The Perfect Furlough

This isn't a perfect movie. It's unlikely to end up on anyone's ten best list in any category. But it's a perfectly enjoyable way to wile away 90 minutes.

Briefly, it's the story of an oversexed serviceman, Curtis, who manages to win a three-week furlough in Paris with an Argentine bombshell-movie "actress". That's the first part of the movie, and it's pretty obvious.

In the second half, Curtis' character falls in love with Janet Leigh's character, an army psychologist who has been sent to Paris to keep Curtis' character from having sex with the bombshell or otherwise embarrassing the American military while on furlough in Paris. There is actual chemistry between the two - not a surprise, as they evidently married after making this movie - and the scenes between the two of them are more than just slapstick by the book.

The ending is obvious, but what you would expect from a 1950s romantic comedy.

Unlike a lot of other American movies set in Paris in the 1950s, this one doesn't do much with the location. But that's fine.

Not a great movie, certainly, but not a bad one.

'The Perfect Furlough's' main attraction is the cast (Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, Elaine Stritch) . Also the talented Blake Edwards, who did many good to great films, so 'The Perfect Furlough' is watchable if one is trying to see as many films of his as possible. The same goes for Curtis, if, like me, you've found yourself unexpectedly watching as many films of his as possible.

Seeing it, 'The Perfect Furlough' is far from the best work of everybody else (Edwards though has also certainly done far worse), everybody here has been better and been in much better work. 'The Perfect Furlough' is most interesting for two things, one being seeing Curtis and Leigh in their third film together and the other being that it is the second time Curtis starred in a film directed by Edwards. As far as 1950s (and 1960s) comedies of this type go, there were far better, namely those featuring Doris Day, which were glossy and frothy but had much more wit, fun and charm as well as more natural chemistry between the cast.

It is certainly watchable. 'The Perfect Furlough' has glossy, but not overly so, production values, being elegantly shot and charmingly designed. The music is neither intrusive or low key and is pleasant enough in its own right. There are amusing and charming moments scattered through, there is a likeable light-heartedness and some chuckle-worthy lines.

Curtis and Leigh are fun to watch and are appealing in individual acting and together, Curtis especially has great comic timing and his expressions say an awful lot. They sparkle together and their love genuine. Stritch and Wynn stand out of the impressive supporting cast.

Edwards' direction however is disappointing clunky and without much pizzazz, got the sense he wasn't very interested in the film. The locations look nice enough but they don't look authentic, being more Hollywood than Paris. There is a constant stuck in the 50s feel and not much that feels current.

Also found the script uneven and more flabby than sparkling, there is not enough wit with too many moments that leaves one stone-faced while there is a lot of depth-less froth and the more risqué elements are not sharp or broad enough and come over as forced. The pace could have been much tighter and the story is contrived to the extreme, it's all very obvious and gets too silly even when taking it for what it's meant to be. At the end of the day, there is not an awful lot that's memorable here.

Summing up, a watchable enough film but uneven and forgettable after a few days. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Tony Curtis stars an Army corporal stationed at an Arctic outpost who gets a Parisian furlough with sexy Argentine movie actress Linda Cristal, who is secretly pregnant. Would-be bedroom romp never does get saucy. Director Blake Edwards bides his time with his usual padding and gimmicks: slapstick brawls and frantic chases. This was one of six movies Curtis made with then-wife Janet Leigh, wasted here as a prim lieutenant. Despite lots of Hollywood gloss, these are grueling comic antics indeed. Interesting supporting cast including Elaine Stritch and Keenan Wynn is a minor compensation. * from ****

In his memoirs Tony Curtis lists this as one of five films he would make with first wife Janet Leigh. As opposed to such dramatic fare as Houdini or a great comedy like Who Was That Lady, The Perfect Furlough is distinctly second rate. The film is also one of four Curtis did with Blake Edwards as director. Tony and Blake first teamed with a good dramatic film Mister Cory and then later in Operation Petticoat and The Great Race. All of those are better than The Perfect Furlough.

The great military minds of the Pentagon are concerned about the morale of those Air Force guys stationed in the Arctic. All 104 men are performing a top security job at the North Pole so we can't furlough them all to get what they obviously need.

So what's the answer as thought of by Colonel Les Tremayne. Get a willing movie star like Linda Cristal to go on a carefully chaperoned date in Paris with just one lucky airman chosen by lottery. The others will live vicariously through Curtis's good times. The operation to be supervised by Lieutenant Janet Leigh.

Curtis is the base conniver and he connives his way into winning the lottery and the dream time with Cristal. It's one of those operations like you used to see on The Dating Game. Only Curtis does play for keeps and Leigh wishes he would play with her, officer/enlisted man rules of non-fraternization not withstanding.

It's a dumb premise to start with. I mean Lee Marvin when his Dirty Dozen had completed training he took care of them in proper style before they went on their mission. But Marvin was an original thinker on these matters unlike those in the Pentagon in Cold War peacetime.

Note some good performances by Elaine Stritch as Cristal's studio chaperon and Keenan Wynn as her controlling producer. But over all The Perfect Furlough is far from perfect.

I am in line with the vast majority of my fourteen IMDB colleagues below in regarding this as a pleasant if not very successful attempt by Blake Edwards to be Lubitsch. It is at its best in the scenes between Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh who have very good sexual and comic chemistry and balance, he being cheeky and sarcastic, she cynical and even more sarcastic. There are also some good bits with wry servants commenting upon their charges (this seems especially lifted from ol Ernst L), Curtis' bumbling attempts at being a French bellboy that pre date Peter Sellers in "Panther" by five years and Elaine Stritch given some nice zingers by scenarist Stanley Shapiro.

On the downside you have numerous failed attempts by Edwards/Shapiro to make the characters played by Linda Cristal, Keenyn Wynn and especially King Donovan's bumbling captain (a role that cries out for Ernie Kovacs) anything but faintly dull. And running through the film is Edwards' usual racism which becomes especially offputting in the scene where the French winemaker and his son opine on clean, bath taking Leigh versus unclean, bath avoiding Cristal. C plus.