Celia Johnson feels ripped off. Image: AvaxHome
Dear Reader, we can’t wait until your holiday film is in post-production.
We have our favourites, but we’re waiting for your holiday film – the one you’ve written and/or directed and/or starred in. We know you’ll sidestep the usual holiday film clichés.
What’s this? You haven’t started filming? You’re stuck for ideas?
Well, you’ve come to the right place for inspiration. Here’s a little-known British drama from 1952, The Holly and the Ivy. The name is taken from a holiday carol first published in 1710(!); the story is based on the 1950 stage play of the same name.
The film takes place in a rural vicarage, where the recently-widowed vicar (Ralph Richardson) and his daughter (Celia Johnson) prepare to welcome the rest of the family for Christmas.
But there are Secrets lurking in this family, none of which must shared with Richardson. He is, after all, a Man Of The Cloth and, as you know, Men of the Cloth have never heard anything shocking, ever, in their whole lives.
We like this film for three reasons: (1) It’s well written; (2) It’s well acted; and (3) It doesn’t insult your intelligence.
Denholm Elliott (L) hopes they can’t smell the liquor. Image: nlp-centr.com
About the script: Because it has an unusual (to us) setting in a vicarage, it automatically raises interesting issues. For example, even though Richardson’s job is to serve the community (and be ready, day or night, should someone die or give birth or get married) no one actually befriends him. “Nobody wants to chat with a parson at the pub,” says one character.
Richardson’s character fights off loneliness with a buoyant personality. But he misses his wife, who died eight months earlier, and he needs someone to care for him: to fuss over his scarf and coat, to find his sermon notes, to expect him home at a certain time. He wants to know he matters to someone.
He depends on his daughter (Johnson), who is secretly engaged to a lovely man (John Gregson). Alas, Gregson has been hired by a firm in South America and, naturally, wants Johnson to join him. But Johnson is torn between caring for her elderly father – If not she, then who? – and being with the man she loves.
Here’s where Acting becomes important. In one scene, Johnson washes the dishes with her onscreen sister (Margaret Leighton). Johnson asks Leighton, a successful fashion journalist based in London, if she can move back home to look after their father. Leighton says, “I’m sorry. That’s out of the question,” but she doesn’t sound very sorry.
Johnson, realizing this signals the end of her engagement (and a terrific adventure in marriage/travel), says, “The whole thing’s over and done with.” She turns on the water faucet and watches it fill the washbasin. It’s an ordinary action, but study Johnson’s face. It’s as though she’s watching her happiness spill out of the faucet and slip down the drain.
Ralph Richardson (L) isn’t sure he wants to hear this. Image: Faded Video
Although The Holly and the Ivy is based on a stage play, it doesn’t feel stage-y. Director George More O’Ferrall cleverly uses the camera to expand the world of the vicarage and pull us inside.
For example, Richardson is at his Christmas tree and he asks his onscreen son (Denholm Elliott) about life in the military. When the topic of Elliott’s drinking arises, Richardson moves to the opposite side of the tree, obscuring his face from his son. It’s an admission of willful ignorance, a refusal to see life the way it really is.
This film is to be applauded for refusing to make a villain out of Richardson or any other character. Although some of these people seem cruel at first, the script shows us why they are the way they are.
Also, the film does not pass judgement. It assumes we’re grownups who can decide for ourselves what we like or don’t.
If you have a couple of hours this holiday season for a gem of a film, we hope you can make time for The Holly and the Ivy. It could serve as inspiration for your own holiday film.
Notes:
- Thanks to Caftan Woman who recommended this film on her blog. (And if you’re not reading her fab reviews, you’re missing out.)
- Listen to The Holly and the Ivy (song) HERE.
The Holly and the Ivy: starring Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton. Directed by George More O’Ferrall. Written by Anatole de Grunwald. De Grunwald Productions, B&W, 1952, 80 mins.
Silver Screenings 
It sounds delightful! I’ve been in something of a British film kick and have hardly seen a single Christmas movie this December (feeling a bit burnt out on all the ones I know). The Holly and the Ivy sounds like the perfect way to continue in the British film vein and get into the holiday mood AND see a Christmas film that I’ve never heard of before. A triple bonus. 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing this one!
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Christina, I INSIST you watch this. I mean it! You can do a search online (I forget the site – not YouTube) and watch it for free. Enjoy!
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Thanks! I was about to ask you were you saw this, because I wasn’t finding it on youtube.
And since you insist…:)
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Aha! It’s here on this blog:
https://pastordawn.com/2013/12/25/the-holly-and-the-ivy/
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Thanks! 🙂
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This film is so underrated. I’m so happy to find someone else who loves this one. I agree that this is a good one to watch to see how it should be done. Lovely film filled with terrific performances.
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You’re right about the performances – this film is a study in acting, no? I didn’t expect to like it quite so much before I saw it… I’m glad to hear you like it, too! 🙂
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It sure is a study in acting. The classic era British films were always good for character study too.
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Thanks for recommending this! I watched David Lean’s This Happy Breed a few months ago and was reminded of how great an actress Celia Johnson is. (Oddly enough, I also recently saw Ralph Richardson and Denholm Elliott play father and son in another Lean movie, The Sound Barrier.) I’m looking forward to watching this one.
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I think you’d really like “The Holly and the Ivy”. It’s a thoughtful film and quite well done. The acting is perfect.
Interesting that you recently saw another Richardson-Elliott father/son pairing in “The Sound Barrier”. I’ll have to check it out. 🙂
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A lovely and smart review of this film. Thank you for the shout-out. I am so pleased that you have made the Gregory clan a part of your holiday. I am continually fascinated and amused by the wonderful script.
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You said it! The script is a far cry from the grind-’em-out holiday romances that abound this time of year…
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I can’t believe I haven’t seen this movie yet! First, I’m a big fan of British fans made in the 1950s and 1960s. Second, what a cast–Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson are two fabulous performers. Merry Christmas to Silver Screenings!
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Rick, you must see “The Holly and the Ivy”. Even if it didn’t have this incredible cast, it would still be a remarkable film. I think you would really enjoy this one.
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Like Rick, I haven’t seen this movie, but I can’t imagine any film with Celia Johnson and Ralph Richardson not being more than worthwhile. She was wonderful in BRIEF ENCOUNTER, which you have no doubt seen.
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Celia Johnson is a study in acting, period, wouldn’t you agree? Her performance in “Brief Encounter” is hypnotic.
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So good, and I love anything with Celia Johnson. I will keep looking for it. Maybe at my library
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I hope you get the chance to see this film. Celia Johnson is FA-BU-LOUS – you won’t regret it. 🙂
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