AllMovie

A moderately enjoyable romantic comedy, Vacation From Marriage is also a bit of a disappointment because it doesn't fulfill its potential. With an excellent cast, a capable director, and a screenplay that deals with a worthy and fairly unusual subject, one expects much more than one gets. Primary responsibility lies with the screenplay; it purports to explore a marriage from which the magic has long been gone and the manner in which the husband and wife discover a new life for each other only by undergoing new experiences apart from each other, when in fact that exploration barely peeks beneath the surface. Aside from keeping things too superficial, the writing also isn't consistently sparkling enough. Alexander Korda also shares a bit of the blame, for if his direction is certainly fine, it is also rarely more than that; aside from a few nice touches as the couple travels toward each other after their long separation, there's little in his work here that is truly inspired. Fortunately, Vacation has a simply marvelous cast, with Robert Donat and Deborah Kerr in top form, and Glynis Johns threatening to walk away with scene after scene. The actors are so good they make you wonder what a Vacation From Marriage this would have been with more powerful material.