A Dark Christmas Holiday

Yes, yes, it is possible to turn the Christmas holidays into film noir, which you can see in the film Christmas Holiday. Don’t be fooled by cheerful sounding Christmas-y title. This film features a dark plot with some familiar characters in the early days of their careers, playing parts that seem to go totally against the grain of the characters they became most famous for.

Deanna Durbin, more frequently known for being a “girl next door”, Abigail Martin, falls for a Robert Manette who is charming but also has a murderous side to him, played by Gene Kelly. Yes, song and dance man Gene Kelly, the same Gene Kelly from Singin’ in the Rain. Even after she finds out her husband is a louse and a killer, and that his mother (Gale Sondergaard) is an overbearing, sort of Mother Bates type. Abigail moonlights as Jackie Lamont who is a whorehouse singer, even though the film never explicitly says so. In this film, Kelly shows his complexity as an actor and Durbin nails the role of a femme fatale. The film weaves in suspense, remorse, and forgiveness.

If you’re tired of the same old, same old, happy cheery Christmas movies, this is the one for you. Don’t believe me? You can read some of the reviews others have written on it. Noir of the Week his written this review and this one comes from Movie Martyr. Yammering Magpie has also done a review and you can buy the film from them. If you want a most officious sounding source, you can read this review from The New York Times. And for a special treat, here is footage of Durbin singing the song “Always” from the film.