ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

MartinHafer This film is based on the "Stavisky Affair"--a scandal in France caused by a crook who had scaled the heights of society by creating a false impression of immense wealth. In other words, his fake jewels and finery convinced a lot of suckers to invest in his monetary schemes--including a lot of government officials. In this film, the man's name is changed to "Orloff" and the story is spiced up a bit, but it's still the same basic tale. If you want a story that is closer to the original, try watching "Stavinsky" with Jean-Paul Belmondo.The film begins with Claude Rains hiring Kay Francis to pose as his wife. Apparently, he has a scheme that he wants to put over and wants a sophisticated woman to help him create the necessary look of success. So, from the beginning, she knows he's a tad larcenous, though the degree to which he lies, cheats and steals is way beyond her comprehension. For a while, they are both quite successful--he with his many investments and she with her fashion studio. Years pass and they both are quite happy. Later, however, the depth to which he went to make his fortune--and he attempts to bring Kay into this in a sad attempt to save himself.The film is interesting and the acting very good as well. I didn't particularly care for the relationship between Francis and Ian Hunter (it seemed out of place) but Rains and Francis did a fine job here. Provided you don't mind the man liberties the studio took in telling the story of Stavinsky, this is interesting and worth seeing--even with a rather weak ending.

blanche-2 Kay Francis stars in "Stolen Holiday," a 1937 film that also stars Claude Rains, Ian Hunter and Alison Skipworth. Francis plays Nicole Picot, a beautiful Parisian model who is hired by Orloff (Claude Rains) to be his escort for an important dinner with a financier. The dinner is a great success, Orloff makes a lot of money and sets Nicole up in her own design house. Though there is not a romantic involvement, they are very close friends, and she is very loyal to him.Unbeknownst to her, Orloff is involved in some unsavory business practices, and things begin to unravel when he and Nicole take a vacation together. Since Orloff isn't around, and at the encouragement of her assistant (Alison Skipworth), Nicole is escorted around town by Anthony Wayne (Ian Hunter). The two fall in love. However, Orloff believes that an elaborate society wedding will make the police less likely to bother him, so Nicole agrees to marry him.The cast and the fashions really help this story. Francis looks beautiful in some great fashions. She often played strong, independent women - even as a young woman, as she is here, she has the air of a leading lady and not an ingénue. Despite her famous speech impediment, her speaking voice is one of her most interesting traits - low and melodic. Rains could play anything. Here he's an elegant Russian swindler who has set his business up with his own self-preservation in mind, and he's very believable. Alison Skipworth, as Nicole's friend and assistant, brings some humor to the film as a card-reader who is less than enthusiastic about Nicole's association with Orloff.Good movie, and I'm grateful that here in the states, we're able to see films such as this on TCM.

Geoff Lambert Actually the stolen holiday of the title is only a small part of the film and is, quite frankly, a little boring and holds up the action. I found myself longing for it to finish and get back to the main plot! Fine performances from Kay, Claude Rains and Alison Skipworth, and Ian Hunter is his usual debonair self. Also, in a small part, Alexander D'Arcy (he of "The Awful Truth" fame).Some of the strongest scenes are in the early parts of the movie, especially when Kay Francis almost arrogantly descends the staircase at a grand reception she is giving, and, seemingly ignoring everybody, manages to turn every head in the place with the new creation she is wearing! Marvellous!! To the best of my knowledge this movie has never been shown on British TV.So, over here at least, a forgotten film worth investigating.

Oriel Fans of Claude Rains and Kay Francis shouldn't miss this one. It has its weaknesses--the romantic lead (Ian Hunter) is simply not as interesting as the devilish Rains--but it's tremendous fun nonetheless. The opening sequences may be the strongest: independent model Kay Francis meets the dashing but underhanded Claude Rains under strange circumstances, and the two form an unlikely partnership. The scenes between these two are the highlight of the film.In a great supporting role as Francis's best friend and Rains's severest critic, acid-tongued Alison Skipworth is hysterical. And I love the elegant and often eccentric fashions spotlighted by the movie in the fashion show sequences. For me, the interest only flags during the "stolen holiday" of the title--a forced romantic idyll between Francis and Hunter. When Rains starts scheming and Francis starts suffering, that's when the movie really cooks. You'll have your work cut out for you finding this movie, but it's worth seeking out.