Leofwine_draca Bing sings, Fred dances, and all is right with the world in this lively 1942 musical by Irving Berlin. HOLIDAY INN tells the tale of three characters holed up at the titular location, with a piano-playing Bing Crosby competing with a tap-dancing Fred Astaire for the affections of Marjorie Reynolds. There's some romance and there's a comedy of errors too, as well as lots of charisma from the two stars who repeatedly do their best to get the upper hand over their rival. Best of all are the songs, none greater than Bing's inimitable White Christmas which went on to be the most popular song of all time.

the_prince_of_frogs I have watched Holiday Inn a couple of times. After the first viewing it was difficult to get through it due to the gagging and wanting to throw up. I see reviews knocking White Christmas (1954) as a bad copycat of Holiday Inn. Well, if White Christmas is a copycat, it shines so far above Holiday Inn that it is a CopyTiger, CopyLion, CopyLeopard. It is my opinion that while Fred Astaire can sing, he can not act his way into or out of a mud puddle. The chemistry between Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in White Christmas is beyond the Best. I find absolutely no chemistry in Holiday Inn. I watch White Christmas several times every year as the movie brings me great Joy~!~!~!~!~!~! Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen are fabulous icing on the cake in White Christmas. They enhance the chemistry between all of the characters magnificently. I have thought about writing this review for several years.

vegasstanton I don't care when this film was made its wrong to perform in black face. Yes we are in a more politically correct society but that this is still insulting. I am sure it was insulting to black people when this film was made. Saying the "N-Word" was okay at one time but now its not! Just because things were once okay doesn't mean its okay now. I am not for censorship and I think this film should be seen by people who want to see it but I think a warning should of been put on the DVD before we started watching. I had no idea there was a "Black Face Number". Maybe there was more? I had to turn it off. My Grand children are black.

oOoBarracuda What a way to realize you've never seen any Fred Astaire films! I have seen most of Ghost Story, but that's not your typical Astaire film. I, in no way, have been avoiding his work, I just apparently haven't been purposeful enough in seeing Astaire films. I was completely mesmerized by Astaire in this film, and will surely seek out more of his work going forward. Directed by Mark Sandrich in 1942, Holiday Inn stars, along with Astaire, Bing Crosby, Marjorie Reynolds, and Virginia Dale. When a trio unwittingly becomes a duo, an abandoned crooner decides to take his fortune to Connecticut and open an inn that only operates on holidays. A musical as a vehicle to show off the talents of Bing Crosby's singing, and Fred Astaire's dancing, Holiday Inn has become a staple for many through the holiday season. Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby), Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire), and Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale) are a dancing and singing act playing in night clubs in New York. When Jim and Lila decide to be married, all is well as Jim thinks when he and Lila decide to move to Connecticut and adopt a simple farm life. Jim's dreams are about to come true until he realizes Ted has stolen Lila from under his nose and plans to keep her on the act as his dance partner and marry her himself. Broken and too far into the farm to back out, Jim leaves the new couple behind and begins a life that is much more work and much less relaxation than he thought it would be as he begins his new life in Connecticut. After several months of farming, Jim decides the profession is not for him, but the country life is. Jim devises a way in which he can remain on the farm, yet make a living as well and that is to open the farmhouse as an inn and to only operate the inn on holidays to satisfy his ample need for relaxation. Jim plans a menu and music around the 15 holidays a year that the inn will open for giving him a chance to sing again, as well. He hires Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds) a young girl desperate for fame and a chance to perform with him. Just as Jim feels safe to fall in love again, Ted happens upon his inn, drunk and dumped by Lila. Fearing that Ted will again steal his love interest away, which would, in turn, drown his business, Jim decides to hide Linda from Ted as he desperately searches for the "perfect new partner" he danced with the night he was drunk and happened into Jim's inn. There were brief moments I looked away from Fred Astaire long enough to notice there were other people in the film, but those moments were few and far between. Fred Astaire completely steals the show, regardless of Bing's top billing. I make a diligent effort to distinguish between the artist and the person, but I admittedly have a difficult time doing that with Bing Crosby. The alleged constant and horrific abuse of his own children by Crosby I've read about through the years badly sour my perception of the crooner, which made things especially difficult in this film when Crosby is the only likable character among the bunch. As much as I loved looking at Astaire, he was a complete jerk of a character and was given a lot more leeway from Jim than I ever would have given him. Both of the female leads came off quite selfish, and Ted was so self- obsessed the only shining light was Crosby's Jim who just wants a simple life doing what he loves. I struggle a bit when the characters aren't very likable, and Holiday Inn was no different, but for me, Fred Astaire and his dancing more than made up for the lackluster portions of this film.