Holiday Camp (film)

Holiday Camp is a 1947 British comedy drama film directed by Ken Annakin, starring Flora Robson, Jack Warner, Dennis Price, and Hazel Court, and also features Kathleen Harrison and Jimmy Hanley.

As one of the more unusual subplots Esther, a woman holidaying alone and sharing with a stranger Elsie, recognises the voice of the camp announcer, as a former boyfriend.

When Box took over Gainsborough Pictures he hired Annakin to make Holiday Camp as part of a ten-picture contract with the director.

Annakin remembers Winn "put together a very good story" but Sydney and Muriel Box "decided we should add extra elements".

[8] He says Muriel Box worked on the Dennis Price character, inspired by the Heath Murders, then they held a round table conference with Ted Willis, Peter Rogers and Mabel Constanduros.

"[9] Rogers claims it was his idea to introduce the Dennis Price character and "the only bit that Mabel Constanduros contributed was the scene between Jack Warner and Kathleen Harrison on the cliffs.

[11] She was only fifteen years old and Annakin says "she had terrific joi de vivre and radiated sex... she was bursting with love for everyone and every living thing.

"[12] Some brief moments of Warner and Harrison exercising from the film, and Michael Shepley playing golf, were re-used at the beginning of Into the Blue.

Annakin says the release of the film was threatened by Billy Butlin, who was unhappy with the plot about a murderer frequenting the camp, and said he would cause legal trouble.

[14] According to Kinematograph Weekly the 'biggest winner' at the box office in 1947 Britain was The Courtneys of Curzon Street, with "runners up" being The Jolson Story, Great Expectations, Odd Man Out, Frieda, Holiday Camp and Duel in the Sun.