''The Perfect Furlough'' is a 1958 American
CinemaScope Eastmancolor
Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak.
Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...
romantic comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed by
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor.
Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio s ...
and written by
Stanley Shapiro
Stanley Shapiro (July 16, 1925 – July 21, 1990) was an American screenwriter and producer responsible for three of Doris Day's most successful films.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shapiro earned his first screen credit for ''South Sea Woman ...
. Edwards and Shapiro would re-team the following year for another
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
service comedy, ''
Operation Petticoat
''Operation Petticoat'' is a 1959 American World War II submarine comedy film in Eastmancolor from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Blake Edwards, that stars Cary Grant and Tony Curtis.
The film tells in fla ...
''.
Plot
The army has a problem with over 100 male soldiers stationed at an isolated Arctic base for nearly a year are having psychological problems due to their isolation. As a result, they have lost a sense of military discipline, are careless and lackadaisical in their duties and their morale is at rock bottom. As it is impossible to give ''all'' the soldiers a
furlough, their commanding general in the US holds a meeting to discuss the best solution. Army psychiatrist Lieutenant Vicky Loren suggests that the soldiers on the isolated base decide amongst themselves what would be "the perfect furlough" with a lottery being held where one lucky soldier would go on the furlough with the rest of the soldiers living vicariously through him. They decide on a trip to Paris with sex symbol movie star Sandra Roca.
The scheming Corporal Paul Hodges wins the lottery and gets to Paris, France, on a three weeks' leave. The army is worried that Hodges' reputation as a ladies' man will embarrass the army if he has his way with the film star. Lt. Loren and two military policemen keep Hodges under constant supervision, but Hodges schemes to score with Sandra.
Cast
*
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
as Cpl. Paul Hodges
*
Janet Leigh
Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, ...
as Lt. Vicki Loren
*
Keenan Wynn as Harvey Franklin
*
Linda Cristal
Marta Victoria Moya Peggo Burges (23 February 1931 – 27 June 2020), known professionally as Linda Cristal (), was an Argentinian actress. She appeared in a number of Western films during the 1950s, before winning a Golden Globe Award for her ...
as Sandra Roca, the Argentine Bombshell
*
Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, best known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, musicals, feature films a ...
as Liz Baker
*
Marcel Dalio as Henri Valentin
*
Les Tremayne
Lester Tremayne (16 April 1913 – 19 December 2003) was an English actor.
Early life
Born in Balham, London, he moved with his family at the age of four to Chicago, Illinois, where he began in community theater. His mother was Dolly Trema ...
as Col. Leland
*
Jay Novello
Jay Novello (born Michael Romano, August 22, 1904 – September 2, 1982) was an American radio, film, and television character actor.
Early life
Novello was born in Chicago to Joseph Romano and Maria (Salemme) Romano. He had three siblin ...
as Rene Valentin
*
King Donovan
King Donovan (January 25, 1918 – June 30, 1987) was an American film, stage, and television actor, as well as a film and television director.
Early years
Francis King Donovan was born in Manhattan on January 25, 1918. His parents were vaudev ...
as Maj. Collins
*
Gordon Jones as "Sylvia", MP #1
*
Alvy Moore as Pvt. Marvin Brewer
*
Lilyan Chauvin
Lilyan Chauvin (; ; 6 August 192526 June 2008) was a French-American actress, television host, director, writer, and acting teacher. A native of Paris, Chauvin began her career performing on French radio and onstage in England. She relocated to t ...
as French nurse
*
Troy Donahue
Troy Donahue (born Merle Johnson Jr., January 27, 1936 – September 2, 2001) was an American film and television actor and singer. He was a popular sex symbol in the 1950s and 1960s.
Biography Early years
Born in New York City, Donahue was ...
as Sgt. Nickles
*
Dick Crockett
Richard DeHart Crockett (February 27, 1915 – January 25, 1979) was an American television and film actor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, producer, and director, best known for his work with director Blake Edwards.
Career
The first film ...
as Hans, MP #2
*
Eugene Borden
Eugene Borden (born Élysée Eugène Prieur-Bardin, March 21, 1897 – July 2, 1971) was an American character actor in silent and sound films. Born in France, he immigrated to the United States as a teenager, and entered the film industry a sh ...
as French doctor
*
James Lanphier as assistant hotel manager
See also
*
List of American films of 1958
A list of American films released in 1958. The musical romantic comedy film '' Gigi'' won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
A-B
C-F
G-K
L-R
S-Z
See also
* 1958 in the United States
References
External links
1958 filmsat the Inter ...
References
External links
*
*
*
1958 films
1958 romantic comedy films
American romantic comedy films
1950s French-language films
Films set in Paris
Films directed by Blake Edwards
Universal Pictures films
Films scored by Frank Skinner
1950s English-language films
1950s American films
{{romantic-comedy-film-stub