| Stolen Holiday | |
|---|---|
 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 by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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 digs his way into the upper reaches of French society, but is finally exposed, with tragic consequences.
Plot
[edit]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 as successful dress designer (though she insists on paying him back). Her friend Suzanne warns Nicole against Stefan, saying this will all end badly, but Nicole doesn't listen. She's too happy to ignore Stefan's criminal dealings with a chance to become a modiste, her lifelong dream.
British diplomat Anthony Wayne romances Nicole and wins her heart. However, when Stefan's crooked schemes start to unravel in 1936, 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 from 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 Stefan 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 the police stage it to look like a suicide to avoid causing further embarrassment to the government.
Nicole insists on repaying those whom Stefan defrauded, although she isn't liable under French law. By doing so, she goes bankrupt and loses her fashion house. She and Suzanne are back where they started and have clear consciences; Suzanne is glad they are quit of Stefan.
Anthony arrives while the women are packing their office. He finally pursuades Nicole to agree to marry him, despite her concern that her tarnished reputation will damage his career.
Cast
[edit]- Kay Francis as Nicole Picot
- Claude Rains as Stefan Orloff
- Ian Hunter as Anthony Wayne
- Alison Skipworth as Suzanne
- Alexander D'Arcy as Leon Anatole
- Betty Lawford as Helen Tuttle
- Walter Kingsford as Francis Chalon
- Charles Halton as LeGrande
- Frank Reicher as Charles Ranier
- Frank Conroy as Dupont
- Egon Brecher as Bergery
- Robert Strange as Prefect of Police
- Wedgwood Nowell as M. Borel
Preservation
[edit]In addition to being held by Warner Bros., the film is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ 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
[edit]- Rode, Alan K. Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film. University Press of Kentucky, 2017.