Holiday Inn (1942) – Rewatch

This is another one of those films that I had only vague recollections of from childhood, mainly television promos featuring the two young kids singing Happy Holidays. After his love interest leaves him for Fred Astaire, Bing Crosby tries his hand at farming. When that proves to be a failure, he turns the farm into an inn that is only open on holidays. It’s a clever way to highlight Irving Berlin’s songs and Astaire’s dancing to have a new tune for every holiday. It’s understandable why the Abraham number, with its surprisingly atrocious blackface, was usually cut from television airings, though the song itself is one of the catchier tunes and offers an opportunity to showcase Louise Beavers’s singing voice. Extra tidbits that the film offered was the introduction of the song White Christmas and the inspiration for the name of hotel chains. It also taught me the concept of Franksgiving in its clever interstitial before the Thanksgiving scenes.      

Oscar Win: Best Music, Original Song

Oscar Nominations: Best Writing, Original Story; Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture