Customer Reviews

Going My Way/Holiday Inn

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This DVD release of GOING MY WAY and HOLIDAY INN is purely OUTSTANDING! As both of these films have been perennial favorites for sixty years, I need not comment on their merits. I will say that these are some of the best DVD transfers of older films I have ever seen. The pictures for both films (in black and white) are crisp and clear, black levels are solid and well defined, and there is no graininess to speak of. Age-related artifacts are virtually non existent. The soundtracks of both films are beginning to show their age, but still sound beautiful and clear. Other than theatrical trailers for both films, there are no other extras, but we get two great films in outstanding transfers for less than the price of one, so we have absolutely no right to gripe.
In my opinion, these two films aren't the obvious choices to pair together (Holiday Inn paired with White Christmas, and Going My Way put on the same disc as The Bells of St. Mary's would have been the most obvious choice), but I digress. Hats off to Universal Home Video for this EXCELLENT release. The DVD is a MUST HAVE in any collection. RUN to buy a copy.

NOTE: The cover art shown is not the same as the current, most recent DVD release from Universal Home Video, the one which you see at most retailers during the holidays.

Bing Crosby's Oscar performance in "Going My Way" and singing the Oscar winning song "White Christmas in Holiday Inn" is only the beginning of two grand holiday treats. Remembering the war years and the theme of God and Country brings an assembly of American Patriotism to the screen. Hollywood War years role provides a generous dose with song and dance. For "Holiday Inn" (1942) a story based on an Inn only open during the 15 major holidays (1940's) with grand scale entertainment being the main attraction. Crosby and Astaire were the top stars and could guarantee almost any movie to be a success. Irving Berlin's grand song writing style proved he the needed ingredient for just about any holiday song. Proving the match of "White Christmas and Bing Crosby" to be the most popular holiday song teaming ever. Going My Way (1944) was Crosby's launch into the Dramatic Actor role with his crooner abilities and witticisms carry him all the way to an Oscar. Father O'Malley (Crosby) a young Catholic priest comes to the rescue of a aging priest (Barry Fitzgerald Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor), troubled church and neighborhood. It isn't long before Father O'Malley brings them all (with us included) together as a community. On the success of "Going My Way" the very next year a sequel was made (Bell's of Saint Mary's ) with Crosby as Father O'Malley and Ingrid Bergman. (Great follow-up movie). These family movies are a great way to introduce kids to our past and classic black and white hollywood. This double feature DVD is a great value with fantastic picture quality and sound.

Bing Crosby in one of his better roles, sans any of the "Road" pictures he did with Bob Hope. Set in Connecticutt in the 1930's, Bing along with Fred Astaire sing, dance and romance their way through this Irving Berlin orchestrated film. Don't take anything in this movie too seriously, as this is a light hearted romp through the holidays. Although a tad dated now (there's a reference in one part showing Thanksgiving bouncing from the 3rd Thursday of the month of November, to the last Thursday and back, and photos of old bi-wing airplanes), this movie does touch on some really nice moments that today in our hurried state of mind, we seem to forget. The best song of course is "White Christmas" which was release originally in this film. Bing gets the lady in the end (altough Fred Astaire does also), and the supporting cast had a flair for comedy and timing long before today's artists were even thought of. This film does make you wish for the simpler days of large ballrooms, radio shows, and true "Holiday Inns". This one is a definate Christmas favorite in our house, especially after the kids have gone to bed on Thanksgiving night. You can't go wrong with this one for the Holidays.

So, we reluctantly bought this one after wavering for several months. Why or why did we wait?! I knew it would be good -- it's just that we have become spoilt by color movies and I was not too keen on a B&W one. We should never have waited.

First, Holiday Inn... It's been decades since I saw it, so my memory was very foggy. The Kidlet had never seen the movie at all and was a bit, um, well, surprised to see Fred Astaire in that sort of role -- we're used to seeing him as the hero. Royal Wedding comes to mind as a show were he's just a genuine good-guy. In Holiday Inn he's giving Bing a horrible time what with a pretty girl, and trying to steal her away. The car scene is a classic -- you'll enjoy it. All in all, the movie is a nice one, a good story, with WONDERFUL songs. We enjoyed it.

Going My Way was the one that caused me concern. Other reviewers had mentioned tears, and, well, I just wasn't in the mood for a tear-jerker movie. WOW, was I ever wrong. It's the most heart-warming, wonderful, nice and terrific show I've seen in practically forever. I'm so glad I got to see it.

So, break out a bowl of peanuts, and snuggle up while watching these two classics. You'll be glad you did.

On the face of it, HOLIDAY INN and GOING MY WAY, despite both being Bing Crosby films from the early 40s, were not exacltly an obvious pairing for a DVD "twofer" package. You might think it more likely to pair the former with WHITE CHRISTMAS, say, and the latter with its actual sequel THE BELLS OF ST. MARY'S. But this coupling works precisely because it's not so obvious.

Mixing pious Crosby with show-biz Crosby works because, in the last analysis, he's still the same old Bing, affable, low key and agreeable. His priest is still a mensch. His show biz vet is a regular guy looking for a way OUT of the limelight and into a sane and stable way of life. In other words, he's a mensch too.

If you were raised Catholic in the last century, you know that among the clergy, you had your staid, old-school, well, OLD-COUNTRY types, who struck fear in the hearts of children and adults in the parish. Then you had your spirited, fun-loving priests (and nuns), who weren't above playing a few innings of baseball or running a sack race.

GOING MY WAY touches, very lightly, upon the clash of those two strains among the clergy of the era. Actually, the more traditional Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald) is more irascible than truly terrifying. And young Father O'Malley is as all business behind the charm and easy going manner. He just knows that you win more flies with honey than vinegar. And he knows how to get things done. He also knows that he can loosen up the older priest with a few rounds of golf and some fresh air.

The plot amounts to little more than "Let's put on a show to save the parish church." Almost absurdly, a famous opera star (played by famous opera star Rise Stevens) shows up to help out, and high power music publishers rush to buy the young priest's original composition "Swinging On a Star" after hearing Bing and his choir of former street kids sing it as a lark. It's hokum, of course, but it's almost guaranteed to make viewers nostalgic for a more innocent era--even if it's one before their own time.

HOLIDAY INN is a reminder that self-reflexive musicals were almost an established sub-genre from the early 40s on. It's a show-biz tale which turns into your definitive movie-within-a-movie by the end of the film. The show biz format is a little bow to realism (no bursting into song while walking down the street, or scaling a mountain). It's also a tacit admission of Hollywood's self-involvement (the assumption that everyone finds show biz tales utterly fascinating) and, simultaneously, a reaffirmation of mainstream (non-showbiz) values. Distancing themselves from Hollywood and Broadway phoniness is the only way that Bing and his lady love Marjorie Reynolds can find true happiness--of course they still get to stage elaborate floor shows in their Holiday Inn, so ultimately, it's the best of both worlds.

Both movies have plenty of charm, and, as I say, reflect an innocence we seem to have longsince lost. It's no wonder that Bing Crosby films, even when they're not explicitly holiday-themed, have become standard holiday fare for many viewers.

If you're looking for a nostalgic movie of a bygone American era to watch with your family, "Going My Way" is one of those great classics to see. While some viewers may identify with the Irish-American ethnicity and culture of the Catholic Church in this film, the movie is actually quite universal in theme. It deals more with how we should respect the aged and the young; and how we can lend a helping hand to them in a non-intrusive and innovative way.

The teacher? Enter Father O'Malley (Bing Crosby), the good Samaritan sent by the Bishop to help the aged Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald). His mission is to rid St. Dominic of its debts and at the same time provide pastoral care to the inner-city youth and their families. Through his wit, musical talent and baseball gab, he is successful in turning it all around. Okay, so it sounds a bit too simplistic to believe by today's standards. Nevertheless, it's still a valuable moral lesson that's well worth emulating.

On the comedic side, look for the scenes involving Crosby and Fitzgerald. The chemistry between these two is undeniably magical. Among the scenes to watch are the ones involving the hot turkey, hedgerow, rain-drenched Fr. Fitzgibbon and golf game. Particularly touching is Fr. O'Malley arranging to have Fr. Fitzgibbon's 90 year old mother brought from Ireland to visit her son. Again, some might find this sort of thing a tad schmaltzy, but that's what makes this such a wonderful film.

I suppose this is why it won seven academy awards, including Best Actor (Bing Crosby), Best Supporting Actor (Barry Fitzgerald) and Best Song ("Singing On A Star").

Bundled on this DVD is another classic, "Holiday Inn", starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Virgina Dale and Majorie Reynolds. It's one of those old-time Hollywood song-and-dance films with the legendary crooner and hoofer. And sing and dance they do while winning over the girls at a bed-and-breakfast type inn called the Holiday Inn. No, this isn't the renowned hotel chain, Holiday Inn. But the movie title was the inspiration for this establishment.

In this movie, Fred Astaire's former partner Bing Crosby retires to the country life on a farm, but soon learns he's not cut out to be a farmer. So he decides to supplement his income by staging shows only and during the holidays in his country estate, hence the name Holiday Inn. Fred Astaire choreographs some rather ingenious scenes while feigning inebriation on New Year's Eve and tapping to the rhythm of firecrackers on Independence Day. While Bing sings 15 Irving Berlin songs, including his hit "White Christmas". It's a clever premise and a delightful result at that!

For an evening of nostalgia to gladden the heart, these two Crosby films will do nicely. Best of all, you will get two truly enjoyable movies for the price of one.

This film is good in so many ways. The song and dance numbers were all great. Teaming Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire was a great idea. These two played off each other so well that I can't imagine two other actors doing so well. Even Crosby and Hope wouldn't have done as well here. Marjorie Reynolds was a treat to look at but also had good chemistry with both Crosby and Astaire. The support cast was equally as good, Walter Abel as Danny Reed, Virginia Dale as Lila Dixon and Louise Beavers as Mamie gave solid performances.

The set was also beautiful. Obviously the Hollywood set of Holiday Inn at the end of the film that was supposed to be a reproduction of the real Holiday Inn in Connecticut is the same set used for both scenes. However it is such a realistic set that the viewer never suspects that the Connecticut scenes were filmed indoors. I think the fact that the film was in black and white helps in that respect. A color film may have actually looked more phoney.

The story is a simple one but well put together. I think many viewers can relate to guys trying to steal girls from one another, its a common enough practice today. The ending is a bit fairy tale like but then that is why so many probably like it. We get enough "reality" in our every day lives. It is nice to escape reality with a film like this.

Lastly, the black face scene during the Lincoln Day performance is offensive but it does not ruin the film. Of course a minstrel show today using black face would be unacceptable in today's environment but you can't hold a 1940's film to the same standards. I know some would like to have that scene removed from the film but I disagree. I am of African American decent and while I could view this film as a disgrace I accept it for what it is. Rather than try and obliterate scenes such as this from our film history I think they should be viewed as stepping stones to where African Americans are in film today. There may still be barriers that need to be broken through in the film world but considering where African Americans started we as a society should also take time to appreciate the accomplishments that have been achieved. Black face is out. Demeaning "yesum" roles are for the most part gone and now leading roles that portray African Americans in well to do positions in society are becoming more and more frequent. So while some of the film history regarding African Americans portrays them in a negative manner it is because of those actors and actresses were able to work in those roles and under those conditions that the modern day African American actors and actresses are able be seen in a more positive light. Ignoring the past roles ignores the actors and actresses that struggled through those times.

This film deserves its place in the Christmas movie pantheon, but there's nothing wrong with watching it any time of the year.

I hardly know where to start in praising "Holiday Inn": the wonderful music -- not just "White Christmas" but "Easter Parade" and others; the dance numbers (first and foremost, Astaire's firecracker dance, but the comic Washington's Birthday dance is hilarious); the teaming of two all-time greats in Crosby and Astaire; a fine supporting cast; the charming setting -- and the list goes on.

I think that "Holiday Inn" paired with "The Bells of St. Mary's" or "White Christmas" would have made more sense. Oh well, these are still two GREAT 40's classics. It surprised me that they were both on one DVD! The B&W picture and sound quality are excellent! None of the old "pops & skips" of the really old films. Tom Keogh did a great review (above) so I won't repeat his words. If you're like me you'll be amazed at how the 2 hours FLY by on both of these movies because the stories captivate you with their "old B&W movie" charm. The camera doesn't switch scenes 3 times a second like the movies of today do. The only parts of "Going my way" that I didn't like was the 3 minute "Opera" song and then the same lady singing "Going my Way" later. I hate Opera! But that's me. A real "tear jerker" at the end, however! Get the tissues ready. Holiday Inn is similar to White Christmas, just as the Bells of St. Mary's is similar to Going my Way, but I still watch them all. Bing's voice & Fred's dancing should never be missed! They should be shown in schools to show kids what real movies & good songs were like. I wish Amazon would somehow allow us to preview parts of these movies(like a movie trailer). I'm now starting to collect them since they've come out on DVD. Turnerclassicmovies.com shows trailers from some movies but not all. I view them there and buy them here. Hope this helps someone.

Going My Way is a wonderful movie. All the actors are great to watch. The story keeps your interest. I love listening to Bing
Crosby sing. His voice is so easy to listen to.

Holiday Inn is a wonderful entertaining movie. It's not only a musical, it has very funny parts in it. It's a wonderful Holiday or anytime movie. Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire are fabulous actors.