Christmas Holiday
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| Christmas Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Christmas Holiday movie poster |
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| Directed by | Robert Siodmak |
| Produced by | Felix Jackson |
| Written by | Herman J. Mankiewicz W. Somerset Maugham |
| Starring | Deanna Durbin Gene Kelly Richard Whorf |
| Cinematography | Elwood Bredell |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 7, 1944 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Christmas Holiday is a 1944 drama directed by Robert Siodmak. The black-and-white film noir is based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Producer Felix Jackson chose this project as a dramatic vehicle for his then wife, Deanna Durbin. The screenplay was adapted by Herman J. Mankiewicz, who counted it among his 40s successes of which he was most proud. Gene Kelly and Deanna Durbin are cast against type in this sordid and dark film. Kelly, soon to become one of MGM's leading musical stars, plays a charming yet murderous cad, while Durbin, usually the girl next door in Universal musicals, plays a naif who falls for him and sticks with him even knowing he's a killer. Gale Sondergaard is wonderfuly cast as Kelly's tyrannical mother. Music director Hans Salter earned an Academy Award nomination. Although the film was a box office success for Durbin, she was criticised for having tarnished her trademark persona playing a dance-hall "hostess" (aka a prostitute). "Christmas Holiday" is considered one of the bleakest noirs of the 1940s, and one of Siodmak's most personally realized films.
[edit] Main cast
- Deanna Durbin as Jackie Lamont/Abigail Manette
- Gene Kelly as Robert Manette
- Richard Whorf as Simon Fenimore
- Dean Harens as Charlie Mason
- Gladys George as Valerie de Merode
- Gale Sondergaard as Mrs. Manette
- David Bruce as Gerald Tyler
[edit] External links
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