The Holly And The Ivy

A Christmas story that combines comedy with drama, sentiment with wit, THE HOLLY AND THE IVY was based on a successful London play that ran in the late 1940s and was beautifully adapted for the screen by de Grunwald, who assembled a near-perfect cast to speak his words. The stage origin is clearly indicated as the action takes place in a little more than one day in the lives of the principals. Richardson is a widower reverend who gathers his family to his bosom at Christmas in the vicarage. Many characters descend on the normally quiet manse for the holiday, including his sister, Delany, his sister-in-law, Halstan, and his late wife's cousin, Williams. Two of his c...