''Last Holiday'' is a 1950 British film featuring

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1 ...

in his sixth starring role. The low key,

dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

was written and co-produced by J. B. Priestley and directed by

Henry Cass Henry Cass (24 June 1903 – 15 March 1989) was a British director, particularly prolific in film in the horror and comedy genres. Previously an actor, he was also a prolific stage director of classical theatre at the Old Vic in the 1930s. In 19 ...

, featuring irony and wit often associated with Priestley. Shooting locations included Bedfordshire and Devon. The film was co-written by an uncredited J. Lee Thompson. The film's narrative revolves around George Bird, who is a salesman for an agricultural implements company. During a routine visit to his physician, he is told that he has a

terminal disease Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced he ...

and only a short time to live. He decides to spend his final days in an expensive hotel. Once there, he acquires friends and a love interest who eventually learn of his plight.

Synopsis

George Bird (Guinness), an ordinary, unassuming salesman of agricultural implements who inexplicably speaks with a posh public school accent, visits a physician for a routine check-up and is told he has Lampington's disease, a newly identified condition which allows him only a few weeks to live. He accepts the doctor's advice to take his savings and enjoy himself in the little time left to him. A bachelor with no family or friends, Bird decides to spend his last days at an upmarket residential hotel among its elite clientele. By chance, a salesman in a used clothing store has acquired two suitcases, covered with international labels. The cases are full of a deceased

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage ...

's bespoke tailored wardrobe that perfectly fits Bird. Bird acquires the wardrobe and luggage and takes the salesman's advice to shave off his mustache that give him the appearance of a wealthy gentleman. Bird's unassuming attitude generates a great deal of interest among the hotel's residents because he wears the same expensive clothes as all the other guests. He is seen as an enigma to be solved, with wild speculations offered as to his identity and possible noble lineage. The hotel's housekeeper, Mrs. Poole (Walsh), guesses the truth, and Bird confides his secret to her. Bird quickly acquires friends and influence, falls in love (possibly for the first time in his life), sets wrongs to right, and is offered lucrative business opportunities. But these successes only serve to make him reflect on the irony that he will have no time to enjoy them. During a strike by the hotel's staff, Bird comes into contact with Sir Trevor Lampington (Thesiger), the doctor after whom Lampington's disease was named. He insists that Bird cannot possibly have the disease as he has no symptoms, and contacts the hospital to ask it to check. Just as the hospital discovers its error Bird enters and it is confirmed that he indeed was given the wrong diagnosis. Overjoyed, he is ready to begin life afresh with his new sweetheart, friends and business opportunities. In a twist ending, however, he is tragically killed in a car accident on the way back to the hotel. He takes a shortcut through the sleepy village of Fallow End, where a man has just set his sick old dog down on the road to have a “last sniff round” before taking him to be put to sleep. Swerving to avoid the dog, Bird runs head-on into a lorry. Meanwhile, the hotel guests, having learned the truth about Bird's identity and misdiagnosis, are irritated that he has not appeared for a dinner celebrating his good news. As the evening wears on, most of them express their doubts about him, and one of them, Bellinghurst, concludes the meal with an arrogant, longwinded “toast” to Bird, who is presumably back in his place. In hospital, resigned to his fate, Bird tells a nurse to “give his love” to all his friends at the hotel. Mrs. Poole silences Bellinghurst and shames the rest with the news that Mr. Bird is dead.

Cast

as George Bird *

Beatrice Campbell Beatrice Campbell (31 July 1922 – 10 May 1979) was an Irish stage and film actress, born in County Down, Northern Ireland, Biography Career After a distinguished London stage career, Campbell entered film in the mid-1940s. She received p ...

as Sheila Rockingham *

Brian Worth Brian Worth (30 July 1914 – 25 August 1978) was an English actor, known for '' Scrooge'' (1951), ''The Man in the White Suit'' (1951) and ''An Inspector Calls'' (1954). He died on 25 August 1978 aged 64. Educated in Britain and America, ...

as Derek Rockingham *

Kay Walsh Kathleen "Kay" Walsh (15 November 1911 – 16 April 2005) was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband film director David Lean, with whom she worked on prestige productions such as ...

as Mrs. Poole *

Wilfrid Hyde-White Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical ''My Fair Lady'' (1964). Ear ...

as Chalfont *

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mi ...

as Joe Clarence *

Jean Colin Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

as Daisy Clarence *

Helen Cherry Helen Mary Cherry (24 November 1915 – 27 September 2001) was an English stage, film and television actress. She was born in Worsley, Lancashire, and brought up in Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire. Marriage Whilst working at the Arts The ...

as Miss Mellows *

Muriel George Muriel George (29 August 1883 – 22 October 1965) was an English singer and film actress. She appeared in 55 films between 1932 and 1955. She also appeared on the variety stage and sang on radio with her second husband Ernest Butcher for thir ...

as Lady Oswington * Esma Cannon as Miss Fox *

Moultrie Kelsall Moultrie Rowe Kelsall (24 October 1904 – 13 February 1980)Biographical info

Bernard Lee John Bernard Lee (10 January 190816 January 1981) was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven Eon-produced James Bond films. Lee's film career spanned the years 1934 to 1979, though he had appeared on stage from ...

as Inspector Wilton * Coco Aslan as Gambini *

Heather Wilde Heather Wilde is an English actress who was active in stage and screen productions in both England and the United States between the late 1930s and 1950s."English actress' Height Is 4 Feet 11", ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', December 8, 1940, p. 62 ...

as Maggie the maid * Ernest Thesiger as Sir Trevor Lampington *

Eric Maturin Eric Bagot Maturin (30 May 1883 – 17 October 1957) was a British actor whose acting career began in 1905 and whose first film appearance was in 1919 during the era of silent films. Early life Maturin was born in Nainital, India in 1883,

as Wrexham * Campbell Cotts as Cabinet Minister Bellinghurst *

Brian Oulton Brian Oulton (11 February 1908 – 13 April 1992) was an English character actor. Biography Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Oulton made his acting debut in 1939 as a lead actor. During the Second World War he served in the British Army, and retu ...

as Prescott (Bellinghurst's assistant) *Mme. Kirkwood-Hackett as Miss Hatfield *

Lockwood West Harry Lockwood West (28 July 1905 – 28 March 1989) was a British actor. He was the father of actor Timothy West and the grandfather of actor Samuel West. Life and career West was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England in 1905, the son of Mildr ...

as Dinsdale * Ronald Simpson as Dr. Pevensey *

David McCallum David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCall ...

as the Fiddler *

Meier Tzelniker Meier Tzelniker (1 January 1894 – 8 October 1980) was a Yiddish-speaking actor born in Hotin County, Romania. He appeared mainly in Yiddish theatre, but was sometimes a character actor in English-language plays and films, such as '' It Always R ...

as Baltin *

Jack Arrow Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name ...

as Lorry driver (accident)

Production

The film was produced at

Welwyn Studios Welwyn Studios was a British film studio located at Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden City, in Hertfordshire. The facility operated between 1928 and 1950. The studios were first constructed by British Instructional Films, and converted to make sou ...

with location shots at

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

, Bedfordshire, shopping parade, and 'The Rosetor Hotel', (now demolished), in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

, Devon. Priestley has sole screenwriting credit. However, some uncredited work was done on it by J. Lee Thompson.

Reception

Upon its release in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in November 1950,

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

called it an "amusing and poignant little picture" that is "simple and modest in structure but delightfully rich in character." However, in ''Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939–48'', critic Robert Murphy asserted that ''Last Holiday'' was not as good as it should have been, given the excellent performances by Guinness, Walsh and James. In particular he described the film's production values as "shabby" and singled out Priestley's trick ending for even harsher criticism, calling it "disastrously inappropriate."

Other releases and versions

The film was released on VHS in 1994, and again in 2000, by Homevision. It was released in DVD format by Janus Films and

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scho ...

under licence from

Studio Canal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...

in June 2009, but was dropped from their catalogues in 2011. '' Last Holiday'' of 2006 was a loose remake, starring

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

as Georgia Byrd,

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

Timothy Hutton Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...

Alicia Witt Alicia Roanne Witt (born August 21, 1975) is an American actress, singer and pianist. She first came to fame as a child actress after being discovered by David Lynch, who cast her in '' Dune'' (1984) and '' Twin Peaks'' (1990). Witt had a critic ...

, and

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 al ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Holiday 1950 films British black comedy films 1950s black comedy films Ealing Studios films Films with screenplays by J. B. Priestley Films directed by Henry Cass Warner Bros. films British comedy-drama films 1950 comedy-drama films British black-and-white films Films with screenplays by J. Lee Thompson Films shot in Bedfordshire Films shot in Devon Films shot at Welwyn Studios Films about death Films set in hotels Films about road accidents and incidents 1950s English-language films 1950s British films Films about salespeople