Stolen Holiday

Stolen Holiday

Year: 1937

Runtime: 80 mins

Language: English

Director: Michael Curtiz

RomanceDrama

A young model is set up with her own fashion business by a crooked financier, who sells worthless bonds.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Stolen Holiday (1937)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Stolen Holiday (1937). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1931-1936

The story unfolds across the mid-1930s, a period of interwar Parisian glamour and economic strain. Nicole's ascent from model to designer runs parallel to Stefan's fraudulent schemes that depend on public confidence. The timeline culminates in a 1936 wedding and a police investigation that reshapes reputations.

Location

Paris, France, remote French château

Set against 1930s Paris, the city is the fashion and financial capital where Nicole builds her design career. Key events move between Nicole's Paris fashion scene and a remote French château used for the climactic confrontation. The city's salons, public ceremonies, and social gatherings reflect the era's glamour while hiding secrets and schemes.

💼 Fashion hub 🎭 High society

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:21

Main Characters – Stolen Holiday (1937)

Meet the key characters of Stolen Holiday (1937), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Nicole Picot (Kay Francis)

A fashion-forward model who becomes a dress designer, pursuing her lifelong dream while navigating Stefan's dangerous schemes. Her resilience is tested as she balances ambition, friendship, and love, ultimately choosing integrity over easy fortune.

💼 Fashion 💖 Romance 🤝 Loyalty

Stefan Orloff (Claude Rains)

A charismatic but ruthless financier whose criminal dealings rely on manipulating Nicole's social circle. He seeks to preserve power and public confidence at any cost, until his schemes begin to unravel and he is confronted with the consequences.

💰 Fraud 🧠 Manipulation

Anthony Wayne (Ian Hunter)

A British diplomat who romances Nicole and embodies the clash between personal desire and public duty. His career and reputation are tested by the relationship and the revelations surrounding Stefan's schemes.

💼 Diplomacy 💖 Romance

Suzanne (Alison Skipworth)

Nicole's friend and assistant who warns against Stefan's schemes. Loyal and pragmatic, she helps navigate the fallout while maintaining her own moral compass.

🤝 Loyalty 💡 Pragmatism

Francis Chalon (Walter Kingsford)

Stefan's closest confederate whose arrest for questioning reveals the breadth of his network. He embodies the tension between loyalty to Stefan and the consequences of criminal activity.

⚖️ Law 🕵️‍♂️ Betrayal

Le Grande (Charles Halton)

An associate in Stefan's circle who helps implement the schemes and maintain the high-society façade until the net closes in.

💰 Crime 🕵️‍♂️ Scheming

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:21

Major Themes – Stolen Holiday (1937)

Explore the central themes of Stolen Holiday (1937), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💰 Power and Money

Stefan's fraudulent schemes drive the central conflict, showing how wealth can corrupt public trust and social standing. Nicole's dream of fashion independence becomes entwined with Stefan's money-motivated plan, testing her judgment. The film questions whether money justifies the means when reputations and livelihoods hang in the balance.

❤️ Love

Romance between Nicole and British diplomat Anthony Wayne provides a humane counterpoint to Stefan's deceit. Nicole's loyalty to friends, especially Suzanne, is tested as truth and motive come under scrutiny. The relationship choices shape the emotional arc and Nicole's future beyond the scandal.

⚖️ Justice

Law enforcement closes in as Stefan's schemes unravel and the police arrest Francis Chalon for questioning. Stefan's death is staged as a suicide to avoid political embarrassment, highlighting a world where appearances matter more than truth. Nicole's restitution to the victims bankrupts her fashion house but restores her conscience and integrity.

Last Updated: December 04, 2025 at 15:21

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Movies about glamour and guilt like Stolen Holiday

The high life’s glittering rewards are shadowed by moral compromise and dark secrets.If the stylish but morally complex world of Stolen Holiday appealed to you, explore more movies like it. This collection features dramatic stories set in glamorous industries where ambition and success are shadowed by deception and ethical sacrifices, leading to bittersweet reckonings.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative often follows a protagonist who gains access to a world of luxury and success, only to discover it is built on a foundation of deceit or crime. Their initial thrill is replaced by growing unease, culminating in a crisis that forces a moral choice, sacrificing their newfound status for a clear conscience.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here for their shared exploration of the dark side of ambition and glamour. They blend dramatic tension with romantic or professional aspirations, maintaining a steady, character-driven pace and a consistently bittersweet tone where personal gain is weighed against moral cost.

Movies with bittersweet redemption arcs like Stolen Holiday

Characters clear their conscience, but their sacrifices leave a lasting, poignant cost.If you were moved by the moral journey and bittersweet resolution in Stolen Holiday, you'll find similar stories here. These films feature protagonists seeking redemption after being compromised by crime or deceit, leading to endings that are hopeful yet acknowledge the price of their choices.

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Narrative Summary

These narratives typically follow a character who is complicit in or benefits from a wrong. As the consequences unfold, they experience a crisis of conscience, leading them to a pivotal act of sacrifice that redeems them morally but costs them something dear—a relationship, a career, or a dream—resulting in a poignant, hopeful-yet-sad conclusion.

Why These Movies?

These films share a core character arc of moral redemption achieved through significant personal sacrifice. They are united by a moderate emotional weight, a steady narrative pace that allows for character development, and a definitive bittersweet tone that balances hope with the acknowledgement of loss.

Unlock the Full Story of Stolen Holiday

Don't stop at just watching — explore Stolen Holiday in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Stolen Holiday is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Stolen Holiday Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Stolen Holiday, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Stolen Holiday Summary

Stolen Holiday Timeline

Track the full timeline of Stolen Holiday with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Stolen Holiday Timeline

Stolen Holiday Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Stolen Holiday that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Stolen Holiday Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Stolen Holiday

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Stolen Holiday: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Stolen Holiday

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