The Perfect Furlough (1958)

6/10

richard-178713 August 2014

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.

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7/10

Decent B-Movie

bobsmith604029 September 2017

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.

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6/10

early Blake Edwards

SnoopyStyle14 July 2020

The Army has a problem. 104 men has been in an Arctic base for 7 months but they can't all go on furlough. Psychiatrist Lt. Vicki Loren (Janet Leigh) suggests giving one man their perfect furlough. Cpl. Paul Hodges (Tony Curtis) leads the men to demand a trip to Paris with movie star Sandra Roca. Paul schemes his way to winning the lottery. It turns out that he was forced to go to the Arctic due to his womanizing ways and Vicki is forced to be a chaperon.

The premise is too complicated but a screwball comedy can do that sometimes. At least, it allows Tony Curtis to have some fun in the Arctic. His charm is cinematic and the movie shows it off. This is an early Blake Edwards comedy and there are a lot of his touches. My only complaint is Sandra Roca's revelation. It cuts short the possibility of a love triangle. That has so much potential but most of it is left behind. I also don't think Janet Leigh is a great comedic actress. Her seriousness can be used for comedy but in this case, it is simply a case of frustrating misunderstanding. It's not as funny as it could have been.

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6/10

Simplistic, Sexist, and Silly Froth with Curtis and Leigh

dglink3 May 2021

The military men stationed at an Arctic radar base are bored, so a bright perky psychologist, a lieutenant in the U. S. Army, gets a bright idea. The men will dream up their perfect furlough and stage a raffle, the winner of which will go on the furlough, while the others enjoy it vicariously. The eager men devise "The Perfect Furlough" as three weeks in Paris with a sexy Hollywood movie star, Sandra Roca. Faced with daunting odds, one clever womanizer conspires to con his mates out of their chances and capture the prize for himself. The flimsy predictable screenplay hinges on extreme naivete and characters that do not listen to one another. A few simple questions and answers would quickly clear up the film's mildly comic complications.

Married to each other at the time, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh star as the fast-talking conniving Corporal Paul Hodges and the lovely psychologist Lieutenant Vicki Loren. Both actors are fine in undemanding roles and are ably supported by Keenan Wynn, Elaine Stritch, and Linda Cristal. Although no one in particular stands out, Curtis does a good job playing a character he has played elsewhere both before and after this film. Not surprising in a 1950's movie, sexism runs rampant, from an army officer crawling under his desk to look at a woman's legs, to a discussion of the domestic duties for a perfect wife, to the assumption that the movie star would offer sex as part of the furlough. Eyes will roll, even when the sexism is not overtly offensive.

Directed by Blake Edwards, who went on to direct far better films, and written by Stanley Shapiro, who subsequently had more success writing for Doris Day, "The Perfect Furlough" is a pleasant time killer, depending on a viewer's tolerance for sexist situations, admiration for Curtis's pretty-boy looks, and willingness to overlook silly simplistic situations.

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9/10

Cute Leigh/Curtis Teaming

ScarletPimpernel6420 June 2008

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.

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4/10

The whole base lives vicariously through Tony Curtis

bkoganbing3 September 2015

In his memoirs Tony Curtis lists this as one of five films he would make with first wife Janet Leigh. As opposed to such dramatic fare as Houdini or a great comedy like Who Was That Lady, The Perfect Furlough is distinctly second rate. The film is also one of four Curtis did with Blake Edwards as director. Tony and Blake first teamed with a good dramatic film Mister Cory and then later in Operation Petticoat and The Great Race. All of those are better than The Perfect Furlough.

The great military minds of the Pentagon are concerned about the morale of those Air Force guys stationed in the Arctic. All 104 men are performing a top security job at the North Pole so we can't furlough them all to get what they obviously need.

So what's the answer as thought of by Colonel Les Tremayne. Get a willing movie star like Linda Cristal to go on a carefully chaperoned date in Paris with just one lucky airman chosen by lottery. The others will live vicariously through Curtis's good times. The operation to be supervised by Lieutenant Janet Leigh.

Curtis is the base conniver and he connives his way into winning the lottery and the dream time with Cristal. It's one of those operations like you used to see on The Dating Game. Only Curtis does play for keeps and Leigh wishes he would play with her, officer/enlisted man rules of non-fraternization not withstanding.

It's a dumb premise to start with. I mean Lee Marvin when his Dirty Dozen had completed training he took care of them in proper style before they went on their mission. But Marvin was an original thinker on these matters unlike those in the Pentagon in Cold War peacetime.

Note some good performances by Elaine Stritch as Cristal's studio chaperon and Keenan Wynn as her controlling producer. But over all The Perfect Furlough is far from perfect.

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8/10

Character Actors Shine

ardenphillips25 July 2020

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.

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2/10

Perfectly stupid...

moonspinner555 April 2008

Another let-down for Tony Curtis fans. Here, he's 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, which includes Elaine Stritch and Keenan Wynn, is a minor compensation. * from ****

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3/10

A film that tries very hard...yet fails.

planktonrules17 April 2018

Warning: Spoilers

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.

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4/10

Another silly "sexcapade" teaser from the 50's

cougarblue-696-80612822 July 2020

Warning: Spoilers

Long before pregnancy test kits could be found in every drug, discount or department store, it was apparently possible to become pregnant and know you were pregnant mere hours after coitus. That "fact" forms the basis for a silly vehicle putting the two Curtis' together. The character parts from wine makers to soldiers, assistants, etc keep the film moving, but a backslapping laughfest, it ain't.

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5/10

Far from perfect and not enough of a pleasure

TheLittleSongbird21 August 2018

'The Perfect Furlough's' main attraction is the cast (Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, Elaine Stritch) . Also the talented Blake Edwards, who did many good to great films, so 'The Perfect Furlough' is watchable if one is trying to see as many films of his as possible. The same goes for Curtis, if, like me, you've found yourself unexpectedly watching as many films of his as possible.

Seeing it, 'The Perfect Furlough' is far from the best work of everybody else (Edwards though has also certainly done far worse), everybody here has been better and been in much better work. 'The Perfect Furlough' is most interesting for two things, one being seeing Curtis and Leigh in their third film together and the other being that it is the second time Curtis starred in a film directed by Edwards. As far as 1950s (and 1960s) comedies of this type go, there were far better, namely those featuring Doris Day, which were glossy and frothy but had much more wit, fun and charm as well as more natural chemistry between the cast.

It is certainly watchable. 'The Perfect Furlough' has glossy, but not overly so, production values, being elegantly shot and charmingly designed. The music is neither intrusive or low key and is pleasant enough in its own right. There are amusing and charming moments scattered through, there is a likeable light-heartedness and some chuckle-worthy lines.

Curtis and Leigh are fun to watch and are appealing in individual acting and together, Curtis especially has great comic timing and his expressions say an awful lot. They sparkle together and their love genuine. Stritch and Wynn stand out of the impressive supporting cast.

Edwards' direction however is disappointing clunky and without much pizzazz, got the sense he wasn't very interested in the film. The locations look nice enough but they don't look authentic, being more Hollywood than Paris. There is a constant stuck in the 50s feel and not much that feels current.

Also found the script uneven and more flabby than sparkling, there is not enough wit with too many moments that leaves one stone-faced while there is a lot of depth-less froth and the more risqué elements are not sharp or broad enough and come over as forced. The pace could have been much tighter and the story is contrived to the extreme, it's all very obvious and gets too silly even when taking it for what it's meant to be. At the end of the day, there is not an awful lot that's memorable here.

Summing up, a watchable enough film but uneven and forgettable after a few days. 5/10 Bethany Cox

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3/10

Scrip problems sink this light romantic comedy

weezeralfalfa7 December 2016

Warning: Spoilers

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.

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5/10

Stunning Curtis- Leigh couple, good photography, perfectly daft script

adrianovasconcelos28 November 2020

Director Blake Edwards would go on to do some very funny PINK PANTHER movies, but THE PERFECT FURLOUGH begins to crumble upon the premise that men stationed in the Arctic would all be happy if just one of them got a furlough in Paris with a beautiful star (Linda Cristal).

Unfortunately, the script only gets dafter as the film progresses, culminating in Cristal getting pregnant, apparently by her accountant hubby whom we never see. Thank God this film is only about 90' long, though by 60' I was already praying for THE END to appear soon!

The saving grace is the young and beautiful couple that would produce the stunning Jamie Lee in the near future.

And there are a few curiosities worth noting: The scene in the plane's bed coves prefigures a similar one in SOME LIKE IT HOT, the following year, but involving Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. And Janet Leigh taking a bath must have given Hitchcock an idea for the famous shower scene in PSYCHO, also the following year.

So, despite its unambiguous stupidity, this film probably contributed to two of the best - and best known - films ever made!

Which is why I give it 5/10

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3/10

Pre-Permissive Army Sex Farce

richardchatten20 July 2018

'The Perfect Furlough' is two-thirds of the way through before it finally stops wasting our time, and the romance we've been anticipating all along between real-life lovebirds Tony Curtis & Janet Leigh finally blooms; although there are still the usual irksome misunderstandings to be surmounted before the final clinch.

Two decades after this film Blake Edwards returned to glossy sex farce availing himself of the far more relaxed censorship of the seventies, eighties and nineties, but with not much more stimulating results. Shot in colour & 'scope to compensate for the fact that although set in Paris, the production never leaves California; there's the usual "ooh la la" nonsense about how romantic Paris is, and plenty of talk about sex, but none actually takes place during the film's running time, and most of the narrative tension derives from the film's attempts to sound raunchy while still adhering to Eisenhower-era censorship. When one of the characters is revealed to be pregnant the audience (but not the cast), for example, is already fully aware that the young lady was already safely married at the time of conception.

Although given little to do, Elaine Stritch shines in the sort of role Eve Arden would have played in the forties.

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