User Reviews

"Two Weeks with Love" is a delightful coming of age comedy musical, with a couple of young actresses who could really sing and dance. In the mid- 20th century, and the 50 or so years of earlier society that the movies often showed, coming of age was a well defined rite of passage - for both boys and girls. But young ladies seemed to be more aware of it - or it meant more to them. For the last half century or so, the focus just seems to be on teen years, with passage morphed in there somewhere and not clearly defined. So, society isn't as cognizant of this particular time anymore and we no longer see coming of age films.

But, this one is a dandy, and the coming of age is "the issue" around which the plot unfolds. Jane Powell plays Patti Robinson, the female who is coming of age, and Carleton Carpenter plays Billy Finlay, the male who is coming of age. Besides these two characters, this film is loaded with young talented singers and dancers, and with a cast of wonderful performances, young and old. Ricardo Montalban, though a very good actor overall and in this role, just seemed a curious choice to play the male lead, Demi Armendez. He was 41 when the film was made, and even makeup can't quite make him look too much younger.

Right behind Patti, who is 17 in this movie, is her sis, Melba, played by Debbie Reynolds. She is 15. She and Patti are in a one-way romantic triangle with Finlay. Melba pines for Billy, who pines for Patti, who pines for someone else, so long as it's not Billy.

Both female singers play their younger roles especially well. Believe it or not, Powell and Reynolds have the same birthday - April 1, three years apart. Powell was 21 when the film was made, and plays a 17-year- old. Reynolds was 18, and plays a 15-year-old. They carry it off very nicely and believably. The two starlets became close friends for life, and made two more musical comedies together. They played sisters again in the 1954 movie, "Athena," and were paired as friends in the smash hit, "Hit the Deck" with Tony Martin and others.

When I first wrote this review, both actresses were still living. Both had good careers in film and on television. Powell's soprano singing roles faded by the end of the 50s, and Reynolds' singing roles ended with the 60s. Both would sing in some of their TV appearances later, and Reynolds especially had a much more full acting career, mostly in comedy. All of Powell's musical comedies were superb films. Her biggest hit, beside her pairings with Reynolds, was "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" in 1954. Reynolds had major hits with "Singin' in the Rain" in 1957, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" in 1964, and "The Singing Nun" in 1967. She had her own TV variety show in 1969-70.

"Two Weeks with Love" is a fun, warm and funny movie that the whole family will enjoy. Reynolds is especially good in her role, and the supporting players all are very good. Two fine performers who were leading actors in their prime play the Robinson parents. Horatio and Katherine. Louis Calhern adds some fun comedy, and Ann Harding learns to loosen the apron strings for her grown up daughter.

It's a hilarious two-week vacation for the Robinson family at Kissimeee in the Catskills. And, it provides a look at a place and time in history - the Catskill Mountains, 100 miles NW of the Big Apple. From the 19th to mid-20th centuries, the area was known as the Borscht Belt. Anti-Semitism was strong in the Northeast, and the Catskills welcomed Jewish families.

Here are some favorite lines from this film.

Horatio Robinson, "Who put this feather snake in my suitcase? My new jacket's covered with whiskers."

Patti Robinson, "Oh, Melba, dear. Why don't you go and see what we're going to have for dinner." Melba Robinson, "I already know - sauerkraut and pig's knuckles."

Horatio, helping wife Katherine lace her corset, "All right, Katie. One, two, three, inhale. There! Every summer it gets a little more difficult. Oh, not that you're gaining weight, my dear. It's that I'm losing muscle."

Patti, "I guess there's nothing left for me to do but become a missionary." Druggist, as he serves her a strawberry soda, "Well, you wouldn't wanna do that on an empty stomach. Try this."

Horatio, "Children, I wanna ask you something." McCormick and Ricky Robinson, together, "We didn't do it, Papa, honest." Horatio, "Didn't do what?" McCormick, "Whatever it was."

Katherine Robinson, "Things seem so tragic at your age. But in a few years you'll look back and laugh at the whole thing." Patti, "Laugh? How can a mother say such a thing to her daughter?"

Melba, "With your sniffling and Mama's lecturing, how am I gonna get through the night?"

Horatio, "I don't think you know anything about bringing up my children." Katherine, "Oh, you don't?" Horatio, "No!" Katherine, "I suppose that little redhead could've done better." Horatio, "What little redhead?" Katherine, "So! There was more than one!"

Billy Finlay, "Yeah, I guess one room is kinda small when two people aren't speaking."

Billy, "When I served dinner last night, your mother asked me to ask your father to ask your brother to pass the gravy."

Patti, "It's all because Mama won't let me grow up. She won't let the way I look outside catch up with the way I feel inside."

Katherine, "Why, there's Patti. And that's my best dress." Horatio, to McCormick, "Tell Mama it was." McCormick, to Ricky, "It was." Ricky to Mama, "It was."

McCormick, "What's she got, lockjaw?"

Mr. Finlay, "Imagine, one kiss causing such complete paralysis." Horatio, "Mind your own business." Pointing to Billy, "You buy that man some pants."

A beautiful, innocent show -- well sort of. The turn-of-the-century generation was not naive about sex, they just had a better way of making it subtle.

Has nobody guessed? This is the movie which was updated to become, I kid you not, Dirty Dancing. The father-daughter tenderness, the girl who loves to dance and who takes over at the Catskill resort entertainment when the jealous leading lady has a problem, the coming of age of a woman on vacation with the cooperation of an entertainer -- "Mr. Robinson, your child is no longer a child." The parents' yielding to the breakdown of social barriers. It's all there.

This is Jane Powell's best film. It's a perfect film to lift your spirits when you are down. Every song in the film is wonderful. The best songs being By the Light of the Silvery Moon & Abba Dabba Honeymoon & Row, Row, Row. Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter sing the last two. Jane Powell has stated this is her favorite film and you can see why with all the wonderful scenes. Jane plays Patty who has just turned 17 and she wants to start dating and wearing a corset. Her mother(Ann Harding) won't let her until she is 18. Debbie Reynolds plays her kid sister and steals a lot of scenes. I think it's her best part next to her part in Singin' in the Rain. Her father(Louis Calhern) tries to help Jane, but mother wins out. Carelton Carpenter who plays Billie falls for Jane early on and Debbie falls for him. Phyllis Kirk plays Valerie a snobby friend of Jane's. She shows Jane her new corset. She runs out after they see Ricardo Montalban. Debbie continues to offer herself to Carleton, but he wants Jane. Jane finally meets Ricardo and she is responsible for dumping pudding on him. She runs off. She runs into him again and has to turn him down for the dance because she does not have a corset and she is embarrassed. She does not tell him this. She also has a young girl's bathing suit on and she hides when Ricardo walks by. The next scene has the best song of the film, "Abba Dabba Honeymoon. It is performed perfectly by Debbie Reynolds & Carleton Carpenter. Jane is rejected again when Ricardo won't take her on a canoe ride because she says she can't swim. She finds out her snobby friend is trying to sabotage her relationship with him so she can get him. Jane goes into a canoe by herself and falls in the lake. Ricardo tries to save her and she struggles to shore so he won't find out she is wearing a corset. She dances with him the next night at arms length. She is having a great time and the the snobby girl tell's all the guys she does not wear a corset and they make fun of her. She also tells Ricardo. Jane runs off crying. Her father decides to buy her a corset the next day. He buys her a surgical corset. Jane and her mother talk it over and she agrees to get her a corset. Jane then has a wonderful dream sequence wearing a pink corset. She looks stunningly beautiful. She really has a nice pair of legs. She sings and dances with Ricardo. The next night she gets to fill in and dance with Ricardo in her new corset given to her by her father. The do a wonderful dance, but her corset locks as the dance ends. The whole family comes to her aide and her mother releases her from the corset. It turns out her father bought her a surgical corset. Ricardo tells her parents of his intentions to see Jane and court her. Happy ending to a great film. I challenge anyone who loves old musicals to not enjoy this film. Jane Powell, Ricardo Montalban, Louis Calhern, Carleton Carpenter & Debbie Reynolds are perfectly cast for this film. Great, Awesome, Incredible Film.

One of the many 'period' musicals produced by several studios in the '40s and '50s. At least several of the songs were composed around the 1910 period, to conform with the late Victorian screenplay. Even the one song performance that caught the public's imagination sufficiently to become a top pop song : "Aba Daba Honeymoon", was composed in 1914, then forgotten. I don't know if Fred Flintstone's "Yaba Daba Doo" is derived from this title, but the resemblance is clear. ..Warning the corn grows high in this film!

The Robinsons are an upper class Victorian family, composed of 17 y.o. Patti(Jane), 15y.o. Melba(Debbie) and two much younger boys, one played by Tommy Rettig, who would later become well known via the TV Lassie series. Incidentally, Tommy would go on to have a very diverse life, besides his show biz period, including marijuana grower, and, in his later years, an important software developer!...The Robinsons are getting ready for their annual Catskills summer vacation: a ritual of many upper class Easterners in this pre-air conditioning era. The teenagers feel they are old enough for some puppy romance during this vacation, and thus petition to be dressed in something more adult than their 'baby' clothes. But, mother Robinson(Ann Harding) mostly resists these pleadings, resulting in more conflicts and embarrassing situations once they get to the Catskills. They stay in the romantic-sounding Kissimee Resort, owned by Mr. Finay(Clinton Sandburg), whose gangly son Billy(Carleton Carpenter) serves as bell boy. Billy remembers Patti from the previous year and tries to flirt with her, but she's not much interested, and soon is swooning over older, but suave, Cuban Demi(Ricardo Montalbam) who, in turn, is squiring Valerie(Phyllis Kirk), who quickly tries to impede Patti's chase of Demi. Meanwhile, Melba(Debbie) has struck up a friendship with Billy, who initially ignored her. Of course, we soon figure out that , despite all their age and clothes disadvantages, Patti will end up with Demi, and Melba with Billy, in the final scene.

Patti ad Billy keep getting into embarrassing situations, as they try to impress the opposite sex. Patti develops a severe inferiority complex because she hasn't a corset to wear, while the other debs all have one. Papa, who is more understanding of Patti's wish to be see as a woman than is his wife, finally buys her one, but its a surgical corset that locks when she bends over too much(Yes, pretty contrived!) Also, her swimwear is not on par with her age. Thus, when Demi is seen approaching, her sibs bury her in the imported sand, except for her head, hidden by a bucket(reminding me of Oliver Hardy, in "Way Out West"). Patti is envious of Valerie, who is wearing the latest minimal swimwear when she dives into the lake((Melba dubs her 'Lady Govida'). Billy is hamstrung socially, because is father still makes him wear knickers(unbelievable, as Carleton was 24 and quite tall!).

Busby Berkeley was choreographer. The film opens with papa Robinson conducting a summer band in a pavilion, with Jane, in a very elegant womanly outfit, singing a classic piece "A Heart that's Free", which Diana Durbin had sung during her brief MGM period. Much later, Debbie and some boys sing "That's How I Need You": very amateurish, as intended. Jane then walks in, and begins a much better "The Oceana Roll", composed around 1910, with the others eventually chiming in: a fun production. Besides the memorable "Aba Daba Honeymoon" duet, which also includes considerable dancing and clowning, Debbie and Carleton do a duet song and dance to "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat", which also is quite entertaining. Later, in Jane's elaborate dream sequence to "My Beautiful Lady" she is dressed very stylishly , in pink, with parasol, as Demi and Billy fight for her hand, in one portion. The finale stage production is rather short and simple: Patti tangos with Demi, she swoons when her surgical corset locks, inhibiting her breathing. This scene is set up by Billy and Melba, who stole Valerie's dancing shoes. Thus, at the last minute, Patti takes her place in the show, wearing Valerie's shoes, after Valerie leaves in disgust. Yes, pretty contrived!

Debbie gets most of the easy-going, fun, musical numbers, while Jane mostly gets the serious romantic singing roles. It would be the same story when they were again paired in "Hit the Deck". Both that film and this one were directed by Roy Roland. Like Judy Garland, Jane usually had a couple of crying spells in her films. Debbie's character is not so serious about her romancing.

At age 30, Richardo was in his peak handsome period. The next year, he would suffer a serious back injury that caused permanent pain and limp....Carleton was quite personable and it's too bad he wasn't included in more films....Clinton Sundberg, who played the resort manager, had a limited film career, usually playing minor service characters. I remember him as the haughty butler , in "The Girl Next Door"... Louis Calhern, who played the family father, also played Jane's grandfather, but functional father, in "Nancy Goes to Rio", released the same year... I though Phyllis Kirk did an excellent job in the thankless role of 'the other woman'.

Reportedly, Jane's favorite film she did. Not really my favorite of her films, but it has it's positives.