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Holiday Inn [1942] (1 disc)

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Director:Mark Sandrich
Writer:Claude Binyon
Composer:Robert Emmett Dolan
Songs:Irving Berlin
Length:100 minutes
(1 hour 40 minutes)
MPAA Rating:UR
Suggested Event Use:Christmas
Sorting Category:Holiday
Sorting Tub:Foxtrot
IMDB Rating:7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating:100%
Amazon Rating:4.5/5 stars
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Classifications:
  • Drama
  • Family
  • Comedy
  • Romance
Available Formats:
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Synopsis: At an inn which is only open on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.


Reaction: Charming little movie with plenty of music and dance, though the black face routine may not play as well for today's audience.


Personal Rating: 7/10

Select Cast and Crew
Mark Sandrich => Director
Claude Binyon => Writer
Robert Emmett Dolan => Composer
Irving Berlin => Songs / Flower Store Manager (uncredited)
Bing Crosby => Jim Hardy
Bud Jamison => Santa Claus (uncredited)
Douglas MacArthur => Himself in montage (uncredited) (archive footage)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt => Himself in montage (uncredited) (archive footage)
Fred Astaire => Ted Hanover
Irving Bacon => Gus
Jack Shea [II] => Dance Extra (uncredited)
James Bell => Dunbar
Joan Arnold => Daphne
John Gallaudet => Parker
Louise Beavers => Mamie
Marek Windheim => François
Marjorie Reynolds => Linda Mason
Shelby Bacon => Vanderbilt
Virginia Dale => Lila Dixon
Walter Abel => Danny Reed

Random Trivia For This Title:

  • Bing Crosby sang "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin which went on to win an Academy Award for Best Song. Crosby sang four different Oscar winning songs in his films.
  • The set of the Holiday Inn was reused by Paramount 12 years later for the musical White Christmas, also starring Bing Crosby and again with songs composed by Irving Berlin.
  • Until 1997, "White Christmas" was the best selling music single ever. It was passed at that time by "Goodbye, England's Rose", the Elton John rework of "Candle in the Wind" done for [?] Princess Diana's funeral. These two songs still rank #1-2.
  • When Irving Berlin won an Oscar for his song "White Christmas" from this movie, he became the first artist to present himself with an Academy Award.
  • Irving Berlin got the idea for the film after writing the song "Easter Parade" for his 1933 show As Thousands Cheer, and planned to write a play about American holidays, but it never materialized. He later pitched the idea to Mark Sandrich who got the ball rolling for this film.
  • The firecracker dance sequence required 3 days of rehearsal and took two days to film. Fred Astaire's shoes for the dance were auctioned off for $116,000 worth of war bonds.
  • For the "drunk" dance, Fred Astaire had two drinks of bourbon before the first take and one before each succeeding take. The seventh (last) take was used in the film.
  • The animated Thanksgiving sequence is a topical reference to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's failed attempt to change the date of the holiday.
  • [?] Kemmons Wilson, who founded the "Holiday Inn" motel chain in 1952, named them after this movie.