The Perfect Furlough

I'm a fan of Tony Curtis so obviously I am more inclined to like this movie than not. To be completely fair this movie is not his best effort and in fact it is probably one of the worst movies of this period of his acting career. That's not to say it's a bad movie because it is still a decent effort and a pretty good comedy with good performances and OK writing.

It is also worth watching this movie because it is one of the films he co-starred in with his real life wife Janet Leigh. In fact Jamie Lee Curtis was born around the time of this movie so that's an interesting piece of trivia for film buffs I guess.

All in all it's a pretty forgettable film and not one of the greats but if you can get your hands on a copy or catch it on TV it's definitely a decent way to get a few laughs and it's worth watching as a silly comedy that holds up pretty well after all these years.

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.

Funny little early Blake Edwards. Curtis & Leigh are quite good, but watch for the supporting actors. The great Keenan Wynn, a non-"30 Rock" look at the wonderful Elaine Stitch and especially King Donovan, so funny as the befuddled military "handler" of Curtis' character. Love anything King Donovan was in.

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 ****

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.