We have a weed bust to thank for Holiday Affair. This laid-back romantic comedy stars Robert Mitchum as an insouciant department store clerk, who falls in love with a single mother (Janet Leigh), already engaged to a dependable but vanilla lawyer (Wendell Corey). Mitchum was best known for his roles as tough guys and anti-heroes in film noir classics like Out of the Past, Crossfire, and a string of other hits for RKO Pictures. In 1948 his career took as hit following an arrest for marijuana possession. RKO studio head, Howard Hughes, used Holiday Affair to “sweeten up” Mitchum’s public image and rehabilitate his career.
Mitchum plays Steve Mason, a World War II vet who dreams of one day being a boat builder. He works in the toy department of a large department store (noir fans will get a kick out of watching Mitchum in a monkey mask, goof around with some kids). One of his customers is Connie Ennis (Leigh). Steve immediately pegs her as a comparison shopper, working for the department store’s competitor.
When softie Steve doesn’t turn her in to his superior, he’s fired. Feeling guilty, Connie takes Steve to lunch and an attraction develops between them. Steve also bonds to Connie’s six-year-old son, Timmy (Gordon Gebert). But there’s a problem: Connie’s long-time boyfriend, Carl, has asked her to marry him. Carl’s nice and reliable, but Connie isn’t in love with him. She’s still in love with her late husband, who died in the war. Though Carl is no match for a ghost, Steve just might be. Who will Connie choose this Christmas?
Holiday Affair is safe and cliched. The film sticks tightly to the romantic comedy guidebook. Nothing unexpected transgresses, and that makes it so enjoyable, re-watchable, and extremely comforting. (key characteristics to create a classic Christmas movie). An at-times limp screenplay works best when it focuses on small moments and witty character interplay. The story posses no smugness; it embraces its frothiness.
The perfectly casted actors lift the movie up a few notches. Mitchum is excellent in this rare lighthearted performance. He appears perfectly at ease poking fun at his tough guy persona, making his character all the more delightful. He flips the soppy lovestruck rom-com male into a straight-talking no-bullshiter. His chemistry with Leigh fills in some of the film’s dull spots.
Leigh was not yet a mother when she acted in Holiday Affair, but so truthfully portrays one. At only 22, Leigh perfectly underplays her character’s fear of attachment and unease at falling in love. Gordon Gebert gives one of the most excellent performances from a child actor in a comedy. In a rarity, he strikes a precocious tone without becoming irritating. Wendell Corey as the humdrum Carl makes you root against him while making you hate yourself for doing so. These are characters you want to spend the holiday with, portrayed by actors you’d invite for Christmas dinner.
Mitchum’s career would rebound spectacularly, and he went onto make many more films (including another Christmas movie, Scrooged, where he played Bill Murray’s boss). Leigh, of course, gained cinematic immortality for her shower-death in Psycho. But Holiday Affair remains fairly unknown. Perhaps it’s not great enough to be a major Christmas classic, but surely it’s good enough to be a minor one.
-T.Z.
No comments:
Post a Comment