User reviews

The Holly and the Ivy is a far cry from the usual Christmas story since it is more a family drama set during the Christmas season. It is a powerful story with excellent acting as the group gets together in a country village north of London in 1948.

The family made up of father, aunts, grown children and two male friends come together at the vicarage of the father, the parson in a local church. Ralph Richardson and Margaret Leighton, as father and daughter, have the key roles and are bolstered by a strong supporting cast, including Denholm Eliot and Celia Johnson.

During the evening and Christmas morning, family matters that had been ignored or kept secret, come to the fore. After a series of uncomfortable incidents and heart-to-heart talks, things change and everyone finds comfort and possibly a deeper purpose in this Christmas.

This is certainly a serious movie and totally entertaining. Unlike many of the fantasy films we see at Christmas, this offers a dose of reality. The sets are very plain as they were in most British dramas of that era but the acting is superb. It teaches the audience that Christmas and family difficulties are often played out together. In that sense, family Christmas gatherings may not be that different than they were 60 some years ago.

"The Holly and the Ivy" is a very good film...filled with some exceptional acting. However, before you watch it, you need to consider what content is in the movie. Sure, it's a Christmas film...but also one that easily could trigger your depression if you've been struggling with it. It also brings up things that are NOT fun and Christmassy....such as dead lovers and children. So think about seeing it before you do!!

The story is about Christmas and a group of people who are all returning to a small British town for the holiday and to spend it with the Parson (Ralph Richardson). Most of the people coming have secrets...things they SHOULD talk about with family but haven't for inexplicable reasons. In most cases, they don't bring it up with the Parson because they perceive that he'll be judgmental and a parson first...not a father. How all this plays out is marvelous...with some brilliant acting. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that the problems are all worked out so quickly and easily...perhaps a bit too much so. Adding a few minutes to show this process would have made the film even better. Still, the acting is magnificent and the story filled with a gritty realism otherwise. Well worth seeing.

This movie is a little gem for the most part. And a welcome change from the usual Christmas fare. The only fault is with the ending which appears rushed and we are left to grieve the characters a little. Rather like a dessert that gets whisked away before one is quite finished. Unsatisfied. It tells the story of a widowed parson and the family members who come home for the holidays to a quaint old village. Father, played wonderfully by Ralph Richardson, has always been shielded from the facts of life by his three - now adult - children. For the era in which it was made (1952)the secrets one of the three carries is quite a shocker. A flaw is that Celia Johnson, an actress I enjoy, is far too old in this to play a thirty one year old. Margaret Leighton's brittle charm is never more appealing than here. However, the two aunts steal every scene in which they appear, two wonderful stage actresses, Margaret Halstan and Maureen Delaney. A great script, a little stagey, and ending far too swiftly, I gave it a 7 out of 10.

Just in time for Christmas comes a DVD available from the UK, of one of the really great Christmas film gems 'The Holly and the Ivy'. Set in a Norfolk rectory its evocation of a post-war Christmas is brought to life by the playing of Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson as the daughter. It holds no cinematic tricks and as such is just a faithful filming of a stage success. It's strength lies in the wonderful interplay between the divergent characters all coming together to spend Christmas in the Norfolk rectory. The two aunts played by Margaret Halstan and Maureen Delany are quite delightful and almost steal the show.A young Denholm Elliott is to be seen in an early role and Margaret Leighton gives a very moving performance. Just to hear the English language spoken so well by a first class cast is a joy. I love this film and will keep this one to play over the Christams period.

A fine play in a 1950s screen version, wonderfully cast - Ralph Richardson is the parson who has bred a dysfunctional family (daughters Celia Johnson and Margaret Leighton, son Denholm Elliott).

When the family comes together at Christmas, with the two maiden aunts - the holly and ivy represented in human form? - secrets tumble out, the family comes together, and peace and understanding comes to pass as it should in the festive season.

Leighton's flighty daughter with the grief of a loss in the war hanging over her; Johnson's tired and emotionally drained woman in love (with John Gregson, about to emigrate for his work); Elliott's Army private bristling against authority at all levels - all these characterisations are spot-on.

But the film belongs to Richardson - quietly watching and waiting for his moment in the sun, a long speech to his daughter - although he is saddled with a slightly odd accent.

The Holly and the Ivy is a heartwarming fable of Christmas and should be much better known than it is - can we have a television showing this season?

Until recently I had never heard of this little gem of British holiday sentiment. I heard someone call it the "Christmas movie for people who don't like Christmas movies" and the quest to find it was on.

This is the story of a Christmas in which the emotionally wounded family of a Church of England clergyman come home and attempt to have a happy holiday. What happens is not your typical happy tearjerker, nor is it a Christmas nightmare. Its a reasonably realistic, as much as films of the time could be in 75 minutes, look at a family of emotional cripples as they all try to put their lives back on track. The ending while hopeful is far from certain, so much so that I cursed the fact that it didn't go on another five or six hours, my sole complaint about the film.

A word of warning, don't abandon the film until you get to the end. I wasn't enraptured of the film for almost two thirds of its running time. I was interested in what was happening but I didn't know if I liked it, and then suddenly all of the pieces were in place and it became this charming atypical jewel of a movie.

Forget Its a Wonderful Life, watch this instead, its so much more real.

As various members of the Gregory family gather for Christmas, secrets are revealed and tempers flare.

Clunky editing, theatrical directing and ridiculous casting choices should leave this film a creaky and dated mess, yet somehow it radiates a seasonal (and very British) charm. Richardson is hilariously miscast as the Gregory patriarch, donning 'old man' make-up and wandering in and out of a dodgy Oirish accent. As his 31 year old daughter Jenny, 43 year old Johnson fares better, convincing and always watchable as the dutiful child resigning herself to a future of servility. 30 year old Elliot is astonishingly youthful as twenty-something son Mick, and 30 year old Leighton captivating as troubled daughter Margaret.

Obviously an adaptation from the stage, many of the scenes play like theatre, although all credit to the cast for mostly toning done the theatrics. Best moment? Margaret telling Jenny about the tragedies of her life as they wash up after Christmas Eve dinner. Leighton and Johnson beautifully convey the shock and grief of Margaret's story, Johnson particularly fine as she reacts to the dreadful story, allowing surprise and delight turn to horror.

Yes The Holly And The Ivy is from another age, yes it has a theatrical flavour, yes Richardson is obviously far too young to play the elderly parson... nevertheless it remains a charming and quite moving seasonal favourite of mine.

I think I have only seen this film about 3 times in my life. But the impact it had on me each time I saw it was great. A tremendous British cast, in a tremendous British film. It just simply is not shown often enough, and on top of all that it is not available on Video/DVD.

A story of a family brought together for Christmas, and their lives during the war years clearly showing through.

Please let us have a change from the usual Christmas line up. Either give us a treat and show it over the coming Christmas or release it on Video/DVD. After all, how many variations of a Christmas Carol can somebody take over the festive period year after year.

It's too bad that this film is unavailable in the United States. Many years ago it was given to me by a friend who taped it off some obscure broadcast station. I've shown it every year since and have never grown tired of it. There is much truth in this film, and all of its characters reveal something of themselves that we can all identify with. And what a cast-- Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton, Denholm Elliot, and Hugh Williams! Richardson's parson is one, regardless of one's faith, we would all love to know. And Johnson and Leighton display acting of the highest order. Elliot is superb as the restless son, and Williams as a world weary but understanding and compassionate friend of the family has never been better. This is a film that deserves wide attention and should be a Christmas staple. It is not only my favorite Christmas movie, but also one my ten favorite films of all time.

Please, please, somebody get this superb movie on North American DVD or VHS. We need this film at Christmas time and always. Straight from the heart to the heart. To add even greater meaning to this fabulous treat, do some research about the symbolism of the holly and the ivy and consider the lyrics and tune of the Christmas carol. Personally, I've always thought of the two wonderful aunts as representing the holly and ivy of Christmas lore, probably with the priest's sister being the holly and his sister-in-law the ivy. Of course, they represent much more than the masculine and feminine principles: poorness vs richness, bitterness vs gratitude, disappointment vs hope, negative vs positive, pessimism vs optimism. All of these oppositions are worked out beautifully by the perfectly cast and capable actresses playing the aunts. A masterpiece!

This is a first rate class of actors/actresses who turn a previous stage play into a dramatic film void of any warm and wintry jovial family around Christmas time such as we watched in the (George) Bailey family's 1946 Frank Capra film It's A Wonderful Life. Rather, this is a serious story about Reverend Martin Gregory (played by Ralph Richardson) and his three adult children all coping with difficulties in their own adult lives and their widower father Reverend Martin Gregory is unaware of each of his children's hidden demons.

This is not to say that the good Reverend and father is not prepared to listen to his adult children's woes especially around the season of Christmas time, but how these adults all finally, one by one, share their innermost demons with one another and they unexpectedly but graciously receive the gift of a fathers love as well as good advice and support from their patriarch the Reverend Martin Gregory.

This is a timeless film of heartbreak and family support during a difficult time when Christmas which is usually perceived and seen not as white snow, merriment and turkey but more of remorse and forgiveness and getting that proverbial elephant on to the table to discuss and resolve matters within a family dynamic(s).

I give it a solid 7 out of 10 IMDB rating

We are used to family-problem plays, but this movie works up a problem where it seems none exists. Sisters Margaret Leighton and Celia Johnson (supposed to be 31 but really 44 and looking it) each have secrets they keep from their father, minister Ralph Richardson, because they are sure he wouldn't understand.

Yet, from what we see, this is utterly ridiculous. Leighton says people are individuals, not types. Yet she (and her brother, a very young and rather dishy Denholm Elliott) keep shouting at the poor man that he can't be told the truth, not because, as she says, of "anything personal," but because he is a clergyman. But all clergymen are not alike. Indeed, Richardson never is shown to be anything but an old sweetie, very mild-mannered, thoughtful, and self-deprecating.

Then there is what we can conjecture. In more than twenty years, haven't the three of them had more than enough contact with their father to know that he is neither a rigid moralist nor a hypocrite? Why do they just characterise him as "a parson" rather than the father they know and love.

Not only is this very silly, but Celia Johnson's character is nothing like as sympathetic as it is intended. Her fiancé wants her to marry him and join him in South America, where he has to be for five years. Yet she firmly brushes off love, sex, children, and warm weather, saying that she must stay and look after daddy. And this a daddy who has nothing physically or mentally wrong with him and who plainly has the money to hire help. Not to mention that her mother has been dead barely six months--it shouldn't be long before all the unmarried women in the countryside will be batting their eyes at him!

Yet a story so contrived and false is presented as tremendously heartwarming. Leighton is, as usual, divine, and the carols were nice, but that's about it.

Another older film which is, unfortunately ,unavailable in video or DVD. This is a refreshing holiday movie in that it shys away from the blatant sweetness of most holiday pictures.It deals well with a family in post-war Britain that has survived the ordeal with several scars. Sir Ralph Richardson is excellent as a clergyman and a father trying to deal with uprisings and emotion within his family, caught between the "old" and the progressive. The english cast is as usual excellent - watch for a youthful Denholm Eliot. Too bad the film isn't shown often, especially for a needed change of pace from the usual Christmas line-up that happens every year.

I decided to watch this during a moment of self loathing. You see, I remember that pompous gasbag Sir Ralph Richardson from Long Day's Journey into Night. It was excruciating.

His part is much smaller in this film and his speeches are mercifully shorter.

This film is about a family and it's problems. It isn't a feel good Christmas film. It is frank. Well, as frank as you can get for the 1950s.

The great Margaret Leighton gives the best performance in this film. She made the entire film for me.

The film does touch a bit on faith.

The most fun are the two old aunts. They are delightful characters and provide great comic relief.

Christmas movies seem to multiply like the commercial world's "Season's Greetings"--and most of them are just as hollow and pointless. This is an exception, British cinema at its best. "The Holly and the Ivy" is an emotional roller coaster that leaves you wanting more.

Members of a family assemble to celebrate Christmas in the home of their father, a widowed Anglican clergyman. Various ones have gone through painful experiences of one kind or another. And all have concealed the details from their father on the assumption that he wouldn't understand "because he's a parson." The shattering explosions that occur as bits of the truth begin to be revealed are memorable. Forget about the endless fantasies, flying reindeer and dancing snowmen. This is a real Christmas about real people. The resolution at the end may come a little too quickly, but it is satisfying.

See this movie if you can find it--and urge the powers that be to re-issue it on DVD.

George More O'Ferrall has assembled a really strong cast for his adaptation of Wynyard Browne's emotionally rich play. It all centres around a Christmas family gathering at the home of "Rev. Martin" (Ralph Richardson). As with every such get-together, it becomes a little fraught as his children "Jenny" (Celia Johnson), "Margaret" (Margaret Leighton) and "Michael" (Denholm Elliott) congregate and their not immediately cogent personalities soon start to show through their veneer of politeness. Thing is, they are all still trying to deal with the psychological impact left upon them - and their extended family - following the horrors of the Second World War. To be honest, it can border on the melodramatic at times and it also struggles a bit when Richardson is off screen, but somehow as it advances this story starts to glow a little. The characters have a certain degree of truthfulness as they develop - and made in 1952, many of the supposed scenarios being recalled and dealt with by all concerned do ring true somewhat. There are a tightly knit series of domestic scenarios here that allow each to offer us a glimpse of their childhood resentments, aspirations, dreams, frustrations and loves - Johnson being especially effective as the daughter who is in love with "Paterson" (a slightly static John Gregson) but remains committed to stay at home and "look after" their father - whether he wants her to or not! It has a degree of nostalgia to it, but not in an overly sentimental fashion. They reminisce, as we would have been invited to do at the time, but there is still enough contemporary joy from this Christmas together to offer glimmers of light and hope at a conclusion that probably resonated well with a new reign in the UK at the time. It's short, hardly eighty minutes, and does pack in plenty of characterful performances and offers us just a little food for thought too.

The acting was excellent, and held my interest. However, the plot is thin and strains credulity at times. For example, the father, who is a parson, is supposed to be in decline cognitively, so needs a family member to be with him at home at all times. However, he seems to be really quite sharp-witted, and not really in need of care. He could easily make do with a housekeeper, not a full-time caretaker.

And there's a rather far-fetched story about one of the daughters, which I won't reveal here, but it just doesn't seem plausible that on one Christmas Eve, the whole story is revealed, when it's been successfully kept secret for 5+ years.

So I reluctantly give it only a few stars. I wish it could be redone, with a more fleshed-out story.

Beware, this film may creep up on you, it can be so easily dismissed but any viewer infused with the passion of humanity and what makes us tick will be enthralled.

Some reviewers missed the point (or simply didn't want to see it!) The insightful will relish the final outcome. Writer Wynyard Brown brings to mind the intensity of Eugene O'Neal, but somehow makes it easier to take.

Brown's collaboration with Producer/Writer Anatold De Grunwald offers the discerning viewer a true gem. Pity writers and Producers of this quality were given over to the bleak grittiness of the 'kitchen sink' movement (who managed to leave us a somewhat limited legacy)

Performances are quite remarkable, especially the principal characters (Richadson is a standout) The stories search for faith in life over self pity is solid.

Sure, it was written as a play (as was O'Neill) but unlike some others, I felt the coupling of an astute Director, and Cinematographer, has fashioned many subtle, but smart cinematic moments.

D.O.P Ted (Edward) Scaife an amazing all rounder, often associated with outdoor action spectaculars (Outcast of the Islands, Dirty Dozen, Tazan's Greatest Adventure/The Magnificent, Night of the Demon, to name just a few) gives this mostly indoor film a unique look and feel, allowing the personalities of the characters to speak directly to us.

If you enjoy a film to think about and feel, this could be for you. Malcolm Arnolds well arranged Music score adds greatly. I would like to buy it on DVD but don't know if the original 83min vers has been transfered or only the inferior 74min (sadly the one usually run on TV) is all thats on offer. The full running time is moderate anyway, but in this case, the longer is the better. Its rare, so find either and enjoy....

The problem with this tender hearted and at times moving film is quite simple...there's no second act (appropriate since it's based on a play). Let's take the central conflict between Margaret Leighton's dipso, gadabout daughter and Ralph Richardson's loving but judgmental parson father. Screenwriter Anatole De Grunwald does a good job of setting up the struggle between these two and there is a properly dramatic clash at the end of Christmas Eve (act one) that promises much. But then in the middle of Christmas day (act three), following a rather bland conversation with her father about the universal need for faith, Leighton's character does a head spinning one eighty and is completely lovey dovey toward and devoted to dad. This precipitate change of course robs the audience (i.e. Me) of any sense of catharsis since we were denied the full emotional explication of each character's problems with the other that only a good second act can provide. I'm not advocating full on Eugene O'Neill here, mind you, with a four hour running time and multiple soliloquys, but maybe a Brit version of Lorraine Hansbury would have been nice, (or even Shelagh Delaney, for that matter). So what we're left with is an aura of goodwill toward men (and women) and a whole lot of fine acting from, among others, Richardson, Leighton, Celia Johnson, Denholm Elliot, Hugh Williams and, my fave, Maureen Delany as a crusty aunt who decides to stay over the holiday because it's goose instead of turkey on the menu. Give it a generous B minus for them.

For a while there, in Canada - in the eighties and nineties, when the television landscape was forever expanding - I could be guaranteed of seeing this movie; there was always some new station looking for filler, particularly during the Christmas season. What a treat!

This movie is not just a great film about the real meaning of Christmas, it is also a relic of a period that is not so long ago in terms of years, but is eons away in terms of social convention, manners, etc.

Even better, although the film was made in a gentler, more genteel time, serious issues (illegitimacy, alcoholism, reckless self-sacrifice) are explored with depth. If this had been a lesser movie, it would have come off as something to be shown in a religion class, but the extremely talented cast runs with the story and helps create a film that is magical and meaningful.

I have a tape of this somewhere, and am always on the lookout for a DVD version. I only hope The Holly and the Ivy makes it to digital transfer soon, and is rediscovered as the Christmas classic that it is.

The Gregory family are called upon to gather for Christmas. There is dysfunction as each member arrives and their various resentments surface. This is adapted from a play. I couldn't really connect with any of the characters but their troubles are interesting. A few things are noticeable. There are few children and non of them in the main part of the movie. Mostly, this feels a little Russian. These are sad people. It's very British but there seems to be a dash of Russian.

It's melodramatic but overall good. I appreciate the solid storyline, about a family who loves and accepts each, though. Very sweet. Also, I think the ending was a little abrupt.