Holiday

Cary Grant plays a young man who becomes engaged to a rich heiress, only to find he may have more in common with her “black sheep” sister played by Katharine Hepburn.

Holiday is a fun movie and light years better than stars Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn’s other 1938 pairing, Bringing Up Baby.

The key here is Hepburn, who thankfully isn’t asked to do much in the way of physical comedy and has a role that allows her to play a more down to earth character. The result is some great chemistry with Grant and a character that’s actually likable.

For his part, Grant gets a chance to show off with some of his vaudeville flips and tumbles, while pouring on the charm. Here, for the first time in his career, are the hints of how big a star Grant would become, in the way he effortlessly wins over not only Hepburn’s character, but the whole audience as well.

Supporting Grant and Hepburn is a fine cast, highlighted by Lew Ayres as Hepburn’s character’s alcoholic younger brother. His performance is reminiscent of a young Jack Lemmon, which is certainly a compliment to Ayres.

The script is solid, although some of the characterization and dialog come across a bit strained toward the end, a common problem among films based on plays during that era. On stage, a certain amount of over-acting is necessary to project emotion, but on film, the camera is much more intimate and, as such, calls for quieter and more restrained speech. Unfortunately, most actors and directors wouldn’t understand this for several years. Hell, some still don’t.