I'm fascinated by the few movies of this era I haven't seen, and this was one of them. First, it should have been more tightly directed, it seems to wander loosely all over the place and I started to count the sets (or studio backdrops?) and I ran out of patience. Having Clifton Webb play somebody's father defies logic and Jane Wyman always leaves a bad taste in my mouth because of her Reagan association (I never understood their mutual attraction) and even though she ditched him it was too late. I don't like to look at her profile -- it makes my nose hurt. Her hairstyle changes during the film, from 50s back and top flatness and early 60s teasing. How long did it take to make this film? I always wanted to look like Carol Lynley and her sometimes heavy-handed delivery was acceptable. The director should have taken everyone aside and warned them of their deadly performances. Paul Henreid: how did he end up in this? Jill St. John was the only joy of this film. It took me a while to figure out just who the actress was. She looked absolutely gorgeous in her 1959 flowered dresses, the ones I wished then I was old enough to wear. The plot is so obvious and the additional "local color" scenes (bullfight and flamenco) are completely unnecessary. Trinidad bagpipes, goatskin wine, and plane flight after plane flight! Everyone leaves the table before they can eat. Fuzzy old travelogue films of old cars and "modern" hotels. And what is the US Air Force (referred to once as "The Army") doing in it? What a mess! Any film student should see this picture, just to see how not to make a movie and how not to put together a script. At least Bob Hope or Bing Crosby and Lucille Ball or Maureen O'Hara weren't the "parents".
Review of Holiday for Lovers
