"Holiday Affair" with Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh

This is another of those wonderful films which never gets the credit it deserves. It's also a repeat of last year's post on the same film.

In this Christmas tale, which takes place in the Manhattan of 1949, Janet Leigh plays a widowed mother of a 6 year old boy. She is a comparison shopper for a major department store. When she buys and then returns a set of trains, as part of her job, just before Christmas, she ignites a chain of events which involves not only her son, but also her impending marriage to a well to do attorney, whom she does not really love. In addition, when Steve, played by Robert Mitchum, does not report her covert activities to his boss, he is fired.

Finding himself homeless, and without any prospects, just in time for Christmas, he spends his last money, before leaving for the West Coast, to buy the trains for the boy. This causes some friction between the boy's mother and her fiancée, which threatens their relationship. The boy, knowing that Steve is broke, returns the trains in order to provide him with some money before he leaves New York.

The fiancée senses the feelings that have arisen between Steve and his intended bride, and graciously backs off, but Steve is unwilling to claim the love which he has won. He feels that he has been battling not only the fiancée for her affections, but also the memory of her deceased husband, a battle he cannot hope to win unless she is willing to let go of the past.

Robert Mitchum is in rare form in this romantic holiday film. Fans of Janet Leigh will be surprised at just how young she was in 1949, when this film was made. Yet within 5 years she would be one of the hottest "properties" in Hollywood, starring in several Alfred Hitchcock films, and married to Tony Curtis, a union which would give birth to actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

With many uncredited character actors to round out the cast, smart direction and a witty script give this film the momentum it needs to push it through. The storyline is ably written and still applicable to today's relationships involving "non-traditional" families. A good holiday film on several levels, yet often forgotten amongst the myriad of films available at this time of year, I dust this one off each Christmas for inspiration.

"Holiday Affair" with Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh and Harry Morgan

In this Christmas tale, which takes place in the Manhattan of 1949, Janet Leigh plays a widowed mother of a 6 year old boy. She is a comparison shopper for a major department store. When she buys and then returns a set of trains, as part of her job, just before Christams, she ignites a chain of events that involve not only her son, but her impending marriage to a well to do attorney, whom she does not really love. In addition, when Steve, played by Robert Mitchum, does not report her activities to his boss, he is fired.

Finding himself homeless, and without any prospects, just in time for Christmas, he spends his last money, before leaving for the West Coast, to buy the trains for the boy. This causes some friction between the boy's mother and her fiancee, which threatens their relationship. The boy, knowing that Steve is broke, returns the trains in order to provide him with some money before he leaves New York.

The fiancee senses the feelings that have arisen between Steve and his intended bride, and graciously backs off, but Steve is unwilling to claim the love which he has won. He feels that he has been battling not only the fiancee for her affections, but also the memory of her deceased husband, a battle he cannot hope to win unless she is willing to let go of the past.

Robert Mitchum is in rare form in this romantic holiday film. Fans of Janet Leigh will be surprised at just how young she was in 1949, when this film was made. Yet within 5 years she would be one of the hottest "properties" in Hollywood, starring in several Alfred Hitchcock films, and married to Tony Curtis, a union which would give birth to actress Jamie Lee Curtis.

With many uncredited character actors to round out the cast, smart direction and a witty script give this film the momentum it needs to push it through. The storyline is ably written and still applicable to today's relationships involving "non-traditional" families. A good holiday film on several levels, yet often forgotten amongst the myriad of films available at this time of year, I dust this one off each Christmas for inspiration.

"The Girl In Alfred Hitchcock's Shower" by Robert Graysmith

From the author of “The Laughing Gorilla” comes another mind blowing saga of true crime. In his usual style Mr. Graysmith takes us on a journey of intrigue and suspense.

In 1946 Ed Gains mother died of a cerebral hemorrhage. This seemingly inconsequential death would set in motion a series of events that would range from the writing of a short story to the making of the blockbuster movie “Psycho” and at least one copycat serial killer. Having one of the victims turn out to be Marli Renfro, Janet Leigh’s double in the infamous shower scene, only makes this book more fascinating. Ms. Renfro was a self proclaimed “nudist” and would appear in Francis Ford Coppola’s first film “Tonight for Sure.”

Robert Bloch was home in Wisconsin for vacation in November 1954. He was a writer who would go on to write several stories that Alfred Hitchcock would use on his TV show “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”

Opening his morning paper that day, Mr. Bloch read of a murder in the nearby town of Plainfield. A woman was found, decapitated and hanging in a barn. She had been eviscerated, and then hung, like a deer. In the house, investigators found belts made of nipples and pots made from skulls.

A man named Ed Gains was questioned and charged with several counts of homicide. His mother had been ill and when she died he nailed her room shut and began his descent into mental illness. His mother fixation morphed into an obsession with the bodies of dead women. He began, with the help of a friend, to dig up the graves of local women. The bodies would be mutilated and whole skins were taken to be used as costumes while dancing about. This was the genesis for Mr. Bloch’s short story “Psycho.” He would sell it in 1959 for $750 to a “True Detective” type magazine.

Alfred Hitchcock was, in 1959, looking about for his next subject. His secretary presented him with the magazine article and the race was on to acquire the rights.Being a big name like Alfred Hitchcock makes it necessary at times to use a “straw” buyer in order not to be overcharged. In this case the rights for the film were purchased for a mere $7,500. After taxes, Mr. Bloch would only ever see $5,000 for his story.

Meantime, in Los Angeles, Sonny Busch, almost a double of Anthony Perkins, lived with his mother about 8 miles from the set of “Psycho” and less than 1 mile from Ms. Renfro’s apartment. He was living with his mother on a temporary basis and she was becoming increasingly concerned with his erratic behavior. Several women had been murdered in the area recently and Sonny was a suspect in what became known as “The Bouncing Ball” strangulations.

After seeing "Psycho" he begins a murderous rampage. Over the Labor Day weekend alone, after seeing "Psycho", he kills several women who remind him of "Mother."

As usual with Mr. Graysmith, it is necessary to keep a close eye on all of the details in this true life murder mystery. You will be shocked at the ending.

Ms. Renfro was murdered in 1988 by a serial killer who had all the mental problems faced by the fictional Norman Bates in “Psycho.” The man who killed her was a handyman named Kenneth Dean Hunt. His mental illness also included a "mother fixation." In March of 2001 he was finally convicted of the strangulation deaths of 2 women in their own homes.

At times the book can be a bit confusing as you attempt to put all the pieces in their proper place. But when all is said and done, Mr. Graysmith has given us another compelling story of true life murder.

The only question that remains unanswered is this- Does life imitate art? Or does art imitate life?