tavm With Mickey Rooney having died about a month ago, I went to the library to see if any of his films were there. I managed to find both this and Thoroughbreds Don't Cry there and checked them out. I just reviewed TDC so this is what I think of this one: It's quite good with the musical numbers and some of the atmosphere of both clean-cut small-town Americana and the more brassy charm of low-rent bars when the Rooney character goes to meet some dance hall girls and has an eye-popping' encounter with Marilyn Maxwell. Gloria DeHaven has her own wholesome charms as his girl-next-door partner. Walter Huston is fine as his wise father. And Frank Morgan is charismatic as his drunk uncle. The songs by Harry Warren and Ralph Blaine are tuneful enough. And the screenplay by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett-who also wrote my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life-has some nice humorous touches. Not great, but Summer Holiday was entertaining enough for me.

weezeralfalfa 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.

drednm Quite bland musical version of Eugene O'Neill's gentle comedy play about a family in rural America before the first world war.MGM made the first (non-musical) version in 1935 under the play's original title, AH, WILDERNESS! That film, which stars Eric Linden, Lionel Barrymore, and Wallace Beery is superb.Here we get Mickey Rooney (aged 28 playing a high school senior), Walter Huston, and Frank Morgan. Huston and Morgan are OK, but Morgan can't hold a candle to Beery's Uncle Sid.The rest of the cast here is competent but all the "edge" has been taken out of the original story. Agnes Moorehead plays the old maid aunt, Selena Royle is the mother, Gloria DeHaven is the girl next door, Butch Jenkins is the kid brother (Rooney played the role in the '35 film), and John Alexander plays the blowhard neighbor.Not helping is the bland and forgettable music score. They would have been better off using real songs from the period.The main problem is that Rooney is simply too old for this, and his acting is pretty bad. By 1948 he was already about to end his second marriage (first was to Ava Gardner). And here he is trying to play a virginal high schooler. It gets really sticky when he rebels and meets Belle.In this version Belle is a chorus girl rather than a prostitute. Marilyn Maxwell is a breath of fresh air as the salty, plain-talking, overly made-up woman trying to take the green kid for a few bucks ... until another guy shows up. This is a nicely lit and interesting scene as Belle is "transformed" in Rooney's eyes from the cheap chorus girl into a colorful woman of the world. Maxwell is terrific. It's a great small role; in the '35 version Helen Flint was also terrific.Bottom line is that this is just a so-so film. It can't compare with the '35 version of the story, and it certainly doesn't come up to the MGM standard for its '40s musicals. The movie was not a box office success.

Wayne119 If you are a fan of Mickey Rooney, or if you loved "Ah, Wilderness!" (1935 movie) and "Take Me Along" (Broadway musical version of "Ah, Wilderness!"), you will find this version of Eugene O'Neill's only comedy worth seeing.Mickey Rooney is in both films. In "Summer Holiday," he does a good job as the older brother, but I liked him better as the little brother in the 1935 movie. Butch Jenkins plays the little brother in "Summer Holiday" (the Mickey Rooney role in the 1935 movie). Somebody must have decided the role was not cute enough, so they gave poor little Butch a lot of extra lines and cutesy costumes. Remembering Mickey's robust performance in the earlier version, I found Butch embarrassing.The music in "Summer Holiday" is not very inspired. "Take Me Along" has better songs. I don't dislike "Summer Holiday." It just doesn't live up to my expectations of it.