DramaRomanceCrime

Christmas Holiday

- Durbin... In her most dramatic glory.

Don't be fooled by the title. Christmas Holiday is a far, far cry from It's a Wonderful Life. Told in flashback, the story begins as Abigail Martin marries Southern aristocrat Robert Monette. Unfortunately, Robert has inherited his family's streak of violence and instability, and soon drags Abigail into a life of misery.

Release Date : 1944-07-31

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Universal Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles : W. Somerset Maugham's Christmas Holiday

Cast

Character Name : Jackie Lamont / Abigail Martin

Original Name : Deanna Durbin

Gender : Female

Character Name : Robert Manette

Original Name : Gene Kelly

Gender : Male

Character Name : Simon Fenimore

Original Name : Richard Whorf

Gender : Male

Character Name : Charles Mason

Original Name : Dean Harens

Gender : Male

Character Name : Valerie de Merode

Original Name : Gladys George

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mrs. Manette

Original Name : Gale Sondergaard

Gender : Female

Character Name : Gerald Tyler

Original Name : David Bruce

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Ruth Cherrington

Gender : Female

Character Name : Townsend

Original Name : Minor Watson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Minister

Original Name : Neal Dodd

Gender : Male

Character Name : Policeman

Original Name : Robert Homans

Gender : Male

Character Name : Policeman

Original Name : James Flavin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Policeman

Original Name : Charles McMurphy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Teddy Jordan

Original Name : Cy Kendall

Gender : Male

Character Name : Detective

Original Name : Eddie Dunn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Detective

Original Name : Charles Cane

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bailiff

Original Name : Charles Jordan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Juryman

Original Name : Larry Steers

Gender : Male

Character Name : Juryman

Original Name : Heinie Conklin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Juryman

Original Name : Cyril Ring

Gender : Male

Character Name : Juryman

Original Name : Arthur Stuart Hull

Gender : Male

Character Name : Juryman

Original Name : Frank Austin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Juryman

Original Name : Jim Farley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Juryman

Original Name : Jack C. Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Foreman

Original Name : John Hamilton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lawyer

Original Name : Oliver Blake

Gender : Male

Character Name : Judge

Original Name : George Irving

Gender : Male

Character Name : Waiter

Original Name : John Berkes

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bellboy

Original Name : Frank Marlowe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Steve, the bartender

Original Name : Joseph Crehan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Room Clerk

Original Name : Edwin Stanley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stewardess

Original Name : Louise Currie

Gender : Female

Character Name : Colonel

Original Name : Clyde Fillmore

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Christmas Holiday (1944) Vacationing with the troubled and the forlorn. Christmas Holiday is directed by Robert Siodmak and adapted to screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz from the novel of the same name written by W. Somerset Maugham. It stars Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly, Richard Whorf, Dean Harens, Gale Sondergaard and Gladys George. Music is by Hans J. Salter and cinematography by Elwood Bredell. The title is a bit of a bum steer, the presence of Durbin and Kelly a splendid slice of red herring casting, and the written notices on the internet announce that the source material was watered down for this filmic adaptation. All of these instances mark Siodmak’s film out as a fascinating oddity, and certainly of high interest to film noir lovers. Plot essentially has Durbin telling Harens in flashback how her life crumbled around her when she married Kelly. She thought he was a wealthy gent full of charm and love, but soon she comes to realise that he’s a rascal with underlying issues, not helped by his mother, a witch like Sondergaard. Had Siodmak been able to go full tilt with the characterisations here, we would have most likely been privy to one of his finest dark noirs, he was after all one of the great purveyors of such devilish delights. Yet even though there’s a frustration that some of the bolder elements of Maugham’s prose are not overtly evident, there’s still a dark heart beating away, with suggestions of prostitution, incest and homosexuality dangling in the air, baiting those who in the classic eras adhered to censorship. Siodmak and Bredell don’t over saturate via noir filters, but as the story moves between seedy New Orleans clubs and Gothic churches, the sense of everything being out of sorts is amplified by smoke and lighting techniques. The pace is very up and down, and not all the director’s scene constructions help the narrative be all it can be, but his knack for emphasising certain thematics via tone and responses from his actors is very much evident here. Thematically it’s all very glum, America gone bad, love and romance are mere illusions. From the opening sequence as Harens – having served in the war for his country – receives a “Dear John” letter, to the striking denouement, this is anti-love and a portrait of a self loathing country readily able to accept corruption and the dark bents of human nature. The strong performances by the leads, supplemented by the wonderful Sondergaard (you know things are going to be creepy when she’s around), and the Oscar nominated score by Salter round out the many strengths of Christmas Holiday. Not one to cheer you up at the yuletide season, and far from perfect with its draggy mid-section, but this is hugely effective film noir and fans of such will get plenty of miserablist rewards from it. 7.5/10