Holiday Inn lobby card set image courtesy Heritage Auction Galleries

Director Mark Sandrich and Paramount Pictures brought the delightful Holiday Inn to movie theaters in 1942. Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire star, with Der Bingle crooning the classic “White Christmas” for the first time.

Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn

Irving Berlin had gotten the idea for Holiday Inn after penning the song “Easter Parade” for his Broadway musical As Thousands Cheer, which opened at New York City’s Music Box Theatre on September 30, 1933. A big success during the depths of the Great Depression, As Thousands Cheer would log 400 performances until its closing on September 8, 1934. Berlin later pitched his movie idea of a star-studded salute to American holidays to producer Mark Sandrich, who finally brought the film project to fruition nine years later.

Elmer Rice and Claude Binyon wrote Holiday Inn for Paramount Pictures. Mark Sandrich (Top Hat, Follow the Fleet, Skylark) produced and directed. Robert Emmett Dolan served as musical director, with original music by the prolific Irving Berlin.

Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire Star in Holiday Inn

Bing Crosby (Jim Hardy), Fred Astaire (Ted Hanover), Marjorie Reynolds (Linda Mason) and Virginia Dale (Lila Dixon) head the fine cast. Other players include Walter Abel (Danny Reed), Louise Beavers (Mamie), Irving Bacon (Gus), Marek Windheim (Francois), James Bell (Dunbar), John Gallaudet (Parker) and Shelby Bacon (Vanderbilt).

Playing an orchestra leader at the Midnight Club is Harry Barris, Bing Crosby’s old Rhythm Boys partner. Also making a cameo appearance is Bing’s younger brother, Bob Crosby, along with his orchestra.  

Holiday Inn Filmed in California

Budgeted at a healthy $3.2 million, Holiday Inn was filmed from October 1941 to January 1942. Filming locations included the original Holiday Inn in Monte Rio, California, which is still in operation today as the Village Inn & Restaurant.

One of the picture’s more spectacular scenes was a Fourth of July sequence titled “Let’s Say It with Firecrackers,” which thrilled moviegoers of the era. “The firecracker number, in which I threw torpedoes to explode in a rhythmic conglomeration at my feet, took an awful lot of planning and rehearsing,” reported Fred Astaire in his autobiography Steps in Time (Harper & Brothers, 1959). “I also had the stage wired to set off what looked like strings of firecrackers with visible flashes as I stepped in certain spots. It was great satisfaction, that dance…”

Holiday Inn: A Musical Celebration of America

Holiday Inn opens on Christmas Eve in New York City, where entertainers Jim Hardy, Ted Hanover and Lila Dixon are appearing at the Midnight Club. In her dressing room, Jim tells Lila that this is their final show. He produces a wedding ring, and announces that after their marriage they will retire to Midville, Connecticut, for life on the farm.

There’s one complication: Lila is in love with Ted. Clued in about their secret romance, an embittered Jim quits the act and heads to Connecticut alone. Here the months and holidays roll by, with Ted working on his farm.

A reconciled Jim and Ted later open a nightclub in Connecticut called Holiday Inn, which caters exclusively to the 15 or so American holidays populating the calendar. Later joining them at the inn is the blond singer/dancer Linda Mason, discovered by agent Danny Reed while working at a flower shop, who becomes Jim’s girlfriend.

Holiday Inn proves to be a successful business venture, with Hollywood getting wind of the establishment. The men from Tinseltown express their desire to make a motion picture on Holiday Inn, featuring the new dynamite dancing team of Ted Hanover and Linda Mason, along with Jim Hardy’s music.

Romantic entanglements ensue, with Jim learning in a movie magazine that Linda is now engaged to Ted. A despondent Jim is urged by his maid Mamie to head out to Hollywood in order to win back his girlfriend.

Holiday Inn Opens in New York City

Holiday Inn premiered at New York City’s Paramount Theater on August 4, 1942.

“That man Irving Berlin has been whistling to himself again. Not content with turning out the most rousing Broadway show in years, he has scribbled no fewer than thirteen tunes for Holiday Inn, the light-heartedly patriotic musical…” reported Theodore Strauss of The New York Times (8/5/42).

“Loaded with a wealth of songs, it’s meaty, not too kaleidoscopic and yet closely knit for a compact 100 minutes of tiptop filmusical entertainment,” observed Variety.

Film Analysis

Holiday Inn is just what the good Hollywood doctor ordered in the grim, early years of World War II. It’s an unabashed flag-waving musical, featuring Bing Crosby as the crooner and the incomparable Fred Astaire as the hoofer. Add to that the talents of Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale, and Holiday Inn ranks as one of Hollywood’s greatest music fests.

Irving Berlin fashioned an array of energetic toe-tappers especially for Holiday Inn: “I’ll Capture Your Heart Singing,” “Lazy,” “You’re Easy to Dance With,” “Happy Holidays,” “(Come to) Holiday Inn,” “Let’s Start the New Year Right,” “Abraham,” “Be Careful, It’s My Heart,” “I Can’t Tell a Lie,” “Let’s Say It with Firecrackers,” “Song of Freedom,” “(I’ve Got) Plenty to Be Thankful For” and “White Christmas.” Also included are two earlier Berlin tunes, 1933’s “Easter Parade” and the 1918 World War I ditty “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning.”

For “White Christmas” lovers, the song is performed twice in the film. The first outing comes with Bing Crosby at the piano, joined by Marjorie Reynolds whose singing voice is dubbed by Martha Mears. “White Christmas” is heard a second time, with Mears once again dubbing for Reynolds with the Bob Crosby Orchestra in accompaniment.

One of Holiday Inn’s big highlights is Fred Astaire’s superb Drunk Dance scene, in which his tipsy character arrives at the inn and does an impromptu fling with Marjorie Reynolds. “I took two stiff hookers of bourbon before the first take and one before each succeeding take,” Astaire reported in his autobiography. “I had to fall down on my face and be carried out for the finish. It was hot on that stage, too! All in all we did it seven times. The last one was the best.”

Holiday Inn Box Office, Oscar Nominations, Trivia, DVD

• Holiday Inn grossed $3.8 million at the American box office.
• Academy Award nominations: Best Original Song “White Christmas” (Berlin, won), Best Scoring of a Musical Picture (Dolan), Best Original Story (Berlin).
• Producer-director Mark Sandrich wanted two comparatively unknown girls to work with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, hence Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale were signed. And don’t get them confused: Marjorie Reynolds is the blonde and Virginia Dale the brunette.
• Martha Mears (1908-1986) not only did the singing for Marjorie Reynolds in Holiday Inn, but dubbed for other stars as well, including Rita Hayworth, Audrey Totter, Julie Bishop, Hedy Lamarr, Veronica Lake and Lucille Ball.
• The so-called “Abraham” sequence celebrating Lincoln’s birthday, in which Bing Crosby disguises Marjorie Reynolds in blackface, is often deleted from television showings. Some TV station managers view it as racially insensitive, even degrading.
• Twelve years after the release of Holiday Inn, Irving Berlin brought White Christmas (1954) to movie theaters.
• Deceased Holiday Inn stars: Bing Crosby (1903-1977), Fred Astaire (1899-1987), Marjorie Reynolds (1917-1997), Virginia Dale (1917-1994).
• On DVD: Holiday Inn Special Edition (Universal, 2006).

This Michael Jackson’s movie was directed by Sidney Lumet. The Wiz is actually a remake of one of Michael’s favorite movies, “The Wizard of Oz”. In this movie Michael Jackson played no other but the Scarecrow. Many said that he was the best choice for that role; although I can’t really see why.

Never the less, Diana Ross played the lead Role of Dorothy and Richard Pryor had the honors of playing The Wiz himself.

This was Michael Jackson’s first movie. Many said that he worked hard on this movie. But, this was no problem for him because he enjoyed the process of film making. Apparently he wanted his fist role in a movie to be a real success. And it was! Many critics said that Michael Jackson was great.

In “The Wiz” Dorothy is a shy young woman who works as a kindergarten teacher in Harlem. Unlike in the original version, this time Dorothy is brought by a snowstorm to the mysterious Land of Oz. In “The Wiz” movie Land of Oz is actually the city of New York; a huge city that can seem very hostile for a shy kindergarten teacher.

In her efforts to go back home, Dorothy ends up at many strange places to end up in the New York Public Library. 

The movie was released in 1978, and it was directed by Sidney Lumet.

Moonwalker

Moonwalker was released in 1988, and it was directed by Jerry Kramer and Colin Chilvers. This movie was released to coincide with Michael Jackson’s album,”Bad”. The movie was a huge success. It was sold in 800,000 copies in United States alone.

This movie is basically a story of the battle between good and evil. This was no surprise as Michael Jackson always publicly spoke about human rights issues. Equality of all people was his lifetime goal. For this reason, many saw him as the peacemaker.

As in many of Michael Jackson’s music videos, Moonwalker is full of expensive special effects. Also there are some really great songs in the movie as well as some tremendous dance scenes.

In this movie Michael Jackson played a good gangster who uses his authority as a criminal to protect the kids of some big city. 

Ghosts

This is a very short movie. It only lasts 38 minutes. The “Ghost” was released in 1997. This was the first and the last movie that Michael Jackson wrote. He had some help from his good friend Stephen King in writing this movie. Stan Winston directed the movie. Michael Jackson wanted Winston do direct this movie because he had quite an experience when it comes to special effects. Winston made a huge reputation by working on such films as “The Terminator”, “Aliens”, and “Jurassic Park”.

The “Ghosts” is basically a story of a small town bothered by a weird man (Michael Jackson) living in a haunted house. 

Interesting thing about this Michael Jackson’s movie is that all songs from the movie were taken from Michael Jackson’s „HIStory“ and „Blood on the Dance Floor“ albums.

Image via Wikipedia

August Rush is a drama film released in the year 2007. The main character is a boy named Evan Taylor, a musically gifted orphan who believes that all music he hears around him is his parent’s way of communicating with him. He refused to be adopted because he felt that what he needed was to follow the music trail which will eventually lead him back to his parents. This film is about hope, love and inspiration. The movie soundtrack is awesome too.

Shine

Geoffrey Rush won the Academy Award for Best Actor for this 1996 Australian film. The story is based on the life of pianist David Helfgott, who suffered from mental and emotional problems, and spent many years in psychiatric institutions. Despite the challenges that befaced his tragic life, Helfgott was lucky enough to make a comeback and a brand new start as a piano performer. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel”. This seems to be the main theme of the film.

Drumline

This film is a treat for all professional drummer and percussionists. Nick Cannon plays the role of Devon Miles, a young talented drummer. He was actually the best drummer in his university and would have led their band’s “drumline” if it wasn’t for some attitude, character and disciplinary problems. As the film progresses and reaches its climax, Devon eventually realizes that drumming and playing music is not just about skill and who’s the best out there. It’s about understanding the bigger picture and your role as part of a group and not just as an isolated individual.

8-Mile

Marshall Mathers, also known to the pop-rap world as “Eminem”, plays the lead role in this film. The film starts with a “freestlye rap battle”, an event where two rappers face off (on-the-spot rapping). The guy who has the best lyrics and crowd response wins the battle. Eminem, a white rapper and consequently does not have the support of the black community, was humiliated on stage when he froze and couldn’t get to say anything during his turn. 8 Mile is about his road to success, both in personal issues and in his musical career as well.

Mr. Holland’s Opus

Richard Drefuss plays the role of Glenn Holland, a musician and composer who decided to take a teaching job in order to pay his financial dues. At the same time, he was on a constant quest to compose that one music piece which will make him famous. Mr. Holland’s teaching career extended well over thirty years. He did not become wealthy nor extremely famous at that time, but he worked for the love and fulfillment of his art. He was later able to mentor highly gifted musicians who are deaf. The film is about inspiration, passion, determination and the beauty of music and life itself.

Moulin Rouge

Moulin Rouge is a 2001 musical film which featured Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman as main actor and actress. It is based on the opera entitled La Traviata. The setting was in the Montmartre quarter of 1900’s Paris, France. It is the story of a British writer, named Christian, who fell in love with Satine, a courtesan and cabaret singer of the Moulin Rouge. The film was nominated for 9 Oscars and won 2 major awards.

• Caste system implied, rarely overtly mentioned (Tere Naam)
• Upholding of ‘laj’ – honour (Andaaz)
• Upholding of traditional morality
• Position of parents in society (Munnabhai M.B.B.S.)
• Mother as giver and taker of life (Vaastav)
• Fate/karma v. choice (Vaastav, Tere Naam, Devdas)
• The dance/dream sequence (often filmed in Switzerland –their ideal – Kashmir/Kasmir without the violence – looks like Kasmir
• Good girl gets good boy – one will invariably be poor
• A man is a boy until he marries (as in society) regardless of his age
• Symbolism of names – e.g. Sapna (dreams), Raj (prince) Prem (love), Shanta (peace), Sonu (listen), Suraj (sun), Nirjara (immortality – Tere Naam) and Radha (mythological milkmaid who loved Prince Krishna although she could never have him – male form Radhe seen in Tere Naam) – this is rarely translated or explained in subtitles; Deepak (light/lamp), Aarti (fuel) in Sirf Tum, Aarti is destined for Deepak, she is the fuel for the lamp of his heart
• Songs sung by professional singers – playback singers – who now want more credit and to be seen – like Adnan Sami
• Traditional marriage v. modern marriage
• Traditional masala films v. modern westernised film
• Films are often remakes of Hollywood or old Hindi films
• Mythological undertones (Khal Nayak – Ganga, Ram & Ballu = Sita, Ram & Ravana – Ganga stays pure to Ram whist with villain Ballu)
• Majority have song and dance (often without reason)(like Elvis)
• Sinners must be punished – even if they reform at the end – often by death
• Ghost/horror films are rare due to belief in reincarnation
• To be or not to be – English/Modern/Western (Andaaz)
• There is no actor greater than Amitabh Bachchan – the “Big B”

1949 – Andaaz (Style)

Nargis Dutt, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar

Wife defies social convention by keeping a male friend, who is in love with her, and is punished for it.

1977 – Khoon Pasina (Blood Sweat)

Amitabh Bachchan,Vinod Khanna, Rekha

During Partition two boys, one muslim, one Hindu, who had been taught to hate injustice and fight for the common good, are separated and orphaned. Adulthood sees one as a gangster and the other as a vigilante.

1981 – Lawaaris (Orphan)

Amitabh Bachchan

A singer dies in childbirth after being cast off by the father. Her child grows to adulthood and searches for the truth about his father, teaching people about compassion and justice along the way.

1993 – Khal Nayak (The Villain)

Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit

Poor boy, Ballu, becomes a hired killer, after emotional betrayal by family, only to be reformed by his love for his captive policewoman Ganga, fiancée of Inspector Ram, Ballu’s childhood friend who is hunting him. Power of emotion.

1998 – Earth 1947

Aamir Khan

Creation of Pakistan and the lives this affects (Parsee, Muslim, Christian, Hindu)

1999 Sirf Tum (Only You)

Sanjay Kapoor, Sushmita Sen

Deepak and Aarti begin a correspondence and find that for them, love begins with the heart and reaches the eyes. After a series of mishaps they finally meet, turning down marriages to wealthy individuals along the way.

1999 – Vaastav (The Reality)

Sanjay Dutt (son of Nargis)

Troublemaking poor boy, Raghu, makes good as street vendor but accidentally falls foul of local mafia and has to kill in self-defence, led astray by his ‘saviours’, he ends up a mafia boss himself until his world catches up with him due to the government official in actual control. Study of destiny v. choice, no one is to be completely sympathised with, considered one of the best mafia films.

2002 sequel – Hathyar

The son, Rohit, follows in his father’s footsteps and meets a similar end

2002 – Devdas

Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, Aishwarya Rai

Childhood sweethearts, Devdas & Paro, are forever parted by death, caste, tradition, family and their own obstinate natures. The courtesan, Chandramukhi, demonstrates true unconditional love that expects nothing. Visually stunning, based on 1917 Bengali novel. Tagline: A grand saga of timeless love.

2003 – Munnabhai M.B.B.S.

Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Dutt (father), Arshad Warsi

Gangster Munna (Murli Prasad Sharma) goes to medical college to win his father’s (Hari Prasad Sharma) respect and get the girl (a doctor) as well as restore his father’s respect in eyes of the girl’s father – the head of the college. Teaches others about the power of affection. Tagline: His prescription is …love.

2003 – Tere Naam (In Your Name)

Salman Khan

A lower caste troublemaker, Radhe, is reformed by his love for a priest’s daughter, just when she reciprocates (and her family relents) he suffers a brain injury and is sent away to an ashram, rather than marry another she commits suicide, devastated – he mourns. Fate and undying love. Tagline: Unfortunately a true love story.

Singing, acting and dancing can change teenagers to be the best person they can be. Camp Rock will never replace High School Musical instead; they will both serve as an inspiration.

Camp Rock plays important Role to show real situation. This situation can help teenagers to know more about many things while enjoying watching. I hope that the cast will be a role model to all the teenagers inside and outside.

Kevin Jonas as “Jason,” Demi Lovato as “Mitchie Torres,” Joe Jonas as “Shane Gray,” and Nick Jonas as “Nate” star in “Camp Rock” on Disney Channel.

Few Cast of Characters in Camp Rock

Joe Jonas and Devi Lovata

Kevin Jonas and Nick Jonas

Alison Stoner and Meaghan Jette Martin

Roshon Bernard Fega and Jasmine Richards

Jordan Francis