| Janet Leigh, romanced by Robert Mitchum & Wendell Corey, 1949's "Holiday Affair." |
Holiday Affair was originally envisioned with
bigger stars, but economical RKO settled on up and comers Janet Leigh and Robert
Mitchum, and that made the film open for more naturalism and less of a star
vehicle. As a widowed mother, Leigh's suitors are Mitchum and Wendell Corey,
who seem more suited to film noir, but work well here. This 1949 Affair was filmed in B&W at low-glam
RKO. Leigh is still in her early honey brown phase, before she went platinum
blonde. All of this adds to the realism of the post-war romantic tale.
| Janet Leigh is a war widow with two suitors, Robert Mitchum and Wendell Corey, in "Holiday Affair." She's also a mother with a young son, played by Gordon Gebert. |
Off-camera,
Mitchum had just survived a potential career-busting pot bust and jail
sentence. Lucky for Mitch, of the two bosses who shared his contract, David
Selznick and Howard Hughes, the latter was an eccentric who took chances, and he
bought Bob’s contract from Selznick. Speaking of Hughes, Janet Leigh found
herself in the same position as many young starlets who caught Howard’s
obsessive eye. But she firmly put him in her place, as she was a Metro star,
and just loaned out to Hughes’ RKO. Still, Leigh was loaned out to Hughes-run
(into the ground!) RKO three times—was this MGM’s way of punishing Janet?
| Though Robert Mitchum's image might suggest he's stealing the presents, he's actually very appealing as free spirit Steve in "Holiday Affair." |
Robert
Mitchum’s bemused, droll attitude is actually a good fit for light romantic
comedy. He’s a straight shooter as Steve in Holiday
Affair, offering realistic takes on life and love. Mitchum’s free spirit
calls ‘em like he sees ‘em and makes no bones about his attraction to Janet
Leigh’s Connie. Her war widow, while appealing and kind, is stuck in the past
with her lost soldier husband. Wendell Corey’s Carl is the kindly current
suitor for the preoccupied young mother. The stars make a good trio in this
triangle. Realistically, both men are decent, and there’s no last minute
turning one of them into a bad guy. And Connie, while frustrating in her
vacillation, has a lot on her young shoulders as a widow and working mother.
| While it's amusing to see film noir faves Wendell Corey & Robert Mitchum as nice guys competing for good girl Janet Leigh, the guys are good in "Holiday Affair." |
What’s
interesting about this movie is that the story is very fanciful in its set up and storytelling, yet realistic in its
dialogue about love and loss, in post-war life. The opening and closing use a
miniature train set that morphs into and out of real life. Some of the
situations would indeed be considered corny and cringe-worthy by today’s
standards. But instead of sledge hammering the plot points with sentimentality,
they are handled deftly, a rarity for the era. The three stars play with their
typical down to earth manner: Janet Leigh looks quite naturally pretty in her
early career, plus regular guys Robert Mitchum and Wendell Corey play with their
trademark diffidence. All of this is filmed modestly at RKO. Imagine Holiday Affair at MGM with, for instance,
June Allyson, Van Johnson, and Robert Walker. The glamour and sentimental goo
would have been slathered on super thick!
| Janet Leigh was just 22 when "Holiday Affair" was released for the holidays in '49. |
Janet
Leigh brings her warmth and natural appeal to Holiday Affair, a solid actress from the get-go, just three years
after being discovered by retired screen legend Norma Shearer. The former Metro
star saw Janet’s photo at a ski lodge in early 1946 and recommended her to MGM.
By the end of the year, Janet made her acting debut on a radio Christmas Eve broadcast
the same year. The following year, Leigh made her film debut as Van Johnson’s
love interest in The Romance of Rosy
Ridge. The rest, as they say, was history.
| Janet Leigh & Gordon Gebert's scenes as mother & son are warmly believable in 1949's "Holiday Affair." |
Robert
Mitchum came up in Hollywood the typical way—“extra” work and bit parts. But in
just three short years, he scored with The
Story of G.I. Joe and got his only Oscar nomination. And like Leigh, his nom
was in the supporting category, except Mitchum’s was at the beginning of his
career, and hers in mid-career. Wendell Corey also became a star right after
the war, making his film debut in 1947’s Desert
Fury. Corey was more of a character actor than star, but often added wry
humor to his roles, such as Jimmy Stewart’s pal in Rear Window.
The
scenes with Leigh and Gordon Gebert, who plays her son Timmy, are pretty
adorable but in a realistic way. Gebert certainly isn’t shy in his scenes and he
acted until early adulthood. From there, he went to college, and then had a
career teaching architecture.
| Gordon Gebert was quite the scene-stealer as Timmy in 1949's "Holiday Affair." |
Director
Don Hartman had been a screenwriter at Paramount for many Bob Hope and several
Danny Kaye vehicles. After directing, he became an executive producer at
Paramount and then an independent producer, his last was The Matchmaker, before his death at 57 in 1958. Hartman’s humorous
touch shows in this comedy-drama.
Holiday Affair has a number of charming scenes
that transcend its clichés. The straightforward telling makes this film
feels like a scrapbook of another era and not just a too-glamorous old movie. Enjoy
this film on its own terms and you will find this a most happy affair.
| Train set lovers will just love 1949's "Holiday Affair!" |