Cary Grant plays Johnny Case, a fool in love, engaged to marry a girl Julia Seton who he really knows nothing about and whom he met at a winter resort. That she lives in a Manhattan mansion, complete with elevator, a private residence about the size of Buckingham Palace, well--- it all leaves him dumbfounded when he shows up at her door. Confused, taking it all in, Johnny does back flips on its grand polished floors. He meets up with his fiancée's older sister Linda, played by Katharine Hepburn, who immediately sniffs out a kindred spirit. She recognizes his discomposure: "You didn't realize what you were getting into," she tells him. "A world of stuffed shirts and mink-lined ties." Yes, Linda is the self-admitted black sheep of the family, a type completely opposite from that of Julia, the conventional, snobbish socialite adequately played by Doris Nolan. And into this family mix is added the Lew Ayres character, brother Ned who wanders around with his hand permanently attached to a whiskey glass that is subjected to constant refills. Ned is the idle, miserable son of the banker class, a sensitive soul frustrated in his ambition to pursue a career in music, a profession vetoed by his financier father. So Ned has taken the path of least resistance by becoming a professional alcoholic. Prospective groom Johnny has always been an independent guy, coming from a hardscrabble background, working since the age of ten, and now at the age of thirty has accumulated enough money to live the kind of life he feels is right and honorable for himself. He's so enamored with his dream of life, which demands a "holiday" for self-exploration, he doesn't realize that he's in love with the wrong sister. Julia wants "the golden throne." And what he wants is a life of somersaults and the acrobatic freedom of an existence not reigned in by convention. He's got some buddies rooting for him throughout, husband and wife academics who worry and fuss, and encourage him, surrogate parents devoted to his welfare. Wonderful character actors, Edward Everett Horton as Professor Potter and Jean Dixon as Mrs. Potter serve as delightful counterparts to the stuffy, moneyed world of the Seton family. Throughout Cary Grant seems to be having fun with this role, one where he can demonstrate his flair for physical comedy, a skill he retained from his early stage career pre-film. Hepburn is superb at playing a type of woman with which she has an intimate acquaintance, one very similar to whom she was in real life, a member of East Cost society with all the accompanying mannerisms and accent. The director George Cukor again shows his talent and facility in directing such an ensemble of talented actors. Who finds true love and is given the opportunity to actualize their true path in life? Watch and enjoy the fun of discovery along with the characters.

Cary Grant plays Johnny Case, a free-thinking man who is engaged to Linda Seton(played by Katharine Hepburn) who is a daughter of a millionaire, who wants Johnny to settle down and join his business, which he is reluctant to do, preferring instead to take a "holiday" for a few years while he is young, and able to enjoy it! This baffles his would-be father-in-law, though Linda and her brother Ned are sympathetic, as are Nick & Susan Potter, two old friends of his. What will Johnny do? OK comedy is amiable and breezy, if talky. Amusing to an extent, but awfully frivolous too. Works because of the good acting, especially Cary Grant, who is at least sympathetic here.

This is another hit for the Hepburn and Grant pairings, and is right up there with "Bringing Up Baby" and "The Philadelphia Story." These two stars of the golden age of Hollywood are a delight to watch in this movie.The premise of the story is Cary Grant is a down to earth simpleton engaged to an uptown, high maintenance woman whom he met only ten days before. She brings him home to meet the family and to gain daddy's approval; While there Grant meets Hepburn, his fiancé's rebellious tomboy sister. The two get on swimmingly, having the same beliefs and similar goals. Grant and Hepburn have sparkling chemistry and witty bantering conversations. Their silly fooling will have you laughing out loud like no comedy today does. The script was written to perfection, it wasn't too heavy but then it wasn't just fluff, (as most rom-coms are today.)This film was funny, sweet and endearing. The two leads are drawn to each other, each sensing in the other a kindred spirit, but the loyalty to the sister/fiancé stops the two from acting on it. You see that they are good, heartfelt, wholesome people who would compromise their own happiness for the sense of family and promises they made. It is also warming to see how certain family members support each other. The brother Ned (played by Lew Ayres) is a slight drunk, but that doesn't stop his affection for his sister (Hepburn) from showing itself. He supports her wayward ways, and even encourages her affection for her sister's fiancé. He comforts her when she is down and is in lively spirits when she is pleased.Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn both are seasoned professionals when it comes to performance in front of a camera, and while watching this movie you could argue that they have never been more compelling and believable. It seems to me that when the two are in a movie together the story, characters and life of the film jump out into reality. This movie will continue to awe and amuse generations of film-goers for years.Overall this movie is a sweet, rambunctious tale that will have you believing in serendipitous coincidence; any fan of classic films will love it, and those who aren't into the classics will have trouble finding flaw in this film. 8/10.

I saw Holiday as a fan of Cary Grant and of Katharine Hepburn, and like I did with Bringing Up Baby and The Philadephia Story, I loved it, from start to finish Holiday is quite simply magical entertainment. CINEMATOGRAPHY/PRODUCTION VALUES The cinematography for films made around this period, before and after and for this genre, often looks wonderful and holds up well. Holiday is no exception to the rule, while the costumes and sets add to Holiday's charm. MUSIC As an aspiring professional singer and music enthusiast I always look for good music. An uncredited Sidney Cutner provides the music here, and he does do a very good job. The music is memorable and fitting, and does have a somewhat timeless heart warming quality to it. STORY The story for Holiday is a very sweet and heart warming one. While things do get a tad overstated at the end, throughout George Cukor(who does a superb job directing this film) makes the story and situations upbeat and entertaining.SCREENPLAY Aside from the acting, the screenplay is what makes Holiday work so well, as it expertly mixes comedy, romance, social comment and pathos. The comedy is genuinely funny, the romance is sweet and warm, the social comment is relevant and done in a non-offensive way and the pathos is poignant. ACTING Holiday does have a superb support cast, with Doris Nolan, Edward Everett Horton and Lew Ayres particularly standing out. But for my money, the film's best asset is the performances and chemistry of the leads. Cary Grant is at his most charming and his most thoughtful, and I have yet to see a film of hers where Katharine Hepburn is as touching and as beautiful as she is here even playing the rich-girl character that we have seen before. And their chemistry sparkles like champagne bubbles. All in all, I think this film is wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox