The Devil’s Holiday (1930) | Region-Free (DVD) | Starring Nancy Carroll & Phillips Holmes

Title: The Devil’s Holiday (1930)

Genre: Drama, Romance

Plot Synopsis:
Beautiful manicurist Hallie Hobart sets her sights on David Stone, the son of wealthy wheat farmer Ezra Stone. Professing to hate men, Hallie is initially interested in luring David into a lucrative business deal. David easily falls in love, but his older brother Mark brands Hallie a gold-digger. To get even with the straight-laced Stone family, Hallie accepts David’s marriage proposal. As events unfold, Hallie begins to question her motives and feelings.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Edmund Goulding
• Writer: Edmund Goulding
• Cast:
  • Nancy Carroll as Hallie Hobart
  • Phillips Holmes as David Stone
  • James Kirkwood as Mark Stone
  • Hobart Bosworth as Ezra Stone
  • Ned Sparks as Charlie Thorne

IMDb Link:
The Devil’s Holiday (1930)

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. ZitaShort – ★★★★☆
   “So called wenches can easily be found in cinema of the 1930s but they are usually presented up against a nice girl who fights for and eventually wins the affections of the man who had been enraptured by this woman. This is the rare film in which the wench is the leading character and even though she becomes a nicer person she retains some of the cunningness that made her such a hoot at the beginning of the film. This is a surprisingly charming story for a film about a woman who is meant to be evil at the beginning of the story and I think a lot of that is down to Edmund Goulding’s direction as he keeps things…”
2. Kari – ★★½☆
   “I watched this to see Nancy Carroll in her Oscar-nominated performance. She was joined by Phillips Holmes as her love interest. There was lots of drama, some overacting and gold digging involved.”
3. Jeff – ★★★☆☆
   “Nancy Carroll gives a great performance but it just kind of drags which is hard to believe since it is only 80 minutes long. But for some reason the story just does nothing for me but I have no problem the with the nomination for Carroll.”

Meta Description:
“The Devil’s Holiday” (1930) is a drama-romance directed by Edmund Goulding, featuring Nancy Carroll as a manicurist who entangles herself with a wealthy family, leading to unexpected self-discovery.