Christmas Holiday is a good little noir film that is made required viewing because of its casting. Not that the cast is all that Holiday has to offer -- not when cinematographer Elwood Bredell is on hand to give director Robert Siodmak a stunning crane shot during the concert sequence or to provide hauntingly beautiful lighting during the Mass segment. And even if Holiday finds Siodmak operating at less than top form -- which it does -- it still offers enough of the director's flair to make it worth viewing. Purists may gripe that far too many liberties have been taken with the W. Somerset Maugham original on which the film is based, and they have a point. When Deanna Durbin at the end talks about building a prison for herself to match the one her husband is in, it doesn't have the impact that it should. But much of the screenplay is gripping, and there are a number of set-piece scenes that come off quite well. And while it's not a musical, Durbin does very well with her renditions of "Always" and "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year." But it's the mere fact that Durbin is playing this kind of role, and that Gene Kelly is portraying a psychopath, that commands the attention. Durbin does well; she's not great, but she's more than adequate. Kelly, however, is aces, showing off his dark side in a way that he never would be able to again and sending shivers up the spine as appropriate. He is not afraid to play up his incestuous relationship with his mother (Gale Sondergaard) and even lets a hint of homosexuality shine through -- as much of both as could be allowed in 1944. Sondergaard is his match every step of the way, and Dean Harens is quite good as the soldier. Christmas Holiday may not be everyone's cup of Christmas tea, but it's a great change-of-pace treat.
by Craig Butler
review
