NR | 1 hr 32 min | musical, comedy, romance| 1950
School is now out across the country, so many American families are using this time to take a short weekend getaway, or even a longer holiday.
One classic film which depicts the events of a family’s summer vacation is 1950’s “Two Weeks With Love,” an MGM musical set at the turn of the century. It stars Jane Powell as Patti, a 17-year-old girl who falls in love for the first time during her family’s two-week vacation in the Catskills.
An Average American Family
“Two Weeks With Love” follows the Robinson family: the father Horatio (Louis Calhern), mother Katherine (Ann Harding), daughters Patti (Powell) and Melba (Debbie Reynolds), and two younger sons, McCormick (Gary Gray) and Ricky (Tommy Rettig). Another guest at the hotel is Patti’s friend Valerie Stresemann (Phyllis Kirk), an actress who acts superior to Patti, although she is only two years older.Patti wants to be treated like a woman, but she is frustrated that her mother still thinks of her as a little girl, not letting her wear the coveted corset until she turns 18 in 11 months. The hotel owner’s son, Billy Finlay (Carleton Carpenter), is very interested in Patti, but she wants nothing to do with the gangly 16-year-old. Melba, however, unashamedly pursues Billy, who in turn wants nothing to do with her.
Young Talent
There’s a lot of young talent in this movie. Powell was 21 when she played Patti Robinson, but the petite actress is very believable in the role.This was one of Reynolds’s first film appearances. The 18-year-old actress had only had two credited roles before this point. In this far more prominent role, she showed off the perky singing and dancing talent and bubbly personality which would make her a star in “Singin’ in the Rain” just two years later.
The score is a composite of older songs, many of which are in other films. Both Powell and Reynolds are featured in musical numbers, highlighting their respective specialties. Powell shows off her classical singing voice in “A Heart That’s Free,” which she sings with a band in the first scene, and “My Hero,” a waltz which she sings in an operettic romance dream sequence with Demi.
Wholesome Fun
Some reviewers complain that movies from Hollywood’s Golden Era tend to be very formulaic and predictable. I think that anyone who watches “Two Weeks with Love” will find it to be unique, with the turn-of-the-century setting, the family dynamics, and the inclusion of another young female musical star.In addition, Montalbán is a very unlikely leading man for Powell. Up to this point, she had acted opposite youthful actors like former child stars Scotty Beckett and Roddy McDowall. In earlier films, her characters had imagined romances with mature leading men like Jose Iturbi, Robert Stack, and Barry Sullivan, but she ended up with younger boys at the end. In this film, although Powell’s character is no older than many of her earlier roles, the actress’s real-life maturity is beginning to shine through. When she and her Latin lover perform a dramatic tango routine at the talent show, we can’t help but root for the mismatched couple.
If you’re looking for a fun, wholesome summer movie for your family, I highly recommend “Two Weeks With Love.” It’s especially appropriate around Independence Day, since an elaborate patriotic pyrotechnic display ends up going off a day early. The extended semi-animated fireworks sequence will leave you saying, “It’s been a grand and glorious 3rd!”
