Stolen Holiday
Encyclopedia
Stolen Holiday is a 1937 film loosely based on the Stavisky Affair
, a French political scandal. A Russian con artist worms his way into the upper reaches of French society, but is finally exposed, with tragic consequences.
, Nicole Picot (Kay Francis), a model for a fashionable dress shop, is hired by nearly-penniless Stefan Orloff (Claude Rains) to help persuade a financier to fund his ambitious plans. By 1934, Stefan has established an investment bank; in gratitude, he provides the capital that Nicole needs to set up her own business and become a successful dress designer (though she insists on paying him back).
British diplomat Anthony Wayne (Ian Hunter) romances Nicole and wins her heart. However, when Stefan's crooked schemes start to unravel, he asks Nicole to marry him without divulging his main motive: the attendance of her influential friends at the well-publicized ceremony would bolster public confidence in him and buy him time. She agrees, out of friendship alone, much to the distress of her friend and assistant, Suzanne (Alison Skipworth). It is too late. At their wedding, Stefan's closest confederate, Francis Chalon (Walter Kingsford), is taken away by the police for questioning, and the other guests hastily depart.
Knowing that Chalon can incriminate him, Stefan goes into hiding at a remote chateau. However, he makes a mistake, sending a letter to Nicole asking her to join him. She does so, despite Anthony's protests. Nicole gets Stefan to admit the truth, though he insists he does love her. When he sees that the police have followed Nicole and have surrounded the chateau, he excuses himself. To spare her from being dragged down with him, he goes outside. As he expected, he is shot and killed, though it is staged to look like a suicide to avoid causing further embarrassment to the government.
Afterward, Anthony persists and finally gets Nicole to agree to marry him.
Stavisky Affair
The Stavisky Affair was a 1934 financial scandal generated by the actions of embezzler Alexandre Stavisky. It had political ramifications for the French Radical Socialist moderate government of the day...
, a French political scandal. A Russian con artist worms his way into the upper reaches of French society, but is finally exposed, with tragic consequences.
Plot
In 1931 ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Nicole Picot (Kay Francis), a model for a fashionable dress shop, is hired by nearly-penniless Stefan Orloff (Claude Rains) to help persuade a financier to fund his ambitious plans. By 1934, Stefan has established an investment bank; in gratitude, he provides the capital that Nicole needs to set up her own business and become a successful dress designer (though she insists on paying him back).
British diplomat Anthony Wayne (Ian Hunter) romances Nicole and wins her heart. However, when Stefan's crooked schemes start to unravel, he asks Nicole to marry him without divulging his main motive: the attendance of her influential friends at the well-publicized ceremony would bolster public confidence in him and buy him time. She agrees, out of friendship alone, much to the distress of her friend and assistant, Suzanne (Alison Skipworth). It is too late. At their wedding, Stefan's closest confederate, Francis Chalon (Walter Kingsford), is taken away by the police for questioning, and the other guests hastily depart.
Knowing that Chalon can incriminate him, Stefan goes into hiding at a remote chateau. However, he makes a mistake, sending a letter to Nicole asking her to join him. She does so, despite Anthony's protests. Nicole gets Stefan to admit the truth, though he insists he does love her. When he sees that the police have followed Nicole and have surrounded the chateau, he excuses himself. To spare her from being dragged down with him, he goes outside. As he expected, he is shot and killed, though it is staged to look like a suicide to avoid causing further embarrassment to the government.
Afterward, Anthony persists and finally gets Nicole to agree to marry him.
Cast
- Kay FrancisKay FrancisKay Francis was an American stage and film actress. After a brief period on Broadway in the late 1920s, she moved to film and achieved her greatest success between 1930 and 1936, when she was the number one female star at the Warner Brothers studio, and the highest paid American film actress...
as Nicole Picot - Claude RainsClaude RainsClaude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
as Stefan Orloff - Ian HunterIan Hunter (actor)Ian Hunter was a British character actor.Among dozens of film roles, his best-remembered appearances include That Certain Woman with Bette Davis, The Adventures of Robin Hood , The Little Princess and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
as Anthony Wayne - Alison SkipworthAlison SkipworthAlison Skipworth was an English stage and screen actress. She was born Alison Mary Elliott Margaret Groom in London....
as Suzanne - Alexander D'ArcyAlexander D'ArcyAlexander D'Arcy was an Egyptian actor with an international film repertoire.Born Alexander Sarruf in Cairo, Egypt, D'Arcy, variously credited as Alexandre D'Arcy, Alex D'Arcy, Alexandre Darcy and Alex d'Arcy appeared in some 45 films, mostly as a suave gentleman or smooth rogue...
as Leon Anatole - Betty LawfordBetty LawfordBetty Lawford was an English actress. She was briefly married to the American actor-director Monta Bell. She was cousin to the actor Peter Lawford.-Partial filmography:*Secrets of a Secretary...
as Helen Tuttle - Walter KingsfordWalter KingsfordWalter Kingsford was a British stage, film and television actor born in Redhill, Surrey, England. He was born Walter Pearce and had several sisters...
as Francis Chalon - Charles HaltonCharles HaltonCharles Halton was a stern-faced American character actor who appeared in over 180 films.One of his most memorable portrayals was as Carter, the bank examiner in It's a Wonderful Life...
as LeGrande - Frank ReicherFrank ReicherFrank Reicher , was a German-born American stage and film actor, director and producer.-Early life:Frank Reicher was born in Munich, Germany, the son of actor Emanuel Reicher and Hedwig Kindermann, a popular German prima donna who was a daughter of the famous baritone August Kindermann...
as Charles Rainer - Frank ConroyFrank Conroy (actor)Frank Parish Conroy was a British film and stage actor who appeared in many movies, notably The Little Minister, The Ox-Bow Incident, All My Sons, The Threat, The Royal Family of Broadway, The Young Philadelphians and The Day the Earth Stood Still...
as Dupont - Egon BrecherEgon BrecherEgon Brecher was a Czechoslovakian stage actor and director who toured Austria and Germany acting on the stage, and also served as the chief director of the Stadts Theatre in Vienna, before entering the motion picture industry.-Career:Born as a son of a professor, he began to study philosophy in...
as Bergery