The Holly and the Ivy

"A LOVE STORY OF RARE QUALITY flavored with delightful characterizations and priceless humor."

1952 1h 23m EN

😐

6.5

MID

★6.5TMDB · 32

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An English clergyman's neglect of his grown children, in his zeal to tend to his parishioners, comes to the surface at a Christmas family gathering.

“A LOVE STORY OF RARE QUALITY flavored with delightful characterizations and priceless humor.”

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Cast

Ralph Richardson
Reverend 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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George More O'Ferrall
Writers: Anatole de Grunwald
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

74 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George More O'Ferrall, shot by Edward Scaife. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Malcolm Arnold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Bert Bates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson and Margaret Leighton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A LOVE STORY OF RARE QUALITY flavored with delightful characterizations and priceless humor.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0044716 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George More O'Ferrall directs. Edward Scaife behind the camera. Malcolm Arnold scores. Bert Bates cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
274 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by George More O'Ferrall, shot by Edward Scaife. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Malcolm Arnold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Bert Bates shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson and Margaret Leighton carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A LOVE STORY OF RARE QUALITY flavored with delightful characterizations and priceless humor.".
8IMDB entry: tt0044716 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 32 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Edward Scaife
Original score: Malcolm Arnold
Editing: Bert Bates
Costume design: Ivy Baker
Makeup / hair: George Partleton
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Holly and the Ivy (1952)

Also by

George More O'Ferrall

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-09-25
★ 7/10
George More O'Ferrall has assembled a really strong cast for his adaptation of Wynyard Browne's emotionally rich play. It all centres around a Christmas family gathering at the home of "Rev. Martin" (Ralph Richardson). As with every such get-together, it becomes a little fraught as his children "Jenny" (Celia Johnson), "Margaret" (Margaret Leighton) and "Michael" (Denholm Elliott) congregate and their not immediately cogent personalities soon start to show through their veneer of politeness. Thing is, they are all still trying to deal with the psychological impact left upon them - and their extended family - following the horrors of the Second World War. To be honest, it can border on the melodramatic at times and it also struggles a bit when Richardson is off screen, but somehow as it advances this story starts to glow a little. The characters have a certain degree of truthfulness as they develop - and made in 1952, many of the supposed scenarios being recalled and dealt with by all concerned do ring true somewhat. There are a tightly knit series of domestic scenarios here that allow each to offer us a glimpse of their childhood resentments, aspirations, dreams, frustrations and loves - Johnson being especially effective as the daughter who is in love with "Paterson" (a slightly static John Gregson) but remains committed to stay at home and "look after" their father - whether he wants her to or not! It has a degree of nostalgia to it, but not in an overly sentimental fashion. They reminisce, as we would have been invited to do at the time, but there is still enough contemporary joy from this Christmas together to offer glimmers of light and hope at a conclusion that probably resonated well with a new reign in the UK at the time. It's short, hardly eighty minutes, and does pack in plenty of characterful performances and offers us just a little food for thought too.

Production companies