Review by All Movie Guide
All Movie Guide
lost interest.
There's a feeling of schizophrenia in Summer Holiday, the musical adaptation of Ah, Wilderness! As he did in
Love Me Tonight, director
Rouben Mamoulian is trying to make an integrated musical; more importantly, he's trying to make one that is as subtly observant as the
Eugene O'Neill play. Unfortunately, lyricist
Ralph Blane is not the gifted collaborator that Lorenz Hart was on
Love Me Tonight, and while the team of screenwriters are good, they're not O'Neill. Thus, Mamoulian tugs in one direction while his wordsmiths tug in another, with the result that neither satisfies totally. They're not helped by
Harry Warren's uncharacteristically ho-hum score; while some of the tunes are nice, none of them have that little extra something that the project requires. The movie does have a number of things going for it, however, including a solid opener that expertly blends song and dialogue; the opening also is visually interesting, a panorama of greys, beiges and whites that suggest a Currier and Ives print. The barroom sequence between
Mickey Rooney and Marilyn Maxwell,, in which both Maxwell and the bar subtly are transformed by the effects of liquor, is also a standout. Rooney gives a fairly understated performance, keeping most of his manic mannerisms under control, and
Frank Morgan and
Walter Huston make strong contributions. Mamoulian would have more luck with his next screen musical, the less ambitious but better realized
Silk Stockings. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide