Overview
A spirited young man challenges societal expectations and discovers the true meaning of happiness.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- witty
- buoyant
- warm
- classic movie night
- date night
What critics said
Critics broadly regard it as an elegant, literate, modernized romantic comedy elevated by George Cukor's direction and the performances of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Johnny Case resists the Seton family's expectation that marriage should lead directly to wealth, work, and social respectability.
The screenplay foregrounds witty exchanges among Johnny, Linda, Julia, Ned, and the Potter friends.
The Seton mansion becomes the central arena for negotiations over marriage, money, work, and family authority.
Johnny's wish to spend his early adulthood on holiday directly challenges the family's big-business conception of success.
Films like Holiday, and why
The Philadelphia Story
screwball romantic comedy with rapid repartee, social class friction, and a free-spirited heroine
The Awful Truth
1930s romantic comedy combining class tension, verbal wit, and a rebellious couple
Bringing Up Baby
screwball comedy centered on unconventional romance, money, and resistance to respectable expectations
It Happened One Night
romantic comedy about rejecting conventional wealth and status through witty social conflict
Movie Details
- Director
- George Cukor
- Release Date
- 1938-05-26
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (306)
Cast
- Katharine Hepburn
- Cary Grant
- Doris Nolan
- Lew Ayres
- Edward Everett Horton
- Henry Kolker
- Binnie Barnes
- Jean Dixon
- Henry Daniell
- Edward Biby
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Holiday about?
- A buoyant classic romance pits a free-spirited young couple against the suffocating demands of wealth, work, and family respectability.
- What is Holiday like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Holiday as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Holiday violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Holiday.
- What did critics think of Holiday?
- Critics broadly regard it as an elegant, literate, modernized romantic comedy elevated by George Cukor's direction and the performances of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.
- Which films are like Holiday?
- Films with a similar feel include The Philadelphia Story, The Awful Truth, Bringing Up Baby, and It Happened One Night.
- How long is Holiday?
- Holiday runs 97 minutes.
- Where can I watch Holiday?
- In United States, Holiday is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
