*Robert Siodmak's Christmas Holiday (1944) and similar items

Vintage original 8x10 in. US single-weight glossy photograph from the classic 1940's Film-Noir crime drama, CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY, released in 1944 by Universal Pictures and directed by Robert Siodmak. Based upon the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, a young femme fatale-type woman realizes that the man she married is an incorrigible wastrel. The image features an interior scene depicting singer Jackie Lamont (Deanna Durbin) up against the wall as she stares at Robert Manette (Gene Kelly) while cast members Richard Whorf, Dean Harens, and Gladys George watch. It is in fine+ condition with a light 1.5 in. crease on the top left corner in the borders; a small crease on both right corners; and two small areas of emulsion loss near the bottom right corner. Robert Siodmak's brilliant Christmas Holiday was considered by Deanna Durbin as the one film of which she was proud, though she had fights with director Robert Siodmak over her interpretation of her character. Screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz changed the setting from a Paris brothel to a nightclub in New Orleans and the main character was changed from a prostitute to a more ambiguous nightclub singer and hostess when adapting the 1939 novel of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham due to the Hays Code. Gene Kelly doesn't make his first appearance until 26 minutes into the picture.