles) but as far as uses of a racist, offensive and disrespectful form of theatrical make-up, it’s probably the least offensive version you’ll see because it's less of a "let's make fun of Black people/find a way to avoid hiring Black actors in our movie" and more of a "hey, it's ok to use this as a costume/disguise, right?". It's still not ideal, but it could've been much worse.

A standout moment in Holiday Inn has aged so poorly that it threatens to derail the entire film. The rest is a funny, romantic and entertaining holiday story. The dance numbers are outstandingly shot, staged and performed. It’s extra exciting to watch because of how few edits break up the footwork and because you know the people making those moves were really doing them. No wires or backgrounds were removed via computer effects. As for the songs, they range from pretty good to instant classics. In the end, I choose not to judge Holiday Inn for its worst scene and would rather focus on its strongest moments. If you don’t think you can, this is one instance where I would break my usual policy and recommend you view the edited-for-TV version. (On DVD, November 30, 2019)

[dimepicture]

[yippeecheapdvds]

Yesterday I watched “Holiday Inn” (1942) Musical/Comedy

This is one of the movies my family watches every Christmas. The songs are great, the dancing is excellent, the drama is entertaining, the vibes are lovely. The forth of July freedom man section is so aggressively and unashamedly American I love it. The drama caused by miscommunication is a little annoying, but not bothersome. The only real downside is the scene where the characters preform in black face, oof. The song they sing in that section absolutely slaps thoh so in my view that evens out the ick. Despite that I wholeheartedly recommend.

9/10

[lupinoschums]

[motionpicturesource]

MOTIONPICTURESOURCE’S 25 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

11/25 🎄⛄ HOLIDAY INN (1942) dir. Mark Sandrich

[newyorkthegoldenage]

One of the best-loved Christmas songs was written by a Jew, Irving Berlin. He wrote it for the now-classic 1942 film Holiday Inn—but it was not intended to be the movie's big hit. That honor was to go to "Be Careful, It's My Heart," another Berlin tune. But "White Christmas," introduced by Bing Crosby, was the public's choice. It also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Photo: Arthur Rothstein via The Arthur Rothstein Legacy Project, FB

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Louise Beavers

Louise Beavers (March 8, 1900 – October 26, 1962) was an American film and television actress who appeared in dozens of films and two hit television shows from the 1920s to 1960. She played a prominent role in advancing the lives of Black Americans through her work and collaborated with fellow advocates to improve the social standing and media image of the Black population.

Beavers was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to school teacher Ernestine (Monroe) Beavers and William M. Beavers, who was originally from Georgia. Her mother's illness caused the family to move to Pasadena, California.

In Pasadena, she attended school and engaged in several after-school activities, such as basketball and church choir. Her mother also worked as a voice teacher and taught her how to sing. In 1920, Beavers graduated from Pasadena High School. She then worked as a dressing-room attendant for a photographer and served as a personal maid to film star Leatrice Joy.

Beavers' acting career began as a member of the Lady Minstrels, a group of young women who staged amateur productions and appeared on stage at the Loews State Theatre. Charles Butler, an agent for African-American actors, saw one of her early performances and recommended that she audition for a film role.

Beavers was initially hesitant to audition for film roles because of the negative portrayal of blacks in film. She once said, "In all the pictures I had seen… they never used colored people for anything except savages." However, she won a role in the film Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1927) and went on to play stereotypical black roles such as those of a slave, a mother figure, a maid or domestic servant. With Claudette Colbert in Imitation of Life (1934)

After playing the role of Julia, the maid and mother figure to a young white woman, in Coquette (1929), Beavers gained more attention for her work and was able to transition to less stereotypical roles. Beavers played Delilah in Imitation of Life (1934), again in the role of a housekeeper, but instead of the usual stereotypical comedic or purely functional role, Delilah's storyline constitutes a secondary parallel plot in which her problems are given considerable emotional gravity. Some in the media recognized the unfairness of Hollywood's double standard regarding race. A contributor to California Graphic Magazine wrote: "the Academy could not recognize Miss Beavers. She is black!"

In 1936, Beavers married Robert Clark, who later became her manager. Beavers and Clark later divorced.

Beavers played the lead role in the film Reform School (1939), once thought to be a lost film, as a forward-thinking probation officer who becomes the superintendent of a reform school and implements major changes.

In the film Holiday Inn (1942), Beavers performed a song during a minstrel show number celebrating Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Because the number features Bing Crosby and others in blackface, some consider it racially offensive and it is often excised from television screenings of the film. Lobby card for the Million Dollar Productions film Life Goes On with "Harry M. Popkin Presents Louise Beavers" logo inset

As Beavers' career grew, some criticized her for the roles that she accepted, alleging that such roles institutionalized the view that blacks were subservient to whites. Beavers dismissed the criticism, acknowledging the limited opportunities available but saying: "I am only playing the parts. I don't live them." As she became more widely known, Beavers began to speak against Hollywood's portrayal and treatment of African Americans, both during production and after promoting the films. Beavers became active in public life, seeking to help support African Americans. She endorsed Robert S. Abbott, the editor of The Chicago Defender, who fought for African-Americans' civil rights. She supported Richard Nixon, who she believed would help black Americans in the struggle for civil rights.

In 1952, Beavers married Leroy Moore, with whom she remained until her death in 1962. She had no children.

In later life, Beavers was plagued by health issues, including diabetes. She died on October 26, 1962 at the age of 62, following a heart attack, at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles.

Beavers was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1976. She was an honorary member of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority, one of the four African-American sororities

[citizenscreen]

Bing Crosby, Marjorie Reynolds, Fred Astaire, and Virginia Dale at the HOLIDAY INN (1942)

[jules-has-notes]

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas — VoicePlay music video

Between promoting their season of The Sing-Off and releasing the songs for their Collide collaboration album, VoicePlay didn't put out a Christmas video in 2013. They definitely made up for it in 2014 with this combination of vocal awesomeness and visual ridiculousness.

Details:

title: I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

original performers: Bing Crosby as Jim Hardy and Marjorie Reynolds as Linda Mason in Holiday Inn (1942)

written by: Irving Berlin

arranged by: Geoff Castellucci

release date: 28 November 2014

My favorite bits:

the jaunty tempo that makes it more upbeat than the original

their festive sweaters in Geoff's fantasy sequence

an appearance from Tony's good boy Fletcher

Layne's incredible sleigh bells — I've seen him demonstrate how he does it, and it still astonishes me how real it sounds.

the fact that Earl's fantasy isn't just having a lot of cookies, but specifically having enough to satisfy him without sharing

Tony, Eli, and Layne just barely managing to keep straight faces during the candy cane chase sequence

Geoff's lovely riff and the ending harmonies

the extended slow-mo clip, complete with the guys losing it

.

Trivia:

VoicePlay originally recorded this track for their 2012 holiday album, "Peppermint WInter".

The video got a nice listicle writeup in Buzzfeed.

This song was part of their rotating setlist for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Disney World from 2015-17.

They had previously recorded a video for an arrangement of this song as 4:2:Five (with Danny and Ryan) in 2010. It was made private along with the rest of the 4:2:Five YouTube channel when they changed their name to VoicePlay in 2012.

Eli does know what it's like to have long hair, because he used to have a full head of curly auburn locks. He decided to shave it off one day with the help of a bandmate and has maintained the look ever since.

Geoff, Kathy, Eli, and Danny with their castmates for the 2009 Luminescence holiday show in Kissimmee