AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

weezeralfalfa 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.

bkoganbing 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.

ScarletPimpernel64 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.

moonspinner55 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 ****