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IMDbPro

Christmas Holiday

  • 19441944
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
31,077
24,859
Deanna Durbin in Christmas Holiday (1944)
A young femme fatale-type woman realizes that the man she married is an incorrigible wastrel.
Play trailer1:56
1 Video
61 Photos
CrimeDramaFilm-Noir
A young femme fatale-type woman realizes that the man she married is an incorrigible wastrel.A young femme fatale-type woman realizes that the man she married is an incorrigible wastrel.A young femme fatale-type woman realizes that the man she married is an incorrigible wastrel.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
31,077
24,859
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Robert Siodmak
    • Writers
      • W. Somerset Maugham(novel)
      • Herman J. Mankiewicz(written for the screen by)
    • Stars
      • Deanna Durbin
      • Gene Kelly
      • Richard Whorf
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Robert Siodmak
    • Writers
      • W. Somerset Maugham(novel)
      • Herman J. Mankiewicz(written for the screen by)
    • Stars
      • Deanna Durbin
      • Gene Kelly
      • Richard Whorf
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 44User reviews
    • 22Critic reviews
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:56
    Trailer

    Photos61

    "Christmas Holiday" Deanna Durbin
    Gene Kelly and Deanna Durbin in Christmas Holiday (1944)
    Gene Kelly in Christmas Holiday (1944)
    Deanna Durbin in Christmas Holiday (1944)
    Gene Kelly in Christmas Holiday (1944)
    Deanna Durbin and Gale Sondergaard in Christmas Holiday (1944)
    Gene Kelly, Deanna Durbin, and Gale Sondergaard in Christmas Holiday (1944)
    Gene Kelly in Christmas Holiday (1944)
    Deanna Durbin in Christmas Holiday (1944)
    Gene Kelly in Christmas Holiday (1944)
    Deanna Durbin and Gale Sondergaard in Christmas Holiday (1944)
    Deanna Durbin in Christmas Holiday (1944)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Deanna Durbin
    Deanna Durbin
    • Jackie Lamont…
    Gene Kelly
    Gene Kelly
    • Robert Manette
    Richard Whorf
    Richard Whorf
    • Simon Fenimore
    Dean Harens
    Dean Harens
    • Charles Mason
    Gladys George
    Gladys George
    • Valerie De Merode
    Gale Sondergaard
    Gale Sondergaard
    • Mrs. Manette
    David Bruce
    David Bruce
    • Gerald Tyler
    Eddie Acuff
    Eddie Acuff
    • Steve
    • (uncredited)
    Fred Aldrich
    Fred Aldrich
    • Bartender
    • (uncredited)
    Frank Austin
    Frank Austin
    • Jury Member
    • (uncredited)
    John Barton
    • Concertgoer
    • (uncredited)
    Vangie Beilby
    • Wedding Guest
    • (uncredited)
    John Berkes
    John Berkes
    • Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    Oliver Blake
    Oliver Blake
    • Defense Attorney
    • (uncredited)
    Charles Cane
    • Joe
    • (uncredited)
    Ruth Cherrington
    Ruth Cherrington
    • Concertgoer
    • (uncredited)
    James Conaty
    • Concert Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Heinie Conklin
    Heinie Conklin
    • Jury Member
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Robert Siodmak
    • Writers
      • W. Somerset Maugham(novel)
      • Herman J. Mankiewicz(written for the screen by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz changed the setting from a Paris brothel to a nightclub in New Orleans and the main character was changed from a prostitute to a more ambiguous nightclub singer and hostess, when adapting the 1939 novel of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, due to the Hays Code.
    • 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

      Abigail Martin: [to Robert] When I think of the things they didn't tell me in Vermont!

    • 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 reviews44

    Review
    Top review
    Some Kind of Strange Christmas
    Pairing sunny star Deanna Durbin with stormy director Robert Siodmak is like coupling Snow White with Orson Welles. So who's going to win out—Universal's top money earner or noir's artistic vision. It's a struggle between luminous halos, on one hand, and creepy shadows, on the other. Actually the odd pairing works pretty well, thanks to Durbin's genuine acting ability, Gene Kelly's subtle ambiguity, and an unusually suggestive script. Clearly, Durbin is looking to change her virginal type casting, while Kelly has yet (I believe) to settle into his premier dancing career.

    But, it's really Kelly's Manette who steals the film, with both a startlingly sly performance and the script's unconventional suggestions of incest and homosexuality. For example, there's a rather emphatic reference to Manette's being his mother's "all", plus mom's (Sondergaard) consuming attachment throughout the film. There's also repeated reference to Manette's "weakness", just ambiguous enough to go beyond a gambling habit. Couple that with his shaded behavior in several scenes, especially in the "anything goes" gambling den. Needless to say, such forbidden themes could only be hinted at in 40's Hollywood.

    Adding to the 40's exotica is Durbin playing what amounts to a barroom hooker. She may remain pure at heart—confirmed in the midnight mass scene—nonetheless, the role amounts to a risky departure for Universal's teen idol. Thus director Siodmak's challenge is to reaffirm Abigail's (Durbin) basic innocence no matter what else happens, which he does through selective cameo lighting, even though that conflicts with his noirish sensibility. Then too, Dean Haren's sweetly normal escort is there to reassure fans that underneath it all, Durbin remains Durbin.

    And to think the studio entitled this odd excursion into the dark side, Christmas Holiday, of all things. I sympathize with unsuspecting fans plunking down money to see the usual Durbin fluff. Nevertheless, the movie remains a fascinating study in conflicting styles and ambiguous characterization.
    helpful•15
    6
    • dougdoepke
    • Feb 20, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 31, 1944 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • W. Somerset Maugham's Christmas Holiday
    • Filming locations
      • St Vibiana RC cathedral, Main St, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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