Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

njp2011 People forget that, in those days, before movies gave up trying to compete with TV and turned into the mostly CGI cartoon crap fest that it is today, there was serious doubt that the small screen could compete with it in the the long format drama. With production values that did not rise above the average TV drama, scripts that felt like 43 minute "hour- longs" padded out to 90 minutes, and cast lists bulging with TV-only actors, the early TV movies did not inspire confidence or critical praise. Since TV films could be shot at less cost the two independent hour episodes, it was seen as a cost-cutting move. This movie, more than any other flew in the face of that. Established film actors like Lawford, St. John and Pidgeon lent the film a more cinematic feel. The script was tighter and, in spots, the production values approximated, at least, movie ones and the actors, across the board, seemed to take the material seriously. All that convinced, I'm sure, more than a few movie folk (most of whom, it seemed, were still holding their noses at the thought of doing TV) that their might be something to those "lights and wires in a box."

eyeswideshut1212 I see that I'm not alone in offering praise for 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation'.I guess many of us are around the same age - to have grown up watching the early made-for-TV movies; this was one of the first, but there's some great stuff from back then. How about 'The Night Stalker' as one example? But I digress. It's tough to write this, since I don't want to spoil the film for those who haven't seen it. It's why I checked the spoiler box - but I'm going to be deliberately vague, anyhow.Robert Wagner plays a man who keeps getting beat by Peter Lawford; so much so, that his ego is at near collapse. He becomes obsessed with winning - and to this end, UPS THE ANTE and the stakes in the 'game' he is playing with Lawford. Still - he loses again; barely escaping with his life and his sanity.But the ending is pure catharsis; while he never managed to beat Lawford, he finally manages to WIN - and win the biggest 'game' of all! He takes an enormous gamble; it didn't have to work. I guess that's the point, or part of it; would Walter Pidgeon actually stop to LOOK at that roll of film??! Everything depended on that risk. They say that you have to risk more to win more - I guess this is an example.Fine performances from Lawford, Pidgeon, Jill St. John, Wagner, and let us not forget Cochise - enjoyable work from Michael Ansara, though not quite up to his turn as a Klingon on Star Trek.I smile at the end of this film every time I watch it; I smile along with Robert Wagner. I hope you'll smile along with me (and give a little wink, as well).Note that there is a dude at Ioffer who will make you a DVD-R of this flick. The quality is as you would expect; a transfer from a videotape taken from a broadcast on Australian TV. This was not a problem for me - I watched and thoroughly enjoyed this flick.

Linda_S I saw this when it first run on American television and I have to say there isn't a year that goes by that I don't think of this film and why it hasn't, to my knowledge been shown again on television or released on DVD.So my recollection is one of an impression, of wonderful entertainment that held me in suspense.I remember, all these years later, a line, from Jack Washington (Wagner) to a black marketeer, about purchasing a revolver: "make it accurate, something in a .32 caliber"For whatever reason I recall that.I truly enjoyed this movie and PLEASE release it on DVD. Wagner was stunning, the direction, quite good indeed, and considering it was made for TV I give it the highest of marks.

Eric Malone (ericdmalone) I have been searching for this movie for 38 years! I saw this when I was a kid in Texas and I actually wrote to the network (I think it might have been ABC, but it could have been CBS) and offered to buy the script from them.This movie is one fantastic neo-noir classic, and I just wish I could find a copy on video or DVD somehow. I too have searched around the entire United States (I travel a lot) and have actually seen the *listing* for a station that would play it, but I have never seen it since 1967, nor have I had access to any kind of media recording.When I first saw this in 1967 I fell off my chair with how good the script was, and how well-made the film itself was at the time.This movie would make money on DVD, and as a remake. Maybe Tarantino or David Fincher should hear about it.