1930's 'Holiday' is the first film adaptation of the 1928 Philip Barry stage play of the same name, which was a sort of comedy of manners come drama. I can't not compare it to the better known 1938 remake helmed by George Cukor and staring Kathrine Hepburn and Carey Grant, that latter film is a certified classic. This earlier film version hues closer the stage play and let's you better appricate the extent of the remodel Cukor did on the source material, changes that even playwrite Barry concended improved on his story.
Still the bones remain good on this Edward H. Griffin version. It's less fluid and lose then Cukor's take, but the story is solid. Ann Harding was I think deservedly Oscar nominated for what would go on to be the Katherine Hepburn role and Edward Everett Horton, who would reprise his part in the 38 version, manages to give us two different takes on the same character. The ending here is less focussed and the movie rambles too much in its last third, but it does have a wedding rehearsal scene that is pretty funny and not in the 38 version. This movie is good but decidedly not great and comparing the two film versions shows much about the importance of casting and adaptation. ***
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