Last Holiday

Reviewer: James van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****

Only the sixth of some 65 film performances credited to master British actor Alec Guinness, Last Holiday doesn't rate among his most popular. Our knowledge of the film's existence probably came to the fore most keenly when Queen Latifah and Gerard Depardieu starred in a simple-minded remake in 2006. A comparison of the two films once again contrasts British reserve and subtlety with the American feel-good-at-all-cost sensibility. If you missed the remake, no worries, but thanks to this new DVD from Criterion's Essential Art House collection, it's time to appreciate the original.

Made in 1950 when the Brits were beginning to feel the effects of recovery from WWII, the film was directed by Henry Cass, out of whose 26 films I have seen only this. But Cass did a fine job of directing the excellent screenplay by J.B. Priestley, who brings together some timely and interesting themes as he tells the tale of a "nobody" (Guinness) who, when diagnosed with a fatal disease and given only a short time to live, decides to chuck his job and make the most of his last days by checking into a posh hotel and "living it up."

The key to the film's great success (besides Mr. Guinness' usual telling performance – this time filled with more sadness and repressed anger than humor) lies in the guests and staff of this hotel – a wonderful grab-bag of beautifully written and performed characters that, about as well as any film I can recall, lay before us a vision of post-war Britain's wealthy, sleazy, leisure and working classes.

From the plain (and plain-spoken) woman in charge of hotel linens (the great Kay Walsh) to the classy, conniving "looker" (Beatrice Campbell) in love with a handsome "rotter" (Brian Worth); from the charming, low-end gambler (Sid James) and his wife (Jean Colin) to the smart inventor (a very young Wilfrid Hyde-Whyte), a forever-pontificating politician, the solicitous Italian hotel manager (there were "immigrant" issues, even back then) and the haughty, titled Scot – the whole of society is laid out in a manner that allows us to view it with humor, irony and, yes, sadness to realize that so little has changed in 60 years.

While the transfer quality is not up to Criterion's highest standards, and there aren't any extras, it's still wonderful to have the film on DVD at last.