the holly and the ivy [1952]

the basic cable movie channel, turner classic movies, is a jewel for film buffs & movie lovers of all stripes & persuasions.  why & what for?  for even in our digital age, when everything you want &/or need is at your fingertips via smart phones, smart TVs, ipads & computers, tcm is on air with wonderful hosts, like the late robert osbourne, to introduce & guide film lovers to movies that might fall off the personal viewing radar.

like this film under discussion, one i wouldn't have seen if anna & i were not tuned in to tcm tonight.  host ben mankeiwicz [who took over main hosting duties after robert osbourne] & guest host leonard maltin introduced this british christmas movie starring ralph richardson as a parson of a small village.  the parson's children all come home for the christmas holiday.  jenny, played by celia johnson, is the adult daughter of the parson who stayed home to keep house for the patriarch.  jenny is in love with a young man who is about to begin his career as an engineer in south america.  he so desperately needs jenny to join him.  jenny is conflicted because she can't leave her father by himself.

& so on & so on.  jenny has a younger sister who is a successful fashion journalist with a dark secret.  denholm elliot [who is more recognizable as dr marcus brody in the indiana jones movies] is jenny's brother who is either on leave or is AWOL from the army to visit the family.  family dynamics being what they are the ghosts come out, tensions are stirred, & all is resolved in a very brief 83 minutes.  in fact, the ending came so abruptly that anna & i were puzzled.  is that all?  yes, that was all.

still, the movie is a wonderful post-war period piece that was adapted from a play.  indeed the two eccentric aunts, aunt lydia [margaret halstan] & aunt bridget [maureen delaney], reprised their roles from the stage.  they are delights to watch, particularly aunt lydia, a beautifully complex creature of human compassion & understanding.  so is ralph richardson [rev. martin gregory], who is the grand patriarch of this wide & complex family.  richardson is a great actor, one that i was just introduced to tonight.  you'd think a parson of a messed up family who would be messed up himself by tying himself in knots regarding faith, duty & obligation.  after all, this is a post-war british movie.  & yet, richard's martin is a man of great humility & compassion.  indeed, all his children are non-believers.  but martin accepts & loves them all.

the direction & the photography are serviceable & solid.  nothing flashy but i wouldn't expect a tour de force of filmmaking regarding the subject.  there was a scene exquisitely framed, when martin & his younger daughter, fashion journalist margaret [margaret leighton], come to a meeting of the minds.  margaret's face is in the foreground while martin's is in the background.  each is in focus as they detail that secret into their lives.

but as i mentioned the movie comes to an abrupt end.  all the loose ends are suddenly tied.  the director would've done better by expanding the story by about 10 or 15 minutes.  seriously, the film ends that fast.  & yet, there is a sense of conclusion & the emotional valance of coming to know & care for a family like a great many families in this world: complex, sad, ecstatic, & made of individual people who can't make it in this world alone.