Movie · 1942 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 1h 41m · NR · English
Curator score: 7.4/10 (19.7K ratings)
WHAT A HOLIDAY!
Overview
Lovely Linda Mason has crooner Jim Hardy head over heels, but suave stepper Ted Hanover wants her for his new dance partner after fickle Lila Dixon gives him the brush. Jim's supper club, Holiday Inn, is the setting for the chase by Hanover and his manager.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.4/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: 70
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
Mark Sandrich
Production
Paramount Pictures
Cast
Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Abel, Louise Beavers, Irving Bacon, Marek Windheim, James Bell, John Gallaudet, Shelby Bacon, Joan Arnold, Edward Arnold Jr., Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian, Douglas MacArthur, Keith Richards, Ronald R. Rondell, Julia Faye, Mildred Harris, Bud Jamison
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, easygoing backstage musical with charming songs, elegant dance numbers, and a warm seasonal glow, but it’s also permanently shadowed by an ugly blackface sequence that many viewers will find impossible to overlook. If you can separate the film’s craftsmanship from its offensive legacy, there’s plenty of old-Hollywood polish to admire.
Best for
classic musical fans
viewers interested in Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby
people who enjoy backstage romance comedies
fans of pre-Code/Golden Age studio craftsmanship
holiday-movie history buffs
Skip if
you want an unproblematic feel-good holiday watch
you’re sensitive to racist imagery in classic cinema
you prefer modern pacing and character depth
you dislike old studio musicals or period romance plots
Overview
Holiday Inn is a polished, amiable backstage romance built around the easy contrast between Bing Crosby’s laid-back crooning and Fred Astaire’s precision dancing. The songs are tuneful, the production numbers are inventive, and the film has the kind of studio-era confidence that makes even its lightest scenes feel professionally assembled.
Worth noting
What keeps it from being an uncomplicated recommendation is the blackface number, which is not a minor blemish but a major, deeply offensive sequence that can overwhelm the rest of the film. For many viewers, that alone will be disqualifying, and understandably so.
Bottom line
If you approach it as a historical artifact rather than a cozy holiday staple, there is still craft to appreciate in the choreography, pacing, and star chemistry. But the movie’s legacy is inseparable from its racism, so it lands as a mixed watch rather than a broadly safe one.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Patrick Willems (3★) · 847 likes
WHY DOES BING CROSBY KEEP BEING FRIENDS WITH FRED ASTAIRE WHEN HE KEEPS STEALING HIS GIRLFRIENDS???
Chris Quinn (4★) · 747 likes
"I just thought that the number would go better in blackface."
NO BING NO!
emily (3★) · 713 likes
this was great until the blackface
Michael Strenski (4★) · 367 likes
BING CROSBY: Say, fellas, what did you think of the show?
ME: Wow, what a wonderful entertainment! Why, in that first half hour alone you sing that charming ode to laziness, Fred Astaire dances drunk, everything is so fun and witty.
BING CROSBY: Thought the people seemed to like the blackface routine.
ME: Um... you know what was really great? All of Astaire's inventive novelty routines. The dance with the firecrackers, or when you intentionally mess up his and Marjorie… more
Mckay (1★) · 331 likes
1 star for exploding peach purée’s
4 stars deducted for you already know why