Last Holiday

Alec Guinness stars in "Last Holiday," a 1950 British film which was remade years later with Queen Latifah as the star. Though I enjoyed the warmth of the later version, the Guinness "Last Holiday," no surprise, is superior.

Guinness plays a lower class Brit, George Bird, who is told he is going to die of a rare disease and has maybe a few months left to live. George quits his job, takes his savings, and goes to stay at a ritzy resort. There, he changes, and circumstances change for him. With nothing to loses any longer, he becomes outspoken. He also wins at poker, croquet, and a horse race. He's offered jobs. And there's the possibility of romance.

This is supposedly a comedy, but it's not an uproarious one. It's more drama, in fact. George Byrd finds that all these wealthy people aren't all they're cracked up to be. He also finds out that when you let go and stop trying, opportunities appear. And he learns the difference between passing the time and doing something with your time.

Alec Guinness is brilliant as George, timid at first, gaining stature with his new clothes, and asserting himself once he gets to the resort. It's a beautifully layered performance.

Despite some sadness within the film, this is an excellent story of a man who learns life's lessons in a narrow space of time.

The central character (Guiness) is "a modest unassuming salesman of agricultural implements" (Wikipedia). A respectable almost classless person whose unassuming manner, unglamorous job and modest salary have limited his social circle. For the first (and last) time circumstances allow him to spend freely and, for want of any other idea, stay a few weeks at a very upmarket seaside hotel. Its clientele have only one thing in common: either possessing wealth or using the opportunity to accumulate it. Some are rich and lack class, others have power and status as well as wealth. The Guinness character for the first time has an opportunity to network with important people.

Guinness in a way reprises his role in The Man in the White Suit - a thoroughly honest man innocent in the ways of the world whose modest manner and appearance belies his inventive genius. Yet is remarkably unchanged by success and continues to treat both high and low equally - and cause a surprising degree of unintended upset.

A good story with excellent cast, it is a less demanding part for the chameleon genius of Guinness. As usual with Priestley very well crafted story-telling. However the film dates from 1950 - 5 years after WW2 when people were looking to a better future and trying to put grief behind them. During WW2, Priestley had been the nation's uncle, providing not false comfort but a steadying presence putting the worlds events into a assimilable form for the average person. With the end of the war, the public's need for Priestley (much as their need for Churchill) ended. The film's sour end seems to have no point other than to say just when things are looking up and people at their most cheerful and optimistic, everything can be be dashed to the ground in an instant.

Last Holiday contains the first really dramatic performance by Alec Guinness. It's also the first time he's carrying a film as per the billing on the strength of his abilities. It's one beautiful performance in a picture with a universal message.

Alec Guinness plays your British every man who having no wife, no family, and no close relatives is likely to be remembered by very few when he passes on and then for a short time. He's given the news that the grim reaper is close, it might be a matter of a few weeks or a few months. What to do but go out and just enjoy things while you can.

So he packs off and stays at the small but posh Regal Hotel, a seaside resort much prized by the British vacationers. And he has some phenomenal luck there, winning huge poker pots, longshot horse racing bets coming in. He even finds some love with hotel housekeeping manager Kay Walsh. But how to tell the new friends he's made what is in store for him?

J.B. Priestley wrote the original script and in my opinion should have been a candidate for all kinds of awards. It is direct and simple and never maudlin. Guinness got the character down perfectly. And the ending is truly ironical.

Which must have pleased and singed director Henry Cass a bit. Back in the 30s when Guinness was starting in the profession he tried out for a stage production directed by Cass who told him in no uncertain terms he was a no talent bum. This comes from a biography of Guinness. Kind of like Phil Rizzuto who was told he'd never be a ballplayer by Casey Stengel and then having him as his manager on the Yankees after becoming an All Star.

One should watch Last Holiday together with Grand Hotel and note some of the similarities and the differences with Lionel Barrymore and Alec Guinness both portraying men under a death sentence.

I think the message is the same, you never know when you're checking out so live accordingly.

Absent for years in Europe on both TV and Video, I finally managed to acquire this one on a VHS tape from the US. A man learns he has a short time to live and decides to make the most of it by living it up in a luxury hotel. His life suddenly becomes far more interesting, makes more money than ever before and luck generally smiles him in the face. I remember seeing it about Thirty years ago and wondered how a new viewing would affect me. There were one or two disappointments, I had a memory of the film being rather more romantic than it actually is ( nothing much actually happens on this side ) and parts of the film are rather 'chatty'. This said the overall story is quite original. The film captures that now long-lost atmosphere of a luxury 1950's English hotel in the bright sunshine presumably situated in Devon or Cornwall (as we see palm trees in the garden. There are many well-known actors and the script is quite original to say the least. Another of J.B. Priestley's stories 'An Inspector Calls' was also made on film and is actually very good, even better than 'Last Holiday'. Nevertheless, the haunting theme music (solo fiddle) and thedécors are A1. Picture and sound quality are very good for the time (1950) and I am surprised that the film is not readily available on VHS and DVD everywhere! Of course, Alec Guinness was a great actor and his performance here is totally up to standard. If the romantic side of it all had been pushed just a little further the film would have been perfect for me ! The ending of the film is the Wickedest and most unexpected in the history of cinema !

This film happen to be at the top of my all time favourites.

I always thought that Alec and Kay had a sparkle when acting together..."Oliver Twist";"Last Holiday";"The Horses Mouth";"Tunes of Glory"...I did not mention "Scrooge" because they did not appear together in any scene.

It is interesting to note that if two actors have a close rapport then their performance reflects this very well.

In "Tunes of Glory" a number of scenes were cut that had both actors in it. I remember one scene Still had Jock and Mary in bed together. Maybe it was deemed unnecessary and the censor would have made it an "A" movie instead of a "U".

I would greatly appreciate any comments you may have concerning these two actors as I am writing a book about British Film Actresses and a large section will be devoted to Kay Walsh.

Thank you,

MCG