Christmas Holiday Destination Unknown

Holdiay alternatives for film fans: Christmas Holiday, an archetypal film noir from Robert Siodmak, and Destination Unknown, a steamy, pre-Production Code tale of bootleggers.

Second feature start time: 8:45 pm. Capturing the holiday spirit in name only, Christmas Holiday finds nightclub singer Deanna Durbin on the wrong side of the law while trying to hide gambler-husband Gene Kelly after he kills a bookie. Based on the novel by Somerset Maugham, the film is one of the archetypal film noirs. (Robert Siodmak, 1944, 92 mins.)

Bizarre even for Hollywood before the censorship of the Production Code era, Destination Unknown is a steamy tale of bootleggers aboard a crippled ship squabbling over the vessel's last cupfuls of water. Things dramatically improve when "divinely" resourceful stowaway Ralph Bellamy appears and "miraculously" turns up fresh water, cures illness, and brings peace to the dire situation. Also starring Pat O'Brien and Alan Hale. (Tay Garnett, 1933, 66 mins.)


support credits

Season support provided by the Rohauer Collection Foundation and the Corporate Annual Fund of the Wexner Center Foundation.

Contemporary films, international films, and visiting filmmakers presented with support from the Ohio Arts Council.