Stolen Holiday

Last updated
Stolen Holiday
Stolen Holiday FilmPoster.jpeg
DVD cover
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Screenplay by Casey Robinson
Story by Warren Duff
Virginia Kellogg
Produced by Hal B. Wallis
Starring Kay Francis
Claude Rains
Ian Hunter
Cinematography Sidney Hickox
Edited by Terry O. Morse
Music by Heinz Roemheld
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • February 7, 1937 (1937-02-07)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Stolen Holiday is a 1937 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Kay Francis, Claude Rains and Ian Hunter. It is loosely based on the Stavisky Affair, a French political scandal. A Russian con artist worms his way into the upper reaches of French society, but is finally exposed, with tragic consequences.

Contents

Plot

In 1931 Paris, Nicole Picot, a model for a fashionable dress shop, is hired by nearly-penniless Stefan Orloff to help persuade a financier to fund his ambitious plans. By 1934, Stefan has established an investment bank; in gratitude, he provides the capital that Nicole needs to set up her own business and become a successful dress designer (though she insists on paying him back).

British diplomat Anthony Wayne romances Nicole and wins her heart. However, when Stefan's crooked schemes start to unravel, he asks Nicole to marry him without divulging his main motive: the attendance of her influential friends at the well-publicized ceremony would bolster public confidence in him and buy him time. She agrees, out of friendship alone, much to the distress of her friend and assistant, Suzanne. It is too late. At their wedding, Stefan's closest confederate, Francis Chalon, is taken away by the police for questioning, and the other guests hastily depart.

Knowing that Chalon can incriminate him, Stefan goes into hiding at a remote chateau. However, he makes a mistake, sending a letter to Nicole asking her to join him. She does so, despite Anthony's protests. Nicole gets Stefan to admit the truth, though he insists he does love her. When he sees that the police have followed Nicole and have surrounded the chateau, he excuses himself. To spare her from being dragged down with him, he goes outside. As he expected, he is shot and killed, though it is staged to look like a suicide to avoid causing further embarrassment to the government.

Afterward, Anthony persists and finally gets Nicole to agree to marry him.

Cast

Preservation

In addition to being held by Warner Bros., the film is preserved in the Library of Congress collection. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Four Daughters</i> 1938 film by Michael Curtiz

Four Daughters is a 1938 American romance film that tells the story of a happy musical family whose lives and loves are disrupted by the arrival of a charming young composer who interjects himself into the daughters' romantic lives. His cynical, bitter musician friend comes to help orchestrate his latest composition and complicates matters even more. The movie stars the Lane Sisters and Gale Page, and features Claude Rains, Jeffrey Lynn, John Garfield, and Dick Foran. The three Lanes were sisters and members of a family singing trio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Rains</span> British actor (1889–1967)

William Claude Rains was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man (1933), he appeared in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Wolf Man (1941), Casablanca (1942), Kings Row (1942), Notorious (1946), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Curtiz</span> Hungarian-American director (1886–1962)

Michael Curtiz was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed classic films from the silent era and numerous others during Hollywood's Golden Age, when the studio system was prevalent.

<i>Muriels Wedding</i> 1994 film by P. J. Hogan

Muriel's Wedding is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by P. J. Hogan. The film, which stars Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Jeanie Drynan, Sophie Lee, and Bill Hunter, focuses on the socially awkward Muriel whose ambition is to have a glamorous wedding and improve her personal life by moving from her dead-end hometown, the fictional Porpoise Spit, to Sydney.

<i>Moulin Rouge</i> (1952 film) Film by John Huston

Moulin Rouge is a 1952 British historical romantic drama film directed by John Huston from a screenplay he co-wrote with Anthony Veiller, based on the 1950 novel of the same name by Pierre La Mure, and produced by John and James Woolf. The film follows artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 19th-century Paris's bohemian subculture in and around the Moulin Rouge, a burlesque palace. The film was screened at the 14th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Lion.

<i>Atlantis</i> (1913 film) 1913 film

Atlantis is a 1913 Danish silent film directed by August Blom, the head of production at the Nordisk Film company, and was based upon the 1912 novel by Gerhart Hauptmann. It starred an international cast headlined by Danish matinée actor Olaf Fønss and Austrian opera diva Ida Orloff. The story, which tells the tale of a doctor who travels to the United States in search of a cure for his ailing wife, includes the tragic sinking of an ocean liner after it strikes an object at sea. Released only one year after the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the film drew considerable attention as well as criticism due to similarities to the actual tragedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stavisky affair</span> Financial scandal in France

The Stavisky affair was a financial scandal in France in 1934, involving embezzler Alexandre Stavisky. The scandal had political ramifications for the Radical-Socialist government after it was revealed that Prime Minister Camille Chautemps had protected Stavisky, who died suddenly in mysterious circumstances.

<i>Rugrats in Paris: The Movie</i> 2000 film directed by Stig Bergqvist and Paul Demeyer

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie is a 2000 animated comedy film that is the second film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats and the sequel The Rugrats Movie (1998). This film marks the first appearance of Kimi Watanabe and her mother, Kira. The film also marks the appearance of the first significant villains in the Rugrats franchise, the child-hating Coco LaBouche and her dastardly accomplice, Jean-Claude. The events of the film take place before the series' seventh season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexandre Stavisky</span> French financier and embezzler (1886–1934)

Serge Alexandre Stavisky was a French financier and embezzler whose actions created a political scandal that became known as the Stavisky Affair.

<i>Daughters Courageous</i> 1939 film by Michael Curtiz

Daughters Courageous is a 1939 American drama film starring John Garfield, Claude Rains, Jeffrey Lynn and featuring the Lane Sisters: Lola Lane, Rosemary Lane and Priscilla Lane. Based on the play Fly Away Home by Dorothy Bennett and Irving White, the film was directed by Michael Curtiz. It was released by Warner Bros. on June 23, 1939.

<i>The Unsuspected</i> 1947 film by Michael Curtiz

The Unsuspected is a 1947 American mystery film noir directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Claude Rains, Audrey Totter, Ted North, Constance Bennett, Joan Caulfield, and Hurd Hatfield. The film was based on the 1946 novel of the same title by Charlotte Armstrong. The screenplay was co-written by Bess Meredyth, who was married to director Curtiz.

<i>Les Uns et les Autres</i> 1984 French film

Les Uns et les Autres is a 1981 French film by Claude Lelouch. The film is a musical epic and it is widely considered as the director's best work, along with Un Homme et une Femme. It won the Technical Grand Prize at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. In the United States, it was distributed under the name Boléro in reference to Maurice Ravel's orchestral piece, used in the film. The film was very successful in France with 3,234,549 admissions and was the 6th highest-grossing film of the year.

<i>Rope of Sand</i> 1949 film by William Dieterle

Rope of Sand is a 1949 American adventure-suspense film noir directed by William Dieterle, produced by Hal Wallis, and starring Burt Lancaster and three stars from Wallis's Casablanca – Paul Henreid, Claude Rains and Peter Lorre. The film introduces Corinne Calvet and features Sam Jaffe, John Bromfield, and Kenny Washington in supporting roles. The picture is set in South West Africa. Desert portions of the film were shot in Yuma, Arizona.

<i>The Passionate Friends</i> (1949 film) 1949 British film

The Passionate Friends is a 1949 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean and starring Ann Todd, Claude Rains and Trevor Howard. The film is based on The Passionate Friends: A Novel (1913) by H. G. Wells. It describes a love triangle in which a woman cannot give up her affair with another man. The film was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival.

<i>Deception</i> (1946 film) 1946 American film with Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains directed by Irving Rapper

Deception is a 1946 American film noir drama released by Warner Brothers and directed by Irving Rapper. The film is based on the 1927 play Monsieur Lamberthier by Louis Verneuil. The screenplay was written by John Collier and Joseph Than. It stars Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, who had also appeared together in the highly successful Now, Voyager (1942), which was also directed by Rapper.

<i>The Scapegoat</i> (1959 film) 1959 film by Robert Hamer

The Scapegoat is a 1959 British mystery film based on the 1957 novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, and starring Alec Guinness, Nicole Maurey and Bette Davis.

<i>Mandalay</i> (film) 1934 film by Michael Curtiz

Mandalay is a 1934 American pre Code drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and written by Austin Parker and Charles Kenyon based on a story by Paul Hervey Fox. The film stars Kay Francis, Ricardo Cortez, Warner Oland and Lyle Talbot, and features Ruth Donnelly and Reginald Owen.

<i>Four Wives</i> 1939 film by Michael Curtiz

Four Wives is a 1939 American drama film starring the Lane Sisters and Gale Page. The film was directed by Michael Curtiz and is based on the story "Sister Act" by Fannie Hurst. The supporting cast features Claude Rains, Jeffrey Lynn, Eddie Albert, Frank McHugh and Dick Foran. The picture is a sequel to Four Daughters (1938) and was followed by Four Mothers (1941). Four Wives was released by Warner Bros. on December 25, 1939.

<i>Another Dawn</i> (1937 film) 1937 film by William Dieterle

Another Dawn is a 1937 American melodrama film directed by William Dieterle and starring Errol Flynn, Kay Francis and Ian Hunter. It is based on Somerset Maugham's 1919 play Caesar's Wife. It was produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. The film received dismissive reviews.

<i>Pleasure Cruise</i> 1933 film by Frank Tuttle

Pleasure Cruise is a 1933 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by Frank Tuttle and written by Guy Bolton. The film stars Genevieve Tobin, Roland Young, Ralph Forbes, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin and Minna Gombell. The film was released on March 24, 1933, by Fox Film Corporation.

References

  1. Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at the Library of Congress, p.175 c.1978 by The American Film Institute

Bibliography