Recorded at the Historic Camelot Theater, Palm Springs, CA on May 5, 2024
TRANSCRIPT
(ALIECE PICKETT:) Here to introduce today’s movie is film and fashion historian and author Kimberly Truhler.
She is the founder of GlamAmor.com.
Ms. Truhler has contributed to TCM, the National Film Registry, the BBC, Elle Magazine, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, the CNN series American Style, the Encyclopedia of Film and Television and Costume Design, and American Cinematique.
Ms. Truhler has taught History of Fashion and Film at Woodbury University.
After the movie, I’ll talk about the film’s Screwball Comedy elements and characters, and about Katharine Hepburn’s life that parallels the movie.
Then Kimberly and I will discuss how costumes, like music, give audiences cues about the film’s characters and plot elements.
Sometimes a costume even becomes a character, like Scarlett O’Hara’s green curtain dress.
Kimberly will be signing her book, “Film Noir Style: The Killer Forties”, after our discussion, in the lobby.
Please join me in welcoming Ms. Kimberly Truhler.
(KIMBERLY TRUHLER:) Hello, everyone.
Thanks for coming today to see “Holiday” (1938).
I’m excited to be with you to celebrate this incredible film.
I’m here to share an element of the film that you might not have considered before, the costume design.
So we’re going to look at the Elevation and Escapism that comes via the costume design in “Holiday”.
Let’s start with ELEVATION.
“Holiday” premiered June 15, 1938, directed by the great George Cukor.
Costume design by the equally great Kalloch, who was head of costume design for Columbia Pictures.
His screen credit was simply “Kalloch”.
His full name was Robert Kalloch, known to his friends as “Bobby”.
Something I need you to know is that he was one of the great fashion designers of this time, before he became a costume designer in Hollywood.
He attended the New York School of Fine and Applied Art, which many of the great Golden Age of Hollywood costume designers did, as well as fashion designers.
He was so talented that the school invited him back to be an instructor.
And while he lectured there, he became a mentor to Adrian (Adrian Greenburg).
We now hold Adrian on this Mount Olympus of costume designers, so it’s important to note that Kalloch is who Adrian looked up to.
Kalloch is also who Travis Banton looked up to, and he was head of costume design at Paramount.
Kalloch was a talent from a very early age.
At only 18, he designed a ballet for Anna Pavlova, and then he entered the world of couture, first at the Lucile Couturier, which was an internationally renowned couturier.
He worked at each of his locations, London, Paris, New York City.
Then he stayed in New York City and started working at Madame Frances, which was a couturier that Travis Banton also worked at.
Travis Banton also worked at Lucile.
Then Kalloch went on to Hattie Carnegie, where many future costume designers came from, including Jean Louis, who would succeed Kalloch as head of costume design at Columbia.
Kalloch was who anyone went to who had the means, royalty, socialites, Broadway stars, Hollywood stars, and one of his clients was Rose Cohn, who was the wife of Columbia’s head, Harry Cohn.
Harry had watched the success of MGM and Paramount and others with great envy.
He saw the impact that great costume design was having on those studios.
He noticed the artistic impact costume design was making.
He also noticed the financial impact it was making, that people went to these movies to see their favorite stars in these most glamorous costumes, then return again and again.
He made the decision, I’m going to hire Kalloch as Columbia’s first head of costume design, to elevate its reputation.
This is one of the first films that he designed for, the pre-code classic, “The Bitter Tea of General Yen” (1933), starring Barbara Stanwyck.
You can see the glamour of this picture, and that is 100% Kalloch.
There was an immediate shift in the style-voice of Columbia Pictures once Kalloch was at the head.
Then came the Screwball Comedies, starting with the classic “It Happened One Night” in February 1934.
This movie is iconic for many reasons, not the least of which is the first film to sweep the major awards at the Oscars, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress.
This would have been a stunning achievement if MGM did that.
It was mind-blowing, that little Poverty Row Columbia Pictures was the one to first do it.
It would not be repeated for many, many years.
The costume design also made an immediate impact on fashion, both for Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable.
One of the decisions that Kalloch made was not having Clark Gable wear an undershirt in one scene.
That immediately decimated that industry.
Undershirt sales dropped 70 to 80% after this film came out.
This remains one of the most influential films on fashion to this day.
I include it in “The 50 Most Influential Films on Fashion”.
That same year comes the Screwball Comedy “Twentieth Century” (1934), directed by Howard Hawks, with Carole Lombard and John Barrymore.
Then we’ve got 1937’s “The Awful Truth”, which has an incredible wardrobe for Irene Dunne.
Irene Dunne was known as being “fashion forward”.
In fact, she was an advocate of many fashion designers before they made the transition to costume designer.
She was very involved in fashion.
And the last Kalloch Screwball Comedy I’ll highlight is “His Girl Friday” (1940).
This too, I include in “The 50 Most Influential Films on Fashion” both then and now.
This movie essentially only has two costumes for Rosalind Russell and is mostly iconic because of that pinstripe suit that she wears.
I don’t know a woman who doesn’t have this in her career wardrobe at one point or another.
Let’s shift gears and talk about Katharine Hepburn.
We’re going to start here, February 1938, the iconic Screwball Comedy “Bringing Up Baby”.
Not with costume design by Kalloch.
Costume design by Howard Greer.
We love this picture today.
We hold it in high regard, but at the time, this was not a hit with audiences or critics.
And this was on the heels of several movies that did not do well financially starring Katharine Hepburn.
As a result, she was put on this list called “Box Office Poison”.
The Independent Theater Owners Association took out this two-page spread and identified several actors and actresses that they said audiences no longer were paying to see them in movies.
Now we can go through and dissect that.
Marlene Dietrich still had a career.
Joan Crawford is about to win an Oscar for “Mildred Pierce” (1945).
It’s an utterly ridiculous list.
But what’s interesting is that Katharine Hepburn is on it and the picture they chose of her is for “Holiday”, which had not yet come out.
“Holiday” was originally a Broadway play in 1928, written by Philip Barry.
Philip Barry and Katharine Hepburn would become very close friends and collaborators.
But at this point in Katharine Hepburn’s career, she was but a mere understudy.
Philip Barry had written it for heiress Hope Williams, and Hope Williams had taken Broadway by storm.
She had an easy, carefree manner about her.
She was often described as being boyish and girlish at the same time.
For any of you who have seen “All About Eve” (l950), and the way “Eve” studies “Margo Channing”, that is what Katharine Hepburn did with Hope Williams.
In fact, in Hope Williams’ obituary, Katharine Hepburn basically said, I stole everything from Hope Williams.”
Katharine Hepburn only went on one time in this production of “Holiday”, and was a flop because she didn’t have enough experience and she went on stage acting like Hope Williams acting like “Linda Seton”.
It was a complete failure.
So she remained an understudy of Hope Williams for several years more.
That would come to a close with “The Warrior’s Husband”.
Started as an understudy for Hope Williams, and then Hope backed out of the production, leaving it to Kate.
By this time, she had worked on her craft and she had created something of a signature style of her own.
She was finally a hit with audiences, and Hollywood, which was constantly trolling Broadway for future stars, took notice.
Offered her a screen test.
That screen test resulted in her role in “A Bill of Divorcement” (1932), which was directed by George Cukor, who is the director of today’s film.
He didn’t think she was the greatest actress at the time, but he said there was “a way about her”.
And those of us who love Katharine Hepburn, we know what that way is about Katharine Hepburn.
He took a chance on her, and it paid off.
They did eight films together, including today’s “Holiday”.
Her costar, Cary Grant, she did four films with him, three of them directed by George Cukor.
They had done “Sylvia Scarlett” (1935), together as a trio.
“Holiday” (1938) would be their next movie together, and then they would go on to “The Philadelphia Story” (1940), and you can feel the ease they have with one another in that one as well.
Now let’s talk about ESCAPISM.
“Holiday”.
I was recently at the TCM Classic Film Festival.
I do an event there every year before the festival, and people knew I was introducing “Holiday” today as part of a Screwball Sundays series, and I got some push-back.
I didn’t think of Holiday as a “Screwball” comedy, and I said, “Okay, give me a chance here.” Here are some ways it is indeed a Screwball Comedy.
“Romantic relationship between members of different social classes”?
Check.
We have Cary Grant playing “Johnny Case”, who’s this self-made man, been working all his life, goes on holiday finally, and meets heiress “Julia Seton”, who he falls in love with.
That is the backdrop of “Holiday”.
Next, “Female character who dominates relationship”?
Check.
I would argue in “Holiday” there are two females that are dominating the relationship, Julia Seton and Linda Seton.
“Fast-paced witty dialogue”?
Check.
“Comic relief through zany unexpected moments”?
Check.
For those of you who have not seen it, how many people have not seen “Holiday” in this audience?
Oh goodness.
So, I won’t tell you what those zany, unexpected moments are, but they are there.
Then we have the “Theme of escapism”.
Escapism was a huge theme of the 1930s as a whole because you have to remember that the Great Depression was the backdrop for the 1930s.
And rather than lean into the reality of the era, Hollywood chose to create escapism for people.
Theaters were a physical-escape.
Movies were an emotional-escape.
I hold up “Top Hat” (1935), as the ultimate “escapist” film.
They always found ways for characters to be wealthy, or wealthy-adjacent.
People partied on yachts, they lived in penthouses, they were socialites, heiresses, they ran companies.
Even the Joan Crawford pictures where she’s a shop girl who makes good, there’s some man in her future that has a lot of money.
There’s always an excuse for great clothes, great cars, great locations.
“Holiday” is no exception.
Character introductions.
I tell audiences, “Pay close attention to character introductions.
The costumes tell you so much.
Here we have the character introduction of “Johnny Case”, played by Cary Grant, and “Ned Seton”, played by Lew Ayres.
Without them saying a word, you can get what their socio-economic background is right there.
Cary Grant’s suit is slightly ill-fitting.
His bow tie, even the choice of a bow tie, slightly askew.
His hair is askew.
Then, Ned.
He’s going to church in a coat with a mink collar and a top hat.
We immediately know the distinction between these two.
Then we have the introduction of the “Seton” sisters.
Doris Nolan plays “Julia Seton”.
She’s on the left of Cary Grant.
Then “Linda Seton”, played by Katharine Hepburn, who’s enjoying a full circle moment in her career.
You can tell the difference between these sisters in their hats.
You can tell “Julia” is the more fashion forward, the more hyper-feminine.
She’s got a chinchilla muff that she’s wearing to church.
She’s over-the-top glamour, as often as she can.
Whereas “Linda”, even though she’s basically in a floor length fur coat, she’s got a much more simple style about her.
Here we have another scene with the sisters and you can see “Julia” once again, wearing a dress, she’s wearing visible jewelry.
Whereas “Linda” is in separates.
She’s in a blouse and a skirt.
She could look like anybody on the street.
But she’s a millionaire.
This family is wealthy.
Then we have the New Year’s Eve party.
Again, the difference between the sisters.
“Julia” has chosen a spaghetti-strap, bare arms, this glamorous gold lame dress for the party.
Whereas Linda is in a long sleeve, crew neck, black floor length dress.
Super minimal.
The only way Kalloch is bumping it up to this elegant evening party is, by what we’re to understand, is diamonds around her neck, and a diamond brooch on her shoulder.
I’m lucky enough to be close with the family of “Joseff of Hollywood”.
When I do events in Los Angeles, they will frequently come out and bring pieces from these movies to show people what they actually look like.
They are not real diamonds.
The thing that was important for Joseff of Hollywood is he created these jewelry pieces so there wouldn’t be the glare of the Hollywood lights.
That’s why the studios returned to him again and again.
He made jewelry that looked real on camera, but was not too bright for the lights.
Here we have some of the jewelry from the movie.
One of the necklaces is not from the movie.
It was the backup, in case something happened to the original.
But that ring is, and those balls are actually free-floating.
When she moves her hands around, the balls actually move.
Here’s probably the most glamorous dress that “Linda” has in the movie.
And it’s a stunner.
This is how Kalloch is showing us his extreme talent for couture.
It looks like she’s wearing a scarf around her neck.
But, that’s actually part of the dress.
You can see she’s wearing that ring in this scene as well.
It’s one of my favorite dresses of Kalloch’s.
What’s interesting is the further the movie goes along, the more the characters come out in their costumes.
This is towards the end of the movie.
You can see once again “Julia” in this hyper-feminine sheer sleeve.
She’s practically wearing a basket of flowers around her neck there.
Whereas “Linda” now has really dialed back the wealth.
She’s looking much more plain, and this is her comfort level.
In fact, she looks right at home with “Johnny Case’s” best friends, “Professor Nick and Susan Potter”, played by the great Edward Everett Horton and Jean Dixon.
She seems right at home with this chosen family.
Let’s look at ONGOING INFLUENCE, briefly.
It’s interesting to me to see which costumes catch the public’s imagination, then and now.
Which are the ones that people return to, again and again.
This is the costume from this movie that comes out in fashion.
I have to say, it’s hard to design “minimal” well.
It’s hard, even in real life.
It’s even more hard when it’s for the screen, because things have to be more dramatic to come across to audiences.
The fact he was able to design something that has this form and fit that captures your attention is incredible.
You’ll see examples of it again and again and again.
Sometimes they’re styled just like the one from the pictures, like I am doing today, because it’s so influential.
“Holiday” did not win any Oscars.
But it was nominated for Best Art Direction, and rightfully so.
It was a play, so you’re talking about basically a single location.
How do you make that interesting?
They did better than that.
It’s not just interesting.
You feel like you’re in a mansion, with an elevator, in this movie.
The fact that they were able to craft the separate playroom for the characters as well, it’s wonderful.
Unfortunately, “Holiday” was not the hit that Katharine Hepburn, George Cukor, and Cary Grant expected it to be, and hoped it would be.
So the “Box Office Poison” label stayed put.
That really pissed Katharine Hepburn off.
So she said, “Bye-bye Hollywood”, went back to her family home in Connecticut to recharge and regroup.
By this time, she was close friends with Philip Barry and they collaborated on what would become the play, “The Philadelphia Story”, which was a huge hit for over a year and became a huge hit movie as well, and again regrouping Cary Grant, George Cukor.
It has great Screwball moments of its own.
I made sure to include one of the opening scenes.
And this was a hit.
And this is the “before and after” line for Katharine Hepburn’s career.
Before “The Philadelphia Story”, “Box Office Poison”.
After, she’s a four-time Oscar winner for Best Actress.
But it all starts with our movie today.
I hope you enjoy “Holiday”.🎥
Film Society of Screwball Comedy®
Edited by Aliece Pickett
Copyright 2025