The Adventures of Ichabod and Mister Toad : "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

Premiered October 5, 1949.

"I'm telling you, brother, it's a frightful sight what goes on, Halloween night. When spooks have a midnight jamboree. They break it up with fiendish glee ..."
-Brom Bones

Note from your trusted holiday bloggers:

We are only reviewing the "Ichabod" portion of this movie, since the "Mister Toad" section does not involve Halloween.

A new schoolmaster named Ichabod Crane (Bing Crosby) arrives in the town of Sleepy Hollow, New York. He quickly becomes the most popular bachelor in town, dining with women all around the little hamlet.

However, Ichabod only has eyes for Katrina Van Tassel, daughter of the wealthiest farmer in the county. Ichabod is smitten at first site, and her father Baltus's wealth doesn't diminish her attractions for him.  

This brings Icky into direct conflict with another suitor, Brom Bones. They engage in games of one upsmanship to gain Katrina's affections.

Despite Brom's physical advantage, the skinny schoolmaster always seems to come out on top, until Halloween night.

Ichabod attends Baltus van Tassel's annual Halloween party and there is plenty of food, music and dancing.   

Ichabod has a great evening, showing off his dancing skills in front of Katrina and is the life of the party.   As the evening progresses, Baltus asks his guests to tell him scary Halloween stories.  

Ichabod is very superstitious and easily frightened.  Knowing this, Brom tells the tale of the Headless Horseman.  He sings of how the horseman rides across the countryside on Halloween, looking to chop of someone's head to replace his own. 

Brom mentions that the Horseman has no power on the other side of the bridge that leads to Sleepy Hollow.  If his would-be victims can cross the bridge, they're home free.  By the end of Brom's story, Ichabod is absolutely petrified.

Crane leaves the Van Tassel's house at 2:00 AM to head back home. He is haunted by Brom's tale of the Headless Horseman. Every night sound seems to be calling out his name. The trees and plants along his path also seem to be sending messages of foreboding and impending doom. Ichabod's fears are confirmed when the Headless Horseman himself appears! The Horseman pursues Crane on a black steed with red eyes and nearly chops off Ichabod's head several times.

After a frantic chase, Ichabod sees the bridge to safety and rushes to cross it. The Headless Horseman is right behind him! Will Ichabod escape or will the Headless Horseman "get a head?"

J.A. Morris says:

I first saw this when it aired in the early 1980s as part of "A Disney Halloween" and I've been a fan ever since. It would have been easy for Disney to water down the Headless Horseman's pursuit of Ichabod. But it's a legitimately scary scene for younger audiences who aren't familiar with the story. It would have also been easy for the creative team to slap on a happy ending, which does not occur.

In Washington Irving's story, Halloween and for that matter, the month of October is never mentioned.  Irving only mentions that it takes place during autumn.  But "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow" makes a perfect Halloween story. 

Bing Crosby has been synonymous with Christmas for 75 years. "White Christmas" is the most beloved Christmas song of all time and he hosted holiday radio and TV specials for several decades. But in The Adventures Of Ichabod, Crosby shows he can be versatile when it comes to holiday programming. He narrates and voices all the male characters in this film. "Der Bingle" also sings the "Headless Horseman" song and it's fantastic.

This film is available for streaming and has also been released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

The Adventures Of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a great adaptation of one America's first great stories. It's highly recommended and it's something I watch every year around Halloween.


J.A. Morris' rating:

4 jack o'lanterns

RigbyMel says:

I remember seeing this on network television several times as a small child and it scaring the dickens out of me. The 1982 airing on CBS as part of "Disney's Halloween Treat" (which included the climactic portion of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" but not as much of the build up) particularly sticks in my mind for some reason - maybe because it had a talking jack o'lantern puppet that hosted the segments? (Possibly also because versions of this special aired on various network and cable channels throughout the 1980s.)

The animation in the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is impressive overall - particularly Ichabod and the Headless Horseman's scary/comic chase though the dark woods.

As J.A. Morris notes above, Bing Crosby's voice over and musical contribution to the mix makes this an extra special treat. I also appreciate how much of the narration is lifted directly from the original Washington Irving tale -- although the ending is presented as a bit more ambiguous than in the original story. (Something I did not pick up on as a small child!)

Bing Crosby and the Rhythmaire's rendition of the song "The Headless Horseman" (which also floats around as a single with slightly different lyrics) is delightfully spooky and full of excellent word play.

Fun side notes, some Disney regulars make (uncredited) vocal appearances in the this short -- Pinto Colvig (the original voice of Goofy) provides some of Ichabod's hysterical screams and Clarence "Ducky" Nash (the original voice of Donald Duck) gives voice to Ichabod's horse as well as various night time animals.

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is gorgeously animated, deliciously spooky Halloween fare that can be enjoyed on multiple levels -- there are things for young and old to savor in it. It is on my required annual viewing list around Halloween each year.


RigbyMel's rating:

4 jack o'lanterns

Holiday Inn

Premiered August 4, 1942.
(Note:This film was released 75 years ago today - 8/4/17)

Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby), Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire) and Lila Dixon (Virginia Dale) are a popular song-and-dance trio.  Jim decides he wants to quit the act, marry Lila and retire to a farmhouse in Connecticut.

Lila has other ideas and informs Jim that not only is she not ready to quit show business, but she has fallen for Ted! So Jim moves to his farm alone, but discovers that life as a farmer isn't all he thought it would be.

The following year at Christmas time,  Jim decides to convert the farm into Holiday Inn, a hotel with dinner and floor show that's only open during holidays.  He makes a trip to New York to tell Ted & Lila of his decision and try to maybe recruit them to participate, they're not convinced.

Meanwhile, Ted's agent Danny (Walter Abel) runs into a flower shop sales clerk named Linda Mason (Marjorie Reynolds).  She recognizes Danny and seizes the opportunity to ask him if he can help her break into showbiz.  

He recommends her to Jim, who hires her and she arrives at Holiday Inn on Christmas Day.   Jim realizes he rather likes Linda and would like to see more of her -- maybe their partnership at the Inn will lead to romance?

Ted and Lila's business and romantic partnership comes to an abrupt end when Lila dumps him on New Year's Eve.  Having no place better to be, a drunken Ted shows up at the Holiday Inn's New Year's Eve party.  He dances with Linda and they put on quite a show for the New Year's Eve crowd. 

Ted is smitten with his new dance partner but the next morning, he can't remember what she looks like since he was drunk.  Jim, fearing he will lose another romantic and performing partner to Ted, does what he can to obfuscate Ted's search for her -- up to and including inviting his old flame Lila to come perform at the inn as a distraction!

But Ted is determined to learn the dancer's identity and decides to stick around Holiday Inn each holiday until he can figure it out.

Can Jim keep Linda's identity secret from Ted?  Will Ted steal another partner from Jim?  Will the Holiday Inn be a success?

RigbyMel says:

This is a special holiday film for a number of reasons, the great song and dance performances by the cast and the wonderful Irving Berlin music being the most notable.   It's really not about the romance plot so much as it is about the various holidays portrayed and the musical numbers.

Holiday Inn is the film that introduced Bing Crosby's signature number "White Christmas" to a worldwide audience.  The song went on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song and the single has sold hundreds of millions of copies making "White Christmas" one of the best selling songs of all time.   One imagines that the mix of nostalgia and melancholy inherent in the song really resonated with WWII audiences and contributes to its enduring popularity.

The film also focuses not just on Christmas and New Years, but on other holidays throughout the rest of the year as well.  

There's an interesting comedic minuet/jitterbug number for George Washington's birthday.  The switch in styles is one of Jim's ploys to sabotage Ted's dance partnership with Linda.

The Valentine's Day number "Be Careful It's My Heart" was, I suspect, intended to be the "breakout hit" from the movie and it's nice, but doesn't quite hold a candle to "White Christmas."

"Easter Parade" also makes an appearance to good effect.

There's a standout Fourth of July dance number in which Fred Astaire sets off firecrackers onstage while he's dancing which really adds flash and bang (literally AND figuratively!!) to the proceedings.

A couple of other fun facts:

*  According to multiple sources,  Fred Astaire took two shots of bourbon before the first take of the "drunk" dance for the New Year's Eve sequence and the same after each successive take.  The seventh (!) take was the one that was used in the film, so Astaire's performance was really a couple of sheets to the wind.

* There's an animated sequence for Thanksgiving featuring a confused turkey running back and forth between dates on the calendar which was a topical (at the time) reference to the "Franksgiving" controversy of 1939/40.   

President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to change Thanksgiving from the 3rd Thursday in November from the 4th Thursday in order to extend the holiday shopping season and bolster the retail economy.  Eventually, an Roosevelt signed a 1941 act of Congress designating the 4th Thursday of November as the official day.  No wonder the 1942 animated turkey was confused!

* The movie also lends its name to the Holiday Inn motel chain, which first opened its doors in the 1950s.

The one thing that keeps me from unreservedly naming Holiday Inn an absolute must watch classic is some unfortunate racial humor that while common at the time is decidedly not respectful to people of color.  There's is a blackface number for Lincoln's birthday which is just straight up unpleasant to watch.   It's of it's time, but that doesn't make the stereotyping okay.

That being said,  Holiday Inn is fun to watch -  my advice is to just skip the Lincoln's birthday sequence and enjoy the rest.

RigbyMel's rating:

3 candy canes.

J.A. Morris says:

I’ll echo what my co-blogger said about the blackface scene.  It’s ugly and was wrong then and now. That scene may be why Holiday Inn is often overshadowed by its cinematic "descendant" White Christmas.  It's mainly remembered today for introducing the most popular Christmas song of all time.  

Holiday Inn is entertaining and has some great song and dance numbers and Bing Crosby has great onscreen chemistry with Fred Astaire.  Their co-stars Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale aren’t well remembered today, but they hold their own with Astaire and Crosby.  

The cast includes Louise Beavers, who plays Jim’s maid Mamie.  

Beavers acted in dozens of films in a career spanned from 1927 to 1960, usually playing maids or slaves.  She made TV history when she played the title role in the series Beaulah, the first TV sitcom to feature an African American lead.

It's worth noting that this film was released during the first year of the United States' entry into WWII. During Jim's 4th of July performance, a very patriotic film (some would characterize it as propaganda) is projected on the stage.

It features footage of soldiers and pilots preparing for war, war production in factories and it ends with an image of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt. If you're fascinated with history (like I am), you'll appreciate this scene.

As RigbyMel said, here isn't much of a plot here, just great singing and dancing by two of the biggest stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, with songs written by the legendary Irving Berlin.  Since this blog covers programming related to every holiday, Holiday Inn is tailor-made for us.  

This film is available on DVD and also streams on Amazon and iTunes.

Holiday Inn is generally good in spite of its threadbare plot.  However, it has a few too many songs for my taste (I’m not a big fan of musicals).  That, combined with the blackface scene keep me from giving it a higher rating.  

J.A. Morris' rating:

2 and a half candy canes.

Classic Christmas movies on the big screen!

Miracle On 34th Street screens today at Richmond's Byrd Theatre!

This is the time of year when many of the classic Christmas films show up on tv.  It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol (various adaptations), A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation and modern classics like Elf are all over the cable schedules and dvd/blu-ray release calendar.  Of course holiday fanatics like us can't get enough of these movies.

But as much as we enjoy watching at home, nothing compares to seeing these films in a theater with an adoring crowd.  Here in Richmond, we're lucky to have several opportunities this holiday season to do this.

Last year, the historic Byrd Theatre hosted a charity screening of White Christmas.  It was exciting and touching to hear the multi-generational crowd singing along with the film and clapping at the end.

Interior of the Byrd Theatre.  Richmond's movie palace opened on Christmas Eve, 1928.

Today, we're getting another classic Christmas movie at the Byrd!  Miracle On 34th Street will be shown at 1:30, proceeds will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle, with Natalie Wood and Maureen O'Hara.

The Byrd will also continue its tradition of showing It's A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

But these holiday movie events aren't just limited to our city.

On December 7, select theaters nationwide will be showing a Double Feature of Christmas In Connecticut and the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol.  Check here to see if this event will be showing in your area.

And a week later, White Christmas celebrates its 60th anniversary by returning to theaters!  It will be shown on December 14th and 15th, look for tickets here!

So if you've always wanted to see these classic movies in the theater, we recommend you take advantage of this opportunity.