The Holly And The Ivy (Blu-ray)

Part of the Vintage Classics Collection

Christmas Eve, Norfolk, 1952. The Gregory family descend on the home of their recently widowed patriarch Martin (Ralph Richardson), the local Parson, as per their usual Christmas tradition. This year though, family tensions and misunderstandings threaten to ruin the holiday, as his three children (Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton and Denholm Elliot) battle with personal issues and are unable to confide in a father that they consider unapproachable, judgemental and out of touch.

Director George O’Ferrall had a background in theatre and was the first ever producer of drama at the BBC. The Holly and the Ivy poignantly and perfectly captures an England on the cusp of dramatic socal, economic and cultural change, and deftly examines the generational gap in a family at odds over matters of faith, family and what the future may hold.