A Movie Review: Holiday (1938)

Holiday.  Johnny Case is off to meet his soon to be fiance, Julia Seton, at her family house.  They only recently met and decided to rush to the wedding alter.  The two of them plan to tell her father that they're getting married.  Johnny is in for one big surprise.  He doesn't realize that Julia Seton's father is a major Wall Street titan.  Johnny himself works for a Wall Street firm, but is much lower down the ranks.  While at the house, we also meet up with Julia's siblings, Linda and Ned.  Julia's father is skeptical of the marriage, but gives his blessing once he realizes that Johnny is a hard working young man and a perfect fit for his firm.  A problem arises.  A deal Johnny is working on makes it big, meaning that Johnny is about to become semi-wealthy.  That might not seem like a problem; however, Johnny's goal in life was to work hard, make a nice nest egg and then go on a long personal holiday to find himself.  Once he reveals this desire, it doesn't sit well with Julia nor her father.  On the other hand, Julia's sister Linda finds this very intriguing.  It doesn't take long for one to realize that Johnny and Linda are a far better matched than Johnny and Julia.

I started watching this 1938 film and within minutes I came to the conclusion that The Family Stone (a 2005 movie) is simply a remake of Holiday.  I did a quick Internet search and I'm not sure if any critics mentioned this fact.  In Holiday, we have Julia Seton (Doris Nolan) who wants a life of luxury and wishes to marry a Wall Street titan.  In The Family Stone, we have Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker), a business woman -- okay, I admit that one wants to marry stability while another is a business woman, but we're also talking 1938 vs 2005.  In Holiday, we have Julia's sister, Linda Seton (Katharine Hepburn).  She wants adventure.  In The Family Stone, we have Meredith's sister, Julie Morton (Claire Danes), who enjoys seeing the unique side of life.  In Holiday, we have Johnny Case (Cary Grant), a business man who wants to make the big deal so that he can spend time finding himself.  In The Family Stone, we have Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) who is a button down corporate type who dreams of living a more carefree life.  Both movies take place over the holidays.  Both movies involve meeting one set of parent(s). Both movies essentially end with the same results.

The question is:  which is the better movie?  Holiday by far.  I enjoyed The Family Stone; however, I did have some problems with the movie.  I thought the Meredith Morton character was not well defined.  I also had a problem with the sibling swapping.  In Holiday, there is a similar swap, but The Family Stone takes it a step further and in Holiday we understand that Johnny and Julia decided to get engaged within days of meeting.  The fact that Johnny might find more in common with the sister doesn't feel like a stretch.  As I mentioned when reviewing The Family Stone, it does have one huge plus, which is whenever Claire Danes comes on screen.  Holiday on the other hand has plenty of laughs.  The characters are all well defined.  And there are some wonderful moments in the playroom.

Noticed:  there is a Nazi salute given.  One article I read states that the salute indicates an anti-wealth opinion.  Of course, I couldn't help notice that the couple that receives the salute has a vague  resemblance to Hitler and Eva Braun.  So I wonder if this was a pre-WWII anti-Nazi protest.