Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn
Released Date: April 4, 1943
Director: Mark Sandrich
Actors: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale, Walter Abel, Louise Beavers, Irving Bacon, Marek Windheim, James Bell, John Gallaudet, Shelby Bacon, Joan Arnold, and Bob Crosby and His Orchestra

     Bing Crosby's beautiful voice and Fred Astaire's beautiful taps are a treat in this holiday classic. "White Christmas" being Bing Crosby's classic Christmas song was an Academy Award winner for Best Song, and also went on to be one of the biggest selling songs in history. Which is not surprising as it is well sung and well written. Crosby sang this song in four of his movies. Did you know that the set, and actor and composer were used twice. The set can be seen in White Christmas, with Bing Crosby as a main actor, with him singing White Christmas and Irving Berlin wrote songs for both films. You can also witness Fred Astaire doing a Drunk Tap in this movie, and guess what! He really was drunk. He had two drinks of bourbon before the first take was done, and then before every take after that he had one glass of bourbon. The take you saw in the movie was take SEVEN. Can you imagine, that would make it nine drinks of bourbon later and that makes it a real drunk dance. What a great day at work, huh? Can you imagine your boss asking you to have a drink before doing a task?

     Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby), Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire), and Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale) are a famous three man group. Jim and Lila are a couple, at least Jim thinks so. And he asks Lila to marry him and move to the country and live a life of lazy. Lila has other plans. To keep on touring and with her other man, Ted. Jim's heart is broken, but he goes ahead and moves to the country by himself. He no longer wants to tour and most importantly, he is done working all the time. But boy is he wrong that living on a farm equals a lazy life. He works and hard! Jim soon realizes that he can turn his old barn into a nightclub, and the catch? Only to be open on Holidays, all Holidays. And he wants to hire a few people to sing and dance with him. So Jim goes to New York to ask Ted and Lila to come see him when it opens, but then also asks his old manager Danny (Walter Abel) to find him some great acts. Danny ends up running into a girl at a flower shop and gives her Jim's card. Her name is Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds) and she ends up being an amazing girl and who happens to be what Jim needed. They quickly fall in love but all goes haywire when Ted the love blocker comes back into Jim's life. Will Linda leave Jim to go with Ted? There is promise with Ted, a life in Hollywood and Jim is just staying in the country. Find out by watching this Holiday classic today!!!