THE PERFECT FURLOUGH

Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis

THE PERFECT FURLOUGH (1958). Director: Blake Edwards.

104 lonely men are stationed at an Arctic outpost and a notion is advanced to raise morale. One man will be chosen to go on a "perfect furlough," which is decided will be three weeks in Paris with the sexy movie queen Sandra Roca (Linda Cristal). Manipulating everyone behind the scenes, Corporal Paul Hodges (Tony Curtis) manages to become the winner. But when Colonel Leland (Les Tremayne) discovers that Hodges is an incurable skirt-chaser, he insists that his aide Major Collins (King Donovan) and Army psychologist Lt. Vicki Loren (Janet Leigh), who came up with the idea of the furlough, go along to keep Hodges out of trouble. But when Hodges gets a load of Sandra, this assignment may be more difficult than anyone imagines.

Elaine Stritch with Leigh

The Perfect Furlough could have been a smirking dirty joke but it's generally tasteful and consistently amusing. There are a lot of laughs in watching Hodges' efforts to escape from the MPs so he can hook up with Sandra -- who has a few surprises of her own -- as well as in the interplay between Hodges and a disapproving, yet attracted, Vicki. This is the perfect material for Curtis, who understandably has great chemistry with Leigh as the two were married at the time (1951 - 1962). While no comedian, Leigh is fine in the role, and there are excellent supporting performances from Elaine Stritch as Sandra's keeper; Tremayne and Donovan; Keenan Wynn as Sandra's manager; Alvy Moore as Private Brewer, who almost gets to go to Paris; and Gordon Jones as an MP. 

Argentinian actress Linda Cristal is cute, curvaceous and charming as Sandra, but she had her biggest success on television, starring in The High Chaparrral for several seasons. Troy Donahue [A Summer Place], playing a sergeant who accompanies Donovan and Leigh, is in the background in several scenes but has no dialogue. Another cast member who should be mentioned is the wonderful Jay Novello [The Mad Magician], who plays a French winemaker and lives with his father (Marcel Dalio), who hopes he'll get married. Lilyan Chauvin [Lost, Lonely and Vicious] shows up very briefly as a nurse. 

Verdict: Well-acted and funny fifties service comedy. ***. 

PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS

Pumpkinhead himself

PUMPKINHEAD II: BLOOD WINGS (1995). Director: Jeff Burr.

In 1958 a deformed orphan boy named Tommy (J. P. Manoux) is killed by a bunch of nasty high school bullies. Decades later a new group of teens manage to call up this dead boy -- whose father was the original demonic Pumpkinhead -- from his grave, and he sets out to revenge himself upon the men who killed him. Caught up in the horror is Sheriff Sean Braddock (Andrew Robinson of The Drowning Pool), his daughter, Jenny (Ami Dolenz),  and her naughty new boyfriend, Danny Dixon (J. Trevor Edmond), son of Judge Dixon (Steve Kanaly of Dallas), one of Tommy's original tormentors. Pumpkinhead II is hardly a great horror film, but it is somewhat better than the original Pumpkinhead, having a more involved plot line, a faster pace and more suspense, and some decent action-slay scenes at the climax. 

J. Trevor Edmond and Ami Dolenz

There is a surplus of amateurish actors in the picture among the supporting cast and bit players; however, Hill Harper wound up on one of the CSI shows years later, and veteran actress Lilyan Chauvin [Lost, Lonely and Vicious] plays the old witch, Miss Osie. Former president Bill Clinton's half-brother Roger plays the mayor and is abysmal. Gloria Hendry [Live and Let Die] is appealing, if at times a bit stiff, as a crime scene lady who surveys Pumpkinhead's carnage while J. Trevor Edmond makes a charismatic bad boy. This is more graphic than the original, which gives it a little more grisly zest. Followed by a couple of cable sequels. Jeff Burr also directed From a Whisper to a Scream. 

Verdict: Despite many flaws this direct-to-video sequel -- which could have been called Son of Pumpkinhead -- plays a bit better than the original . **1/2.