Stolen Holiday

Doing tours at Warner Brothers, I had the distinct honor of holding one of Orry Kelly's Oscars, the fashion guru of Hollywood. A genuine piece of Hollywood history, which had its own special case. Handle with care! Absolutely unforgettable.

This film is partly his, shared with the stunning Kay Francis. Casey Robinson's dramatic script likely was also designed as a showcase for Kelly's magnificent wardrobe designs AND for Francis to show it off. She does.

The villain here, noneother than Claude Rains, playing Stefan Orloff, a sly European con who uses (and quite efficiently) model Nicole (Francis) in picking the pockets of the French elite. It isn't long before both are wealthy, Orloff rewarding Nicole with a fashion enterprise of her own. Then comes handsome Anthony (Ian Hunter), and yes, three's a crowd. Hunter often appeared with Kay Francis, and what a handsome couple they make. Deje Vu all over again.

Excellent performances, thanks to director Michael Curtiz. Hunter would soon go on to co-star (as King Richard) in the ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. AAA cast, backed by Alison Skipworth (a treat), playing Suzanne and Alexnader D'Arcy as Anatole.

No matter what, the fashions rule. A nod to Mr. Kelly.

Always on remastered Warner Brothers dvd. Thanks much to TCM for running this oldie for all us Kay Francis devotees.

Plot-- Clever con-man Orloff uses fashion model Picot to gain entrée into French high society. Once situated among the rich, his financial swindle proceeds. In return, he rewards Picot with her own fashion house, which soon prospers. But what will happen to their bonded relationship if Picot's con game is discovered.

That opening of elegant models parading down the runway is a grabber. As one of the models, Picot (Francis) commands with regal stature and a compelling gaze. On the other hand, Orloff (Rains) commands with voice and smooth demeanor, despite his short stature. Together, they're an interesting, though hardly romantic, pair.

It's really the two charismatic leads that carry the film. The con game thread is not emphasized, rather the odd relationship between the two amounts to the main thread. It's ultimately a bond of friendship and gratitude that endures, despite Picot's romance with the rather callow Wayne (Hunter). I'm not sure how convincing the relationship is since the narrative is more intent on using it rather than explaining its steadfastness. I wish that key part were more strongly written. And though talk dominates, the film's well-mounted, while Curtiz directs with a smooth tempo that never drags. Also, a rotund, aging Allison Skipworth as Picot's assistant adds a colorful touch of lemony spice.

In passing-- Catch that biplane the twosome travels to France in. It may be the ugliest example of flight engineering I've seen. Note also presence of commanding Frank Conroy as a police inspector. His fearsomely dominating Maj. Tetley in the classic Ox- Bow Incident (1943) certainly deserved Oscar recognition. Here he gets a few moments of that.

Overall, the movie's mainly a showcase for the two leads, without being anything special.

Actually the stolen holiday of the title is only a small part of the film and is, quite frankly, a little boring and holds up the action. I found myself longing for it to finish and get back to the main plot! Fine performances from Kay, Claude Rains and Alison Skipworth, and Ian Hunter is his usual debonair self. Also, in a small part, Alexander D'Arcy (he of "The Awful Truth" fame).

Some of the strongest scenes are in the early parts of the movie, especially when Kay Francis almost arrogantly descends the staircase at a grand reception she is giving, and, seemingly ignoring everybody, manages to turn every head in the place with the new creation she is wearing! Marvellous!! To the best of my knowledge this movie has never been shown on British TV.

So, over here at least, a forgotten film worth investigating.

That card at the beginning of the film stating that all characters, events, and names are entirely fictitious was pretty rare back in those days, so the director must have been a little concerned making this one! Then we learn that we are in Paris in 1931 at a fashion show. Nicole (Kay Francis) and Suzanne (Alison Skipworth) work for a fashionable dress shop. Stefan Orloff (Claude Rains, a couple years before Casablanca) comes along and has a proposition for her. She follows through on her end of the bargain, and he sets her up in a shop of her own. We get through that in the first 15 minutes, but Nicole isn't done with him yet... their lives stay intertwined, against the advice of her friend Suzanne. Then, all at once, about a half hour into the film, we bluntly find out exactly what Orloff and his cronies are up to, and by association, now Nicole is involved too. The timing is a little strange, but the script and direction are good. Francis certainly had a successful career, but it might have been even more successful if not for her problem pronouncing the letter "R"... Directed by Michael Curtiz, who would also direct Rains in Casablanca in 1942. Produced by Hal Wallis, who also produced all those silly Elvis movies. The story here is interesting to follow, and the outdoor scenery is beautiful, even if its not really Europe we're seeing.

A treat for fans of pre-code movies - yes it's made in 1937 but the first third of this surprisingly good Kay Francis movie feels exactly like you're watching something from 1933! It's a Michael Curtiz film so the rest of this picture is pretty good too.

Only Warner Brothers could perform the magic of creating this pre-code feel, indeed a Warner Brothers pre-code feel in this 1937 film. This 1931 which they replicated was the 1931 they created themselves six years earlier which formed a more permanent memory than the real year, the year when The Depression really started to kick in. This has even got the iconic Warner pre-code ingredient of girls stripping down to their underwear in a dressing room and of course Kay Francis....stripping down to her underwear of course. Kay Francis was part of that make-believe web of dreams and only she could play this role. Her character's ambition is to be something more than just a clothes horse, which was famously Francis's ambition as well.

She begins this picture looking not just like she did in her early talkies complete with that abominable hair cut but, but acting that same way. She was pretty terrible back then but somehow, by replicating her then dearth of talent gives this a wonderful dose of nostalgia.

The plot then moves the story forward to the present, well to 1936 and Michael Curtiz cleverly highlights the contrast between those two very different eras - so different and yet so close to each other. It's not just the cars, the clothing which are different but the more contemporary style of acting tells you that time has moved on.

The second part of the picture is a really engaging and enjoyable well written, well acted and well directed believable drama. The tension grows, the intrigue becomes more intense and even the romance hooks you in. Why Kay Francis would prefer dull old Ian Hunter, THE MAN FROM TORONTO (if you're familiar with that fabulous Jessie Matthews film) instead of the utterly charismatic, charming and dangerous Claude Rains however doesn't make sense. OK, he's a dreadful crook but what a guy!