Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Every Day's a Holiday Blu-ray Movie Review

A charming Mae West classic.

Every Day's a Holiday is a fun and charming classic. Produced by Emanuel Cohen (Go West Young Man, A Bedtime Story), the production has plenty to offer cinema aficionados. Actress Mae West impresses with another knock- out performance.

Peaches O'Day (Mae West) is a beautiful and vexing con artist who ends up in trouble with the law. Peaches learns she must leave town or cop Capt. McCarey (Edmund Lowe) will turn her in to the police. After leaving town and starting over, Peaches transforms herself in to the seductive “Mademoiselle Fifi” and lures the attention of mayor John Quade (Lloyd Nolan). Things complicate when Capt. McCarey arrives in town and decides to run against John Quade as mayor of the town. The race is on: who will become mayor?

Fans of Mae West will be thrilled with the performance in Every Day's a Holiday. The actress has plenty of charm and her talents are well showcased here. The role provides her with more range: certainly, the part features the actress playing out a number of different scenarios. It makes the production all the more interesting and unique in her canon.

The art direction by Wiard Ihnen (Top of the World, Go West Young Man) is top-notch. There were a lot of great artistic elements at play in the design. The production values are exemplary and manage to imbue the filmmaking with a lot of pizzazz: the results shine. As do the costumes by Schiaparelli (King of the Damned, Love in Exile), which showcase West in unique attire.

Time for the show.

The music score composed by Leo Shuken (The Good Fellows, The Lady Has Plans) adds some unique charm to the production as well. Shuken provides Every Day's a Holiday with a sense of charismatic style as the music helps set the stage. Superb.

The cinematography by Karl Struss (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Great Dictator) showcases strong black-and-white visuals that provide a nuanced style to the film. The artistic merit of the production are enhanced throughout by these impressive aesthetics (providing the film with the right tone to tell the story). During comedic moments and dramatic turns, Struss' efforts excels.

The screenplay by Mae West (Belle of the Nineties, She Done Him Wrong) shines bright. The script is excellent and provides the film with a lot of fun scenarios. The storyline in Every Day's a Holiday is one of the most compelling elements and the script explores a variety of different ideas: taking the storyline in one unique direction after another – and audiences are in for a wild ride.

Every Day's a Holiday is directed by A. Edward Sutherland (Steel Against the Sky, The Sap from Syracuse). The production is entertaining and the filmmaking has an excellent sense of rhythm that continues to impress through to the end. Fans of classic cinema will certainly delight in Every Day's a Holiday and the charms of Sutherland's direction. Mae West fans won't want to miss out, either.

Every Day's a Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, Every Day's a Holiday is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.37:1 full frame. The print quality impressed throughout. The black-and-white cinematography was generally crisp and there were no significant issues with dirt or debris on the print.

There were only a few scratches and the print was mostly in good shape. Despite not being a newer remaster, Every Day's a Holiday still looks strong throughout. There was one minor glitch: at the 18 minute and 16 second mark during the presentation, there was a small encoding error (though most won't likely notice it). Otherwise, Kino Lorber did an excellent job with the presentation.

Every Day's a Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in DTS HD Master Audio mono. The lossless audio is in good shape overall. Dialogue was clear and easy to understand. The music soundtrack also sounded quite impressive throughout. The audio presentation had no significant issues to report in regards to hiss, crackle, warps, pops, or clicks.

Optional English subtitles are provided.

Every Day's a Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Audio Commentary by Film Historian Kat Ellinger

Every Day's a Holiday Theatrical Trailer (HD, 2:27)

The release also includes a selection of trailers for other releases available from distributor Kino Lorber: Goin' to Town (SD, 1:42), Night After Night (SD, 2:39), I'm No Angel (SD, 1:58), Belle of the Nineties (HD, 1:54), and My Little Chickadee (SD, 1:36).

Every Day's a Holiday Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Every Day's a Holiday is a charming classic. The production has a lot of terrific merits. The performance by Mae West is especially impressive here. Fans of classic cinema should take note. The Blu-ray release has impressive video and audio. Recommended.