The Holly and the Ivy (1952)

A heartwarming tale of an English minister and his family reunited at Christmas time. Their story includes a remembrance of their World War II trials.

Director:

George More O'Ferrall

Writer:

Anatole de Grunwald (screenplay) (as Anatole De Grunwald)

Stars:

Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ralph Richardson	...	Rev. Martin Gregory
Celia Johnson	...	Jenny Gregory
Margaret Leighton	...	Margaret Gregory
Denholm Elliott	...	Michael Gregory
John Gregson	...	David Paterson
Hugh Williams	...	Richard Wyndham
Margaret Halstan	...	Aunt Lydia
Maureen Delaney	...	Aunt Bridget (as Maureen Delany)
William Hartnell	...	C / Sgt. Major
Robert Flemyng	...	Major
Roland Culver	...	Lord B.
John Barry	...	Clubman
Dandy Nichols	...	Neighbour

Storyline

A heartwarming tale of an English minister and his family reunited at Christmas time. Their story includes a remembrance of their World War II trials.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas carols | drunkenness | parson | church bells | snow | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wynyard Browne's original play opened at London's Duchess Theatre in 1950. Maureen Delaney and Margaret Halstan reprised their stage roles for this movie.

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Goofs

When Aunt Bridget hands her landlady a photograph of her nephew Michael (Denholm Elliott) from the sideboard, it's a different one. The close up shot of the photo shows him in uniform as opposed to civilian dress on the sideboard.

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Quotes

Richard Wyndham: Cheer up, Mick old boy. In a hundred years we'll all be dead.

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Connections

Featured in Remembering John Gregson (2019)

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Soundtracks

The Holly and the Ivy
(uncredited)
Traditional, music first published by Cecil J. Sharp, arranged by H. Walford Davies

User Reviews

An eventful Christmas for one English family

The Holly and the Ivy is a far cry from the usual Christmas story since it is more a family drama set during the Christmas season. It is a powerful story with excellent acting as the group gets together in a country village north of London in 1948.

The family made up of father, aunts, grown children and two male friends come together at the vicarage of the father, the parson in a local church. Ralph Richardson and Margaret Leighton, as father and daughter, have the key roles and are bolstered by a strong supporting cast, including Denholm Eliot and Celia Johnson.

During the evening and Christmas morning, family matters that had been ignored or kept secret, come to the fore. After a series of uncomfortable incidents and heart-to-heart talks, things change and everyone finds comfort and possibly a deeper purpose in this Christmas.

This is certainly a serious movie and totally entertaining. Unlike many of the fantasy films we see at Christmas, this offers a dose of reality. The sets are very plain as they were in most British dramas of that era but the acting is superb. It teaches the audience that Christmas and family difficulties are often played out together. In that sense, family Christmas gatherings may not be that different than they were 60 some years ago.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 February 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Holly and the Ivy

Filming Locations:

British Lion Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Film Productions, De Grunwald Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1