utgard14 Radio legend Arch Obler wrote and directed this film about a man (Claude Rains in a great performance) who returns home from a vacation in the woods to discover his country has been overtaken by fascists. It's a fascinating picture that serves as a cautionary tale for war-weary Americans to be vigilant about protecting their democracy and not become complacent. I've read that this was financed by General Motors for their employees to see and later it was released by poverty row studio PRC. It does look cheap, to be fair, but the cast is great and Obler creates a moody atmosphere and keeps the tension high throughout. It's definitely worth a look for fans of Rains or Obler or just anyone who wants to see an interesting off-the-beaten-path picture from Hollywood's heyday.

lora64 I'm a great fan of Claude Rains so I enjoyed viewing this new (for me) film by such a fine actor who brings a dire warning message home to us. His perplexity and inability to comprehend what has transpired in the everyday world around him when he returns from a fishing holiday reveals a straight-line kind of thinking that sadly is quickly overturned when disaster has occurred. The progress of the story, of complete alienation from routine life as he'd known it, made me realize how fortunate we are in N. America not to have experienced the oppression of an invading army such as what many small countries in Europe suffered in WW2 under the Nazis.I don't know all the dates but it seems this film could have more logically fit into the period of wartime efforts to support 'the cause', as it has a propaganda ring to it which is ineffectual if coming after the war had already ended.The Orwellian film "Nineteen Eighty Four" also has a similar message of individual oppression although there it's in the form of Big Brother.Mention in the movie of Friday the 13th made me notice on my calendar that this week has a Friday 13th upcoming (December 2013). Small world at times!"Strange Holiday" is a reality-check story with a message and there's nothing weird about it when properly understood. Just be thankful in the West that you've never been invaded by an oppressor.This is a worthwhile film to add to one's collection particularly for Claude Rains fans.

arazmuss As one of 42 people on the face of the Earth who have seen this "badfilm" all the way through I must say it is more poignant and accurate today than it was in 1945. Difficult not to mention it in the same breath as "Plan 9 From Outer Space". I cannot think anyone put it out on DVD unless it is in one of those $1 movie jubilees you find near the checkout at Wal*Mart, but if it is, remember to watch it with the lights out. Now, how the devil I am supposed to get 10 lines of text out a movie this bad is beyond me. The first time I saw it was at a 1am showing of old Republic Films on ABC late night in the early 1990s, we sought it for years afterward in the TV listings hoping to program the VCR to record it but alas, it never came on again. My...wife...my...children. Joe...Joe was there...

FilmFlaneur This a crazed film, which overrides many of the regular expectations of an audience. Rains is the complacent middle class American who goes on a fishing trip - only to discover upon his return that America has been turned into a dictatorship, and what he once held for granted and most dear is now denied him and trampled upon. America has been transformed into an occupied country.Obler is one of those Z-grade directors whose career often contained gems of movie making. As with the more talented Edgar Ulmer, the liberty of working with such low budgets meant that his personal vision was able to reach the screen more accurately, and without the interference common in larger studios. Whether or not he agreed with the stark warning explicit in Strange Holiday, the result is more like a cinematic rant, a government propaganda piece than a story. Claude Rains gives his usual cultured performance (and indeed is far too good for this material). His persona of cultured smugness, suddenly shocked into political reality, is all the more effective because of the actor he is. In some ways this is a noir in extremis. But unlike a 'true' film noir, the feeling of paranoia and persecution in Strange Holiday is entirely justified.The final scene, with Rains alone in his cell, at the end of his tether, repeating democratic tag lines and fragments of his hard learned experience is both monotonous and frightening at the same time.A film to watch, but not an easy one to enjoy. Perhaps that was the point, as the frightened anger, even panic, of the film makers is tangible throughout. As a relic of social hysteria, if nothing else, it is certainly unique.