Christmas Holiday (1944)

A young femme fatale-type woman realizes that the man she married is an incorrigible wastrel.

Director:

Robert Siodmak

Writers:

W. Somerset Maugham (novel), Herman J. Mankiewicz (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly, Richard Whorf

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Deanna Durbin	...	Jackie Lamont / Abigail Martin
Gene Kelly	...	Robert Manette
Richard Whorf	...	Simon Fenimore
Dean Harens	...	Charles Mason
Gladys George	...	Valerie De Merode
Gale Sondergaard	...	Mrs. Manette
David Bruce	...	Gerald Tyler

Storyline

Due to inclement weather, Lt. Charles Mason is forced to spend Christmas in New Orleans. Recently dumped by his girlfriend, the depressed Lieutenant falls in with Jackie Lamont, a singer who works at a nightclub and brothel. After attending midnight mass together, she tells her story to Charles. Her real name is Abigail and she fell in love with Robert Manette. After six months of happy married life, Robert is arrested for murder, but Abigail can't help loving her no-good husband.

---

Plot Keywords:

christmas | crying in church | flashback | reporter | hotel | 

---

Taglines:

Durbin... In her most dramatic glory.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

A short clip of the film appears in the music video for the song 365, performed by Zedd and Katy Perry.

---

Goofs

After Robert breaks out of jail, the newspaper spells his last name as "Mannette", however the spelling of the last name in the end credits is "Manette".

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Corporal: [to the soldiers] You are now about to become Officers of the Army of the United States.

---

Connections

Referenced in Go, Johnny, Go! (1959)

---

Soundtracks

Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
Sung by Deanna Durbin

User Reviews

A perfumed but poisoned Christmas card from Siodmak, Durbin

Christmas Holiday, one of Robert Siodmak's early cluster of what would later be called film noir, is based on a W. Somerset Maugham story and a Herman J. Mankiewicz script. It's a triumph of casting against type. Gene Kelly is a scheming charmer prone to violence; his doting mom is Gale Sondergaard, for once not splaying her usual dragon-lady claws (at least not through most of her role). Most startling is the diminutive thrush Deanna Durbin, a pert presence and teen star in a number of 30s and 40s hits. Here she delivers a natural, nuanced performance that cleaves nicely between the exuberant ingenue of her early romance with Kelly (told in flashback) and the hardened torch-carrier she becomes. Her singing reflects these shadings, too: the winsome songbird warbles an early snatch of "Always;" a swacked, Chet-Bakerish chanteuse phones in "Spring will be a little late this year," while the reprise of "Always" turns into a heavy, torchy number. The plot's about a soldier stranded in New Orleans on Christmas Eve, after getting a Dear John wire from his fiancee; he ends up meeting Durbin in a roadhouse, and they swap stories after midnight Mass. Alas, Kelly has escaped from the pen at Angola with a mind to settle some scores. Maugham's chum Noel Coward once marvelled at how potent cheap music could be; this movie, like Jean Negulesco's Humoresque, ends with the strains of Wagner's Liebestod -- transcendent music cheaply used -- and, against your better instincts, you get sucked right in.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

W. Somerset Maugham's Christmas Holiday

Filming Locations:

St Vibiana RC cathedral, Main St, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1