The Perfect Furlough (1958)

Thanks for the memories!

Strictly average movie

it is the rare 'crazy' movie that actually has something to say.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Whenever I post a review to IMDB, I have learned that certain words, often innocent words, cause IMDB to refuse to post a review or hold it up for a long time. But sometimes it's difficult NOT to use certain words...and with "The Perfect Furlough" I'm going to have to talk around it or use 's*x' because the review might not pass muster with imdb. But the film is a comedy all about libido...so it's awfully difficult to not use the word s*x!The story is EXTREMELY contrived. A group of over a hundred soldiers are stationed up in the Arctic and they're just about going mad due to the conditions...and because there are no women. For some inexplicable reason, the Army can't furlough the men but instead come up with the bright idea of furloughing ONE guy...and giving him the perfect vacation. But, unfortunately, Corporal Hodges (Tony Curtis) is the lucky guy...unfortunate because he has a serious reputation as a ladies man. And, he's supposed to go to Paris and spend the trip with a hot Latin actress...and the Army is extremely worried about her retaining her virginity. So, they assign a couple officers to accompany him as well as MPs....but it appears late in the film they weren't thorough enough. I'm divulging a plot element here...fortunately I indicated the review has a spoiler. It seems that the beautiful actress is pregnant and they blame Hodges...which makes no sense as the furlough would have to be a couple months long ...and it's only been a couple weeks. Basic physiological facts are all wrong here and the writer could have used a s*x ed refresher course. It also didn't help that the film was pretty stupid. And, while Curtis basically plays the same sort of guy he played in "Operation Petticoat", this film is not nearly as entertaining...just a bit dumb.By the way, for fans of silent comedies, late in the film look for the house detective...it's Snub Pollard, the Aussie film star. After his career waned during the sound era, he played a variety of supporting and bit roles...and this one is truly a bit...lasting but a few seconds.

The script of this light romantic comedy has lots of problems. First, the Colonel points to the Arctic Ocean on a map when describing the location of the 104 men suffering acute depression due to the long time(7 months) since they have had any female companionship. If true, it should be a job for the navy. If the radar installation is actually on one of the nearby Canadian islands, it should be manned by the Canadian military. If it is actually in northern Alaska, then things are OK. Second, why did it take 104 men to service this radar installation. If it is on land, I would think, say, half a dozen men would be adequate. Besides, most of the men seem to have little or nothing to do. Thus, the excuse that furloughs cannot be granted, because every man is needed all the time looks phony. I suspect the cost of transporting them out and back in is the real reason! The idea of one man going on a 3 week long date with a movie star to supposedly satisfy the desires of 103 lonely bored men for female companionship is simply absurd, and that is the basis for the rest of the film.Why would a married Sandra(Linda Crystal) or her husband agree to this arrangement? Sandra tries to come up with an excuse not to do it, but doesn't want to reveal, even to her agent, that she is married. Paul(Tony Curtis) seems to be having minimal fun on his supposed perfect furlough. He complains that he is always chaperoned and hounded. He has no freedom to be alone with Sandra. At a party, she danced with other men, but not him, even though her initial impression of him was very positive. They have spent little time in each other's company. Then, after several weeks, she tells him she's married.When the doctor was called to investigate Sandra's apparent cold or flu, he announces that her problem actually is that she is pregnant. Why would a doctor called to investigate a cold think to look for a pregnancy? How could he definitively determine this in 1958 just by a cursory examination, unless the pregnancy was well along, in which case, Paul couldn't possibly be the father. Vicki(Janet Leigh) is the victim of a false rumor that she also is pregnant, possibly also by Paul. Well, if so, this must have happened within the last couple of weeks, with Paul heavily guarded. Instead of denying the rumor, she agrees with it, in hopes that playboy Paul will agree to marry her, using this pregnancy as an excuse for the benefit of others. Of course, Paul will know it's phony and she will have to give up her career in the army.There is occasional humor here and there, but not enough to justify sitting through this.

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.

This is a cute piece of fluff, with the sole purpose of entertainment. One poster said something about slapstick brawls in a pan, and there are none of those. Tony Curtis shines in the type role he shone so well in during the late 1950s, and Janet Leigh is the officer sent to keep an eye on him during his jaunt in Paris with Linda Cristal. And that's the beginning. There's a good amount of chuckles, and a fine supporting cast led by Elaine Stritch, King Donovan, and Keenan Wynn. No classic, nor is it intended to be. Just an fun, enjoyable film, and one that deserves a larger audience and a DVD release. Hopefully, TCM airs it in order to allow more of an audience to view it.