Holiday for Sinners

"Holiday for Sinners" is a film that lost money when it was released. After watching it, I can certainly understand why. Now it's NOT because it's a bad movie...but it's incredibly grim and unpleasant.

The story is set in New Orleans and it's about three different people reaching important crossroads in their lives. Dr. Kent (Gig Young) is a burnt out doctor who is sick of working with the down and out masses and longs to leave to do research. He's somehow friends with Joe (Keenan Wynn), a down and out boxer who is bling, an alcoholic and punch drunk. And, Father Carducci (Richard Anderson) is suffering from a crisis of faith and it considering leaving the church. How do their stories all intersect, see the film...or don't.

The biggest plus about the movie is that it is actually filmed in New Orleans. Other than that and some decent acting, there isn't a lot to love about this one, as I said it's quite grim. There's even a scene with two bodies lying in the street. They've been shot and it's actually amazingly vivid and depressing. And, by the time the final credits roll, you really feel like drowning yourself in your tub! Inexplicably depressing and seemingly pointless.

Played against the festivities surrounding Mardi Gras, this drama highlights the frustrations of a doctor and priest respectively: the former because his dedicated work cannot relieve the pain and suffering that fill the world he knows; the latter because his idealistic intentions are victimized by the church's bureaucracy. Most notable in this film is an outstanding performance by Keenan Wynn as a punchdrunk former fighter, a childhood pal of the doctor and priest. Surely his finest performance, in a role that challenges him as no other had done, Wynn is heart-rending in developing a character who is trying, without success, to retain a last shred of dignity and sense of self-worth. What could easily have been over-played is handled with sensitivity and restraint. Keenan Wynn.....of all people!

Richard Anderson may have given the best performance in the movie, but his seemingly major character simply disappears for most of the story.

Young is as bad as usual, but Campbell was pretty good. Wynn was over the top.

This belongs to a small and select group of movies. These are the big-studio movies with known performers that are, nevertheless, absolutely awful. Another in this category is "The Guilt Of Janet Ames," which is at least more amusingly terrible.

Maybe Gig Young wanted to play an idealistic tough-guy doctor. Maybe Keenan Wynn wanted to show his chops playing a down-and-out fighter battling blindness. Someone must have had a reason of some sort for casting them in these roles.

The story about three boyhood friends takes place in New Orleans; yet many of the players, Wynn most noticeably, affect heavy Bronx accents. (The third friend is a Roman Catholic priest. His part seems to have been trimmed to almost nothing in the print I saw.)

Wynn seems to be wearing contact lenses that make his pupils appear cloudy. His performance isn't bad, really, but he is cast against type and in a one-dimensional role. It's a no-win situation. As is the whole movie.

There are some top-notch performances here, particularly by Keenan Wynn as a has-been boxer. I can't help but think Robert DeNiro watched it as he was preparing for Raging Bull. I also especially enjoyed watching Janice Rule in an early role. Script-wise, the dialogue is pretty true to life, but the plot is not as fully developed as it had the potential to be. The lighting, set decor, and cinematography are all very respectable, and the film does a great job of capturing the look and feel of New Orleans. Mardi Gras attendees sure did dress nicer back then! Not a great movie, but definitely worth your time, especially if you love NOLA like I do.