Something of a British working class Grand Hotel, Bank Holiday is generally lighter and less ambitious than the MGM all-star classic, although it does feature a very soapy central story involving Margaret Lockwood and John Lodge. Lockwood and Lodge, along with Hugh Williams, who completes the triangle of the main story, do their best -- and Lockwood manages to come off very well, making even the weepiest of her scenes convincing. But the material conspires against them. Much better are the many other characters in the ensemble piece. They are not necessarily drawn with a great deal of depth, but their brief stories and scenes are punctuated with just enough telling detailed or carefully observed nuances to make them live and breathe as characters instead of caricatures. Although director Carol Reed is not able to fully reconcile the film's uneasy mix of dramatic styles, he does handle the actors with becoming sensitivity in this early work, and is quite good at creating the hustle-and-bustle atmosphere of a London working day. Reed's occasionally surprising directorial touches and the fine cast keep Bank Holiday pleasantly entertaining.
by Craig Butler
review
