Strange Holiday

Claude Rains stars as John Stevenson, a typical American businessman, husband, and father. He goes on a lengthy fishing trip with a pal, and when they return home, John discovers that the government has been overthrown by fascists who have the populace in the grip of fear. As John struggles to understand what has happened, the true cost of losing freedom comes into stark relief. Also featuring Martin Kosleck, Gloria Holden, Milton Kibbee, Helen Mack, and Tommy Cook.

This short (61 minute) movie can't exactly be called a thriller, as there aren't a lot of thrills, and the situation is so exaggerated, and presented in such a hallucinatory way, that you can't really call this a straight drama, either. It plays a bit like an overlong Twilight Zone episode, and it's a definite precursor to the many "Red Menace" films of next 25 years. This was actually produced by General Motors to be shown to employees and their families to hit home how important the American way is, and how fragile it's existence is in the face of tyranny. I'm not sure how people took it back in 1945, but it still seems a little uncomfortable now.

I just came across this film and watched it yesterday. I had never heard of it before and decided to give it a try. I found it an eerie and haunting little film with a very powerful message. An ordinary American businessman is on a holiday camping, hunting and fishing in the forest. When he goes home afterwards he finds that his city has been taken over and is now run by Nazis. He is arrested and beaten and told by the head Nazi, "this is our America now." Considering what happened last week, when a huge crowd broke into the Capitol in Washington DC in an attempt to prevent Joe Biden from becoming the new President of the USA, this film that is three-quarters of a century old shows that it is still scarily relevant. At the end the prisoner John Stevenson is seen holding the bars of his jail cell and saying, "freedom is not a gift, it is a victory." What a timely reminder that freedom has to be protected, even fought for, or it could be taken away from us. Claude Rains has to carry the film and he does so excellently. Most people probably don't know this film but it deserves to be widely known because its message is urgently in need of being heard. Anyone who values democracy will be haunted by what it shows and what it says. Only 75 minutes long but it packs a punch! I recommend this to anyone and all the more so in our present situation.

Claude Rains is his usual brilliant self.

The film is a terrifying vision of the USA had the Conservative Elite been able to take over the country with their Make America Great fascist rhetoric. Sounds familiar? The raid on the Capitol Building on Wednesday 6th January 2021 could have been the downfall of the USA if Trump the Turnip is not drummed out of politics and the USA. Trump may well have broken the titular country!

Businessman John Stevenson and his friend Sam Morgan are on a fishing trip in a remote area. When their plane is forced to land he returns home only to find people are scared and unfriendly. Fascists have taken over the US government and his family are missing.

Strange holiday is a strange film. Originally made by General Motors as a propaganda film for their workers but padded out for cinema release. Given his A listing at that time it is a surprise to see Claude Rains in a film of this standard. Watch it for curiosity value only.

I watched this a few days after Trump's 'patriotic' friends attempted to stop Congress confirming last year's presidential elections. Five people lost their lives. In this film, Claude Rains dreams that fascists have carried out their secret 'Plan' to abolish the Constitution and seize power. At one point, we hear the disgruntled people agreeing with the fascist slogans that 'we can't trust any of our politicians,' that 'this is no democracy any more,' and 'what we need is a strong man and some discipline.' Some of us haven't learned much since 1945.