Ralph Richardsonas Reverend Martin GregoryThe story
About The Holly and the Ivy
A widowed parson in a Norfolk village gathers his family at the parsonage for Christmas, as he does every year. One daughter has kept house for him since their mother died and cannot bring herself to marry the man she loves, who is about to go abroad for work. Her sister arrives from her London fashion job drinking hard and hiding a grief from the war, their brother is a resentful young soldier who has lost his faith, and two elderly aunts complete the party. Over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the secrets they have kept from a father they think unapproachable all come out. Adapted from Wynyard Browne's stage play.
The CineClaus verdict
A parson's grown-up children come home to Norfolk for Christmas and spend it hiding things from him, because they are sure he would judge them. Ralph Richardson plays him with a quiet patience that pays off near the end, and Celia Johnson and Margaret Leighton are superb as the daughters.
It is stagy, talky and downbeat for long stretches, with drink, grief and lost faith on the table, but the reconciliation is earned. One for a grown-up Christmas Eve, after the children are in bed.
The family desk
Can the kids watch?
Our take: rated U by the BBFC for infrequent mild sex references. Nothing frightening happens, but it is a slow, talky family drama about grief, heavy drinking and lost faith, so it suits teenagers and grown-ups far better than younger children.
Content advice & accessibility
- Our age guidance
- Editorial, separate from the official U certificate, and never looser than it.
