Holiday Inn

Dowdy and thin. Based on an idea by Irving Berlin, this is a small musical about a song-and-dance man, Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby), who retires from the biz to become a gentleman farmer in New England, finds country life more demanding than he thought, and tries to have best of both worlds when he turns his farm into a very special hostelry that's only open to the public on national holidays. The film's highlight is a bang-up July 4th "Let's Say It with Firecrackers" that finds Astaire in fine form, Crosby sings "White Christmas" for the first time, and the score includes "Easter Parade." But the girls are duds and the film lacks festivity, showbiz pizzaz, flash. Decid...