the audience applauded

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Musicalization of Ah! Wilderness is okay with Mickey one of the oldest high school graduates you'll ever see. This was a huge flop upon release and coupled with Rooney's next film Words and Music, also a significant money loser, it signaled the end of his reign as a box office champ and a long slide until he reemerged as a character actor in his up and down career.It's the supporting cast of Huston, Morgan, Selena Royale and Marilyn Maxwell that make the picture worth seeing. Agnes Moorehead, who looks great in the period costumes, is wasted in the part of Cousin Lily which has been reduced from the original.Even though it's O'Neill's only comedy the original has touches of drama and pathos all of which have been drained from this. Still a pleasant film with gorgeous color and MGM's accustomed quality production values, the clothes in particular are beautiful, but as musicals go this is minor with no memorable songs nor dances.

The rather dull plot seems like an attempt to wed "Andy Hardy" to "Meet Me in St. Louis". But with an over-aged Rooney as the male teen star,a poor screen play, and without the memorable musical scores and charm of the latter film, it doesn't really work very well, except perhaps as a portrait of ideal Americana of that period.The rather abundant Harry Warren-Ralph Blane songs are OK, but not really memorable the way Berlin could make memorable songs.The first half of the film flaunts conservative Victorian outward mores, as practiced by well off small townies of the early 20th century, countered only by Rooney's occasional espousal of French Revolution-derived socialist arguments.It also includes some romantic dabblings between Rooney and costar Gloria DeHaven in lush outdoor settings. Rooney's long-winded high school graduation speech was as boring for the film audience as it was for the graduation participants. The last portion of the film turns dark with, thus far, seemingly model son Rooney being led into an implied one-night stand with an exploitive chorus girl(played by Marilyn Maxwell), who sings some of her monologues. This has dire repercussions for his romantic relationship with prim Gloria, which is unrepaired when the film unexpectedly ends.The last portion of the film seems hurried and truncated, as if the producer recognized that it was already too long for its interest level. Even in '46, when this was made, not all MGM musicals were shot in color. Thus, we are treated to some colorful outdoor scenes and sometimes to colorful period outfits. Gloria had a good singing voice and a made a good looking girl next door, but she lacked Judy Garland's screen charisma as an actress, thus comes across as somewhat bland, in comparison. As MGM executives apparently feared, the film didn't do well at the box office when it was finally released in '48, losing money. I guess audiences preferred the likes of "Easter Parade", released the same year.

MGM is known for producing some of the finest musicals in the 40s and 50s. The Arthur Freed production unit typically put together high calibre teams of the best stars, writers and directors. Summer holiday features Mickey Rooney, an experienced musical star who was also adept at comedy and a good actor to boot, music by popular songwriters Harry Warren and Ralph Blane, a screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (It's a Wonderful Life) adapted from a Eugene O'Neill play and direction by Rouben Mamoulian, a director with a somewhat patchy record but whose forte was in musicals. This ought to be good.Unfortunately Rooney was past the peak of his career, and he is not best used here in any case. It wouldn't be surprising if the actor, by now in his late twenties, was starting to get fed up with being Hollywood's perpetual teenager. As it is, he gives a rather daft, cartoonish performance, lots of ape-like gestures and walking with his bottom sticking out, a constant caricature of an eager young man. This may well be the sort of thing that was intended. The costume department has fitted him with ridiculous baggy trousers, making him look a real prize prat. I know he is supposed to be a boy on the verge of manhood, and that this is supposed to be a comedy, but this clownish look is simply in the wrong vein.I'm not familiar with Eugene O'Neill's Ah Wilderness! so I'm sure how much of it has survived in Summer Holiday. Going by the other work of O'Neill's I do know, which is usually quite literate and rather edgy, I'd guess not very much. Goodrich and Hackett have done a good job of injecting some jokes that only work cinematically (such as Walter Huston suddenly realising how Rooney's speech is going to develop) and the picture is worth a giggle or two. At times it rallies for American conservatism to an extent that is almost self-parody, and it's hard at times to decipher exactly what message the movie is supposed to be given. My guess is that while it was seen as acceptable to go all out on bashing socialism, some of O'Neill's other libertarian views have been excised or toned down, attacking the one thing blindly without offering any sort of alternative. There are here and there hints of a message, but it's all a bit vague really. I'm not denouncing or advocating any particular politics here, just saying that this smacks of disorganised screen writing.Director Rouben Mamoulian brings some nice touches to the musical numbers, having the actors move from place to place as a song progresses, moving rhythmically to make a dance out of ordinary actions. There's a truly sublime moment during the school song where the film segues into a montage of living recreations of Grant Wood paintings. It's not quite perfect; while most of those images are naturalistic nods toward the original pictures, the rendering of American Gothic is far too literal, and as such it's a bit false and jarring. This is perhaps Mamoulian's biggest fault at this time. He didn't have the good taste to know when to tone down an idea.And the fact that Summer Holiday does seem to rely a lot of visual tricks does in many ways betray its weaknesses as a basic work. Even the songs by the promising pairing of Warren and Blane sound like rejects from Meet Me in St Louis. There are some good things about it – some nice ensemble pieces, Walter Huston's steady performance – but as a whole piece it is rather disappointing. Creative minds don't always merge to best effect, and putting together a dream team doesn't always guarantee spectacular results.

The play on which it was based was a piece of homey Americana and this version continues that. True Mickey Rooney sometimes overacts but he is a real personality and believable. The idea of singing some of the speeches is what's unusual and I believe it works. It sets this film apart from the rest. I always felt the bar room scene was almost a different play and it's done well especially by M. Maxwell. Have you noticed that her hat and dress changes color depending on how Mickey sees her in that scene?