"Summer Holiday" is old-fashioned in the worst sense of the phrase. O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!!" is bland-ed out by the MGM factory into 'homespun' niceties with no edge and no basis in reality. The acting is exaggerated in the extreme, with everyone overreacting to everyone and indicating their characters with sledgehammer finesse. Rooney, often a very fine performer, is at his overacting worst here, far too old to play a teenager and trying far to hard to be an innocent. It's totally unbelievable. The songs are instantly forgettable and the direction is downright weird at times. There's a reason that this film sat on the studio shelf for two years, flopped upon release and ended Rooney's career at MGM. It's awful.

Our reviewers reviews of this film are all over the map, perhaps signifying that there are some good things about this film, as well as some major mistakes (at least in my view), a position supported by the film's tremendous flop at the box office.For me, the biggest problem here is that this musical is a musical, with pretty bland music at that. If this had been done as a drama with some humor, it might have turned out very nicely.The look of the film is quite lush with wonderful Technicolor, and most of the outdoor scenes were actually filmed outdoors, rather than on a set! It's very easy to criticize a 28 year old Mickey Rooney playing a graduating high school senior, but that was the problem with Rooney's ebbing career -- fine and ebullient actor who could ham it up when required (and it is required here), but only 5'2" tall. And if every film that has an actor or actress playing a role meant for a younger or older actor had never been made, half the films in Hollywood would have never been made. Other than knowing that he's too old for the part, his performance is fine for the age portrayed.Gloria DeHaven was pretty; period. But then, also in the supporting cast are two of the finest character actors in the history of American cinema -- Walter Huston as the truly loving father, and Frank Morgan as the light alcoholic uncle; the film is worth watching for their performances. Marilyn Maxwell has a nice turn as a sleazy vaudeville performer. Agnes Moorehead has an unusually docile part (for her) as the love interest for Frank Morgan. Selena Royle, as the mother, is okay; more interesting to note that she was a long-time "special friend" to Spencer Tracy in his early years in show business.Plot-wise, the films plods along through a series of vignettes, and then suddenly it was over...and I was left feeling like what was the point? The film had lots of potential, but wasted most of it. A rare disappointing MGM musical.

Musicalization of Ah! Wilderness is okay with Mickey one of the oldest high school graduates you'll ever see. This was a huge flop upon release and coupled with Rooney's next film Words and Music, also a significant money loser, it signaled the end of his reign as a box office champ and a long slide until he reemerged as a character actor in his up and down career.It's the supporting cast of Huston, Morgan, Selena Royale and Marilyn Maxwell that make the picture worth seeing. Agnes Moorehead, who looks great in the period costumes, is wasted in the part of Cousin Lily which has been reduced from the original.Even though it's O'Neill's only comedy the original has touches of drama and pathos all of which have been drained from this. Still a pleasant film with gorgeous color and MGM's accustomed quality production values, the clothes in particular are beautiful, but as musicals go this is minor with no memorable songs nor dances.

Summer Holiday is the forgotten musical version of Eugene O'Neill's Ah Wilderness and deservedly so with the Broadway musical adaptation of Take Me Along. With the exception of the Stanley Steamer song, none of the other Harry Warren-Ralph Blane songs are worth remembering and even that one is questionable. It was right after the release of this film that MGM let Mickey Rooney go and I don't think it was a coincidence. The film was made in 1946 and released in 1948, so Mickey was 26 playing an Andy Hardy like teenager. He was just way too old for the part of the 17 year old who was affecting radical ideas in a spirit of youthful rebellion.Rooney made four films for MGM from 1946 to 1948, this one, Killer McCoy a remake of Robert Taylor's A Crowd Roars, Love Laughs at Andy Hardy and Words and Music. In all of them Rooney was playing an adult part. Even in the Andy Hardy film, Mickey played an adult Andy Hardy returned from World War II. Why he was in this Louis B. Mayer only knows. Rooney's bad casting makes Summer Holiday all the worse because in the original Ah Wilderness the emphasis is on the father's character played here by Walter Huston. And in the Broadway show Take Me Along which won a Tony Award for Jackie Gleason, the Great One played the inebriated brother-in-law Uncle Sid here played by Frank Morgan and that's the central character.Gloria DeHaven steps in for Judy Garland as Rooney's sweet and adorable girl friend and Marilyn Maxwell plays the show girl who gives Rooney an adult education. In the original play O'Neill has her as a prostitute, but this was the Hollywood of the Code so all Marilyn does is get young Rooney soused.A lot of really talented people had a hand in this one and they do their best, but Summer Holiday fades rather quickly into a chilly autumn.