An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm (2022) with… A Christmas Carol (1938)

For the last Christmas film I’m looking at before the holiday itself, we’ve got one version of one of Hollywood’s most frequently told tales: that of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol! This time, we’re looking at the 1938 film starring Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Bored Of Education (1936)

(available on Blu-ray as part of The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 6 (1936-1938) from ClassicFlix)

(Length: 10 minutes, 21 seconds)

It’s the first day back to school after a long vacation, but Spanky (George McFarland) and Alfalfa (Carl Switzer) don’t want to go to school. Their new teacher, Miss Lawrence (Rosina Lawrence) overhears their plot to get out of school, and comes up with a plan of her own to get them to stay. It’s an entertaining short that shares a similar plot to the earlier Teacher’s Pet (1930). Spanky and Alfalfa are indeed the fun here as they use a balloon to fake a toothache (which later affects Alfalfa’s singing a little bit). Personally, I enjoyed it, and I would heartily recommend it!

Coming Up Shorts! with… The Christmas Party (1931)

(Available as an extra on the A Christmas Carol Blu-ray from Warner Home Video)

(9 minutes, 2 seconds)

Jackie (Jackie Cooper) hopes to host a Christmas party at his house for his football team. However, when the guest list gets bigger than he imagined, he gets permission to use a soundstage at the MGM studio to host the party. Once you get past the whole opening, there really isn’t much plot to this short. Most of it is the dinner at the soundstage, with some of the big MGM stars of the time like Clark Gable, Marion Davies and others serving the kids their meal. That doesn’t necessarily make for a great short, but it’s at least an interesting holiday short anyways.

Coming Up Shorts! with… Peace On Earth (1939)

(Available as an extra on the A Christmas Carol Blu-ray from Warner Home Video)

(8 minutes, 50 seconds)

Around Christmastime, a grandpa squirrel comes to visit his grandchildren. When they ask him about the phrase “goodwill to men,” he relates the story of how mankind destroyed themselves in their last war. It’s an interesting antiwar cartoon, made just as the second World War was starting to ramp up. I can’t deny that it still feels way too relevant, as I watch how everybody has to fight over every single thing even today. It’s beautifully animated, and certainly echoes the right holiday spirit for this time of the year, which makes it worth seeing every now and again.

And Now For The Main Feature…

It’s Christmas Eve, and young Fred (Barry MacKay) has come to see his uncle Ebenezer Scrooge (Reginald Owen) at his counting-house. Fred hopes to invite his uncle to Christmas dinner with his fiancée, but Scrooge turns him down, considering Christmas to be nothing more than a humbug. Scrooge begrudgingly gives his employee, Bob Cratchit (Gene Lockhart), the day of Christmas off, but ends up firing him later when Bob accidentally wrecks Scrooge’s top hat in the streets. At his home later that evening, Scrooge is visited by the spectre of his dead partner, Marley (Leo G. Carroll), who warns him that he must change his ways or he will suffer in the afterlife, even more than Marley is. Marley further informs him that three ghosts will visit him that night. At one o’clock, Scrooge is visited by the Spirit Of Christmas Past (Ann Rutherford), who shows him what Christmas looked like for him in the past, when his sister was sent to bring him home from school, and later when he was apprenticed to Fezziwig (Forrester Harvey). At two o’clock (after the Spirit of Christmas Past had left him), he meets the Spirit Of Christmas Present (Lionel Braham), who shows him how his nephew is celebrating Christmas, as well as how Bob Cratchit is enjoying the day with his family, including his young and ill son, Tiny Tim (Terry Kilburn). After he is warned that Tiny Tim may not survive his illness, Scrooge then meets the Spirit Of Christmas Future (D’Arcy Corrigan). The Spirit shows him a future in which Tiny Tim does not survive, and Scrooge himself dies alone with nobody to care about him. Finally, he awakes to find that the Spirits had shown him all this in one night. Will their message take hold and help him to become a better man, or will he continue to be a selfish miser?

Nowadays, Charles Dickens’ tale of A Christmas Carol has been adapted for the big and small screen many, many times. However, back when the 1938 film version was done, that wasn’t quite the case, as it had mainly been done for a few shorts and one film (mostly in Britain). In the 1930s, actor Lionel Barrymore was well-known for playing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge every year on the radio, and when MGM wanted to make a film version of the tale, he was their first choice for the role. However, he had been struggling with arthritis for some time, and that plus two recent hip injuries resulted in him being unable to walk (having already been on crutches for the same year’s You Can’t Take It With You). So he declined the role, but suggested Reginald Owen for the part. To help audiences accept Reginald Owen in the part, Lionel Barrymore appeared in a special trailer for the film, and let Reginald Owen perform as Scrooge on the radio that year. Production on the film had already been delayed, and they rushed to get through filming in about six weeks. The film did decently at the box office, and would be the go-to version of the tale for a number of years, until more faithful versions of the tale appeared.

First off, I should say that I’ve never had the chance to actually read Charles Dickens’ story yet (although it’s one that I would like to get to one of these days), so I can only compare it against other film versions. I actually first saw this movie somewhere around ten to fifteen years ago. It was part of the four-film Classic Holiday DVD Collection from Warner Brothers, which I had bought for a film I had already seen, Boys Town (1938), with plans to try out the rest of the group (which also included the previously reviewed 1945 film Christmas In Connecticut). I can tell you right now, even then I had seen a huge number of adaptions of Dickens’ classic story, and was feeling burnt out on the whole story, so this was probably the film in that set that I least looked forward to seeing. I would definitely say that the movie changed my opinion and made me a fan! Reginald Owen makes for a very good Scrooge in my opinion, as we see his journey from miserable miser to the kind and giving man at the end of the tale. And he’s supported well by a number of other actors and actress, especially Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit.

To me, this film is as much about embracing your inner child even as an adult. Scrooge seems to have forgotten, and it’s only when he is given a reminder that he changes. Barry MacKay’s Fred fits this idea well with some of the film’s more memorable moments (for me). When we first meet him, he is sliding on the ice with some of the kids, having just as much fun as them. Later on, he tries to convince his fiancée Bess (Lynne Carver) to join in, and initially she resists. It’s only after they see the minister shoo away some of the kids sliding in front of the church and then, when he thinks nobody’s looking, enjoy a quick slide himself, that she joins in. Also, we get to see the Cratchits’ Christmas almost entirely from the kids’ viewpoint, without seeing much of the sorrow that their father is dealing with. Even Bob Cratchit cheers up (after he was fired) when he starts doing what he can to make his family’s Christmas a good one, anyways.

Now, is this film flawed? Yes. In my opinion, where it seems to falter the most is in the writing. To me, this Scrooge seems to change too quickly, and almost makes me feel like they had at least one ghost too many. To make things worse, they skip over too much of Scrooge’s past, ignoring his romance with Belle almost completely (and in the process, they don’t show any of Scrooge’s gradual descent into greed). And the section with the Spirit Of Christmas Present almost seems questionable, as we don’t really see how Scrooge is affecting those around him (especially Gene Lockhart’s Bob Cratchit, who looks too well-fed for the role, even if his performance is otherwise flawless). That being said, none of these flaws detract from the story enough to stop me from watching it. It may not be my favorite version of the story, but it’s one that I will gladly watch (and recommend)!

This movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Home Video.

With this being my last post before the holiday itself, I want to wish you all a merry Christmas (and to those who don’t celebrate it, I wish you happy holidays), and I wish you peace on earth, and goodwill to ALL, and to quote Tiny Tim, “God bless us, everyone!”

Film Length: 1 hour, 9 minutes

My Rating: 9/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

Rose-Marie (1936) – Reginald Owen – The Pirate (1948)

Wedding Present (1936) – Gene Lockhart – Jesse James (1939)

Leo G. Carroll – Father Of The Bride (1950)

Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) – Ann Rutherford

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An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm & Film Legends Of Yesteryear (2022): 1939 with… Balalaika (1939)

It’s December now, and with the holidays upon us, it’s time to look at a movie that fits within the season! So, for today, we’re looking at the 1939 musical Balalaika starring Nelson Eddy and Ilona Massey!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Arbor Day (1936)

(available on Blu-ray as part of The Little Rascals: The ClassicFlix Restorations, Volume 5 (1935-1936) from ClassicFlix)

(Length: 17 minutes, 39 seconds)

It’s Arbor Day, and the school is putting on a pageant featuring all the kids, which is something that Spanky (George McFarland) wants to avoid. He is caught by the truant officer, along with a pair of midgets from a nearby circus mistaken as kids. This one was, at best, average. My big complaint is how much of the short was taken up by the Arbor Day pageant, with mostly forgettable music (aside from Alfalfa memorably “singing” the poem “Trees”) and dancing. Spanky attempting to play hooky was funny (but not long enough). I was also amused by the antics of the two midgets as they tried to escape their manager, and then later when they tried to perform in the pageant (which they had been dragged to). Plain and simple, this one wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t leave me with a desire to see it again, either.

And Now For The Main Feature…

It’s 1914. The Russian Cossack Guards have just come back from maneuvers, and want to stop at the Cafe Balalaika for wine, music and women. Cafe singer Lydia Pavlovna Marakova (Ilona Massey) quickly catches their eye, and she is ordered to come have a drink with them. Unbeknownst to any of the Cossacks, Lydia and her family are a part of a group of revolutionaries, so, in spite of being blackmailed to go to them by the cafe owner, she finds a way to get out of there in a hurry. She doesn’t meet one of the leaders of the Cossacks, Prince Peter Karagin (Nelson Eddy), but he sees her as she leaves and is impressed. He quickly finds out that she has a thing for students, so he goes undercover as a student named “Peter Illyich Teranda” in order to catch her eye. Due to his singing ability, he is accepted by Lydia’s musician father and brother (although they don’t trust him enough to tell him of their revolutionary activities). When Peter learns of Lydia’s desire to sing in the opera, he gets her an audition with the opera’s director, Ivan Danchenoff (Frank Morgan). Danchenoff is impressed with her ability, and, pressed by Peter, gives her a spot in the opera. Things are starting to look up for them, but Lydia’s brother starts speaking out in a public square. In all that mess, the Cossack guards (including Peter) arrive to break up the gathering (trampling Lydia’s brother in the process). Lydia and Peter see each other in all that mess, and she refuses to see him again. On one of his attempts to see her, he announces that he will be resigning from the Cossacks, which gives her mixed feelings. On the one hand, she’s glad to hear it, but on the other hand, some of her associates had made plans to assassinate Peter and his father, General Karagin (C. Aubrey Smith), at the opening of the opera. Without telling him the real reason why, Lydia convinces Peter to stay away from the opening (and get his father to not come, either). However, Peter’s father does indeed go to the opera, as does Peter, who comes to deliver a message to his father. Before the assassins can do anything, the general announces to everyone in the opera that Germany had declared war on Russia. His announcement leads Lydia’s father to reconsider their plan, but his associate still manages to get a shot off before they are caught (but he only wounds the general). Once the Cossacks learn that Lydia’s father was one of the attempted assassins, she is quickly arrested. Before he goes off to war, Peter manages to get Lydia freed, but she has a hard time of it. In between the war keeping them apart and the brewing revolution, will Peter and Lydia ever get back together, or will they be separated by distance and ideology?

Balalaika was based on a 1936 London stage musical of the same name by Eric Maschwitz, with music by George Posford and Bernard Grun. MGM bought the rights, but it took them nearly two years before production actually started on the film. The studio had hoped to have Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy star in the film together, but the two stars had been demanding solo films. So, Nelson Eddy got Balalaika, with the song “At The Balalaika” being the only one retained from the show, while music director Herbert Stothart adapted other music for the film. With Jeanette MacDonald out of the picture, the role of the leading lady was offered to Miliza Korjus, but she believed it to be a joke (thinking that Jeanette would be teamed with Nelson again) and turned it down. So, the role was given to Ilona Massey (who had worked with Nelson, albeit in a supporting role, in Rosalie two years earlier, and would work with him again for 1947’s Northwest Outpost, his final film).

I first saw this movie just about a decade ago, and I’ve seen it numerous times since (otherwise translated, I like this movie). Nelson Eddy was the reason I first tried the movie, and remains one of the reasons that I like this film as well as I do. As usual, he’s in fine voice and has a few relatively fun tunes in the way of “At the Balalaika” and “Ride, Cossack, Ride.” But the songs that really stick out in my mind (and make the movie memorable) are him singing “The Song of the Volga Boatmen” (“El Ukhnem”), and singing the German version of “Silent Night” (“Stille Nacht”). The latter song is done during a scene that takes place on the battlefield during the Russian Christmas (this is why I like to watch the movie at this time of the year), with it reminding me strongly of the famous Christmas Truce Of 1914 (even though this scene takes place three years later), as the Austrians (who had already celebrated their Christmas) start singing “Silent Night” to celebrate the Russian Christmas, with Nelson Eddy joining in.

Nelson Eddy is hardly the only reason I like this film. Ilona Massey is very good as his leading lady, with a beautiful voice. I think they have fairly good chemistry (admittedly, it’s hard not to compare her against Jeanette MacDonald, whose chemistry with Nelson was on a whole different level, but she’s not terrible, either). Frank Morgan is good here, too (if a little underutilized) as an opera impresario who is at first put upon by members of the Russian nobility in terms of who he has to cast in the opera, and then again at the end of the film (SPOILER) when he works as a doorman in Paris (END SPOILER). Overall, it’s Charlie Ruggles as Peter’s (Nelson Eddy) Cossack servant who manages to create a strong (and humorous) impression throughout the entire film, while winning our affections. This is not a perfect film by any means, with only a handful of memorable musical moments and (as I mentioned) some cast members being underutilized, plus it’s hard to feel much sympathy for either the Russian nobility (at least, not until the last few scenes of the movie) or the revolutionaries. Still, it’s one I like to watch (especially around Christmastime to hear Nelson singing the German version of “Silent Night”), so I would certainly recommend giving it a chance!

This movie is available on DVD from Warner Archive Collection.

Film Length: 1 hour, 42 minutes

My Rating: 9/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

The Girl Of The Golden West (1938) – Nelson Eddy – The Chocolate Soldier (1941)

Ilona Massey – International Lady (1941)

Bringing Up Baby (1938) – Charles Ruggles – It Happened On Fifth Avenue (1947)

Naughty Marietta (1935) – Frank Morgan – The Shop Around The Corner (1940)

Ninotchka (1939) – George Tobias – Music In My Heart (1940)

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm (2021) with… Christmas In Connecticut (1945)

We’ve got one last Christmas movie to get through before the holiday itself, so let’s get to it! It’s the 1945 holiday comedy Christmas In Connecticut, starring Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan and Sydney Greenstreet!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Star In The Night (1945)

(Available as an extra on the Christmas In Connecticut Blu-ray from Warner Home Video)

(Length: 21 minutes, 27 seconds)

On Christmas Eve, a drifter stops in at the Star Auto Court out in the desert, which is run by Nick Catapoli (J. Carroll Naish). Nick is quite cynical about the holiday, but he changes his tune when some of his complaining customers decide to pitch in and help when a young couple arrives (with the wife about to give birth). Very much a (then) modern version of the original Christmas story, with a pregnant couple, no more room at the inn, a group of three men bearing gifts, and others in awe at the event. As such, it is one that I have enjoyed coming back to again and again! A heartwarming tale that is very much in the spirit of the holiday!

And Now For The Main Feature…

After a German submarine blows up their ship, sailors Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan) and Sinkewicz (Frank Jenks) find themselves on a raft for eighteen days without food. When they are rescued and taken to a Navy hospital, Jefferson’s dreams of eating good food again are dashed by the doctor’s orders. Listening to his friend Sinkewicz, Jeff decides to play up to his nurse, Mary Lee (Joyce Compton) to get some good food (even going so far as to get engaged to her). When it is almost time for him to be discharged, he tries to renege on his engagement. Mary Lee, feeling that it is because he’s never known a real home, writes to Alexander Yardley (Sydney Greenstreet), a big publisher whose granddaughter she had helped nurse back to health. She asks him to have one of his writers, Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck), invite Jeff to her “perfect home” in Connecticut to see what a real home is like (an idea that Yardley approves of). There’s just one hitch: Elizabeth is not what she claims to be. Unlike the persona she tries to put across in her columns, she is not a wife or mother, she can’t cook and she lives in an apartment in New York City. This is a real problem for her and her editor, Dudley Beecham (Robert Shayne), as Yardley absolutely insists on printing the truth. She tries to meet with Yardley and talk him out of it, but only finds herself with yet ANOTHER guest when he invites himself along. Facing the prospect of unemployment, Elizabeth decides to finally accept the marriage proposal of her friend, architect John Sloan (Reginald Gardiner) (even though she doesn’t love him). That gives Dudley an idea, as Sloan lives on a farm in Connecticut, so he suggests they follow through with the idea, and he convinces Elizabeth’s friend and restaurant owner Felix Bassenak (S. Z. Sakall) (who had been supplying her with recipes for her column) to come along and help do the cooking for her. Reluctantly, Elizabeth decides to go along with the idea. On Christmas Eve (the day that Jeff is supposed to arrive), Elizabeth comes to Sloan’s house, where he has brought a judge to marry them. Before they can start the ceremony, Jeff arrives early, forcing them to postpone the ceremony. Upon meeting him, Elizabeth is instantly infatuated with him. He is interested, too, but is unsure of how to react, given that he believes that she is married. Yardley arrives not long after. Over the next two days, Elizabeth is constantly in danger of being revealed as a fraud, as she tries (and fails) to get through a wedding ceremony secretly deals with Yardley pushing her to cook for him, and dealing with different babies on each day (who were actually the kids of local mothers being watched by Sloan’s housekeeper Norah, as played by Una O’Connor). Can she keep up this ruse, or will she be discovered?

At the time that Christmas in Connecticut was made, lead actress Barbara Stanwyck was coming off her success as the villainess Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity, and was looking for a lighter comedy to do. Originally, Bette Davis was to be cast as Elizabeth Lane (a character that was somewhat based on real-life Family Circle Magazine columnist Gladys Taber), but was replaced by Stanwyck only a few months after that initial announcement. Actor Sydney Greenstreet was also looking for a change of pace, as he had mainly been playing various heavies in his previous films. Peter Godfrey, who had been in Hollywood for nearly six years (both on- and off-screen), was given the job of directing the film. He got along well with everybody, particularly Greenstreet (as both had come from the London theatre scene, and spent a lot of time on set entertaining everyone) and Stanwyck (who became friends with the director and would later work with him on the 1947 films Cry Wolf and The Two Mrs. Carrolls). As the war was still going on at the time of filming, studio head Jack Warner tried to cut costs, including re-using a mink coat from Mildred Pierce (1945) and some of the set from Bringing Up Baby (1938) for the Connecticut home. It all worked out for the movie, as it rode a wave of post-war euphoria at the box office, resulting in it being one of the more successful movies that year.

I first saw this film as part of a four-film holiday collection on DVD, and I took to it after that first viewing! It was one of the first (if not THE first) Barbara Stanwyck films that I saw. For me, the whole cast worked quite well, from Stanwyck’s Elizabeth as she navigates trying to appear to be the “perfect wife” like in her column, to Dennis Morgan as the sailor fighting his own nature as he falls for a “married” woman (a no-no in his book), to Greenstreet as the publisher who doesn’t let anybody else get a word in edgewise. And, of course, there is S. Z. Sakall as Elizabeth’s cook friend, who is there to help her out. As usual, he’s a lot of the fun (and this was one of the films that helped me to realize that originally). It’s not a musical by any means, but there are some fun songs here, with Dennis Morgan singing “O Little Town Of Bethlehem” and “The Wish That I Wish Tonight” while Elizabeth decorates a Christmas tree. Overall, the comedy works well, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one of my favorite moments, that of Elizabeth trying to flip a pancake for the men. After we see her trying(and failing) when practicing earlier with Felix’s help, it’s hilarious to see her succeed in front of all the men (with her eyes closed), only to have a look of satisfaction on her face like it was no big thing. It’s always guaranteed to have me laughing! Ever since the first time I saw it, this movie has become one of my favorite Christmas films, and I have no hesitation in recommending it! Seriously! See it if you get the chance! It’s even better with the one-two punch of this movie and the Star In The Night short that is included with it on the Blu-ray and DVD releases!

This movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Home Video.

With this being my last post before the holiday, I want to wish you all a merry Christmas (and to those who don’t celebrate it, I wish you happy holidays), and I wish you peace on earth, and goodwill to ALL!

Also, if you are interested in joining in on my first month-long “Screen Team Of The Month” blogathon for 2022 featuring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, please be sure to check out my Announcing the Jeanette MacDonald And Nelson Eddy “Screen Team Of The Month (January 2022)” Blogathon post to sign up!

Film Length: 1 hour, 41 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

The Great Man’s Lady (1942) – Barbara Stanwyck – The Bride Wore Boots (1946)

Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) – Dennis Morgan – Perfect Strangers (1950)

The Maltese Falcon (1941) – Sydney Greenstreet

Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) – S. Z. “Cuddles” Sakall – Romance On The High Seas (1948)

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm (2021) with… We’re No Angels (1955)

We’re here today for a slightly-delayed look at the 1955 holiday film We’re No Angels, starring Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Come On In! The Water’s Pink (1968)

(available on Blu-ray and DVD as part of The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 2 (1966-1968) from Kino Lorber)

(Length: 6 minutes, 4 seconds)

At Bicep Beach, the Pink Panther runs afoul of a muscle-bound freak with his various inflatables. This one was quite fun, with all the various inflatables that the Panther pulls out of his bag that work well for him (but not so much for the other guy)! The hunk proves to be a good foe for the Panther as he tries to regain the admiration of the girls on the beach, which certainly adds to the humor. I know I like this one, and find it worth revisiting!

And Now For The Main Feature…

It’s Christmas Eve, 1895. Three convicts (Joseph as played by Humphrey Bogart, Albert as played by Aldo Ray and Jules as played by Peter Ustinov) have escaped from Devil’s Island in French Guiana, and made it to the nearby penal colony of Cayenne. There, the three convicts are able to blend in with other criminals to avoid detection, while making plans to escape via the Paris-bound ship in the harbor. After giving directions to Medical Officer Arnaud (John Smith), they lift a letter that he was taking to store owner Felix Ducotel (Leo G. Carroll). The rather inept Felix thinks they are there to help repair his roof, which they agree to do (with plans to later kill and rob him). While they are on the roof, they overhear a conversation between Felix and his wife, Amelie (Joan Bennett) as they talk about Felix’s rich and miserly cousin, Andre Trochard (Basil Rathbone), who owns the store. They also talk about how their daughter, Isabelle (Gloria Talbott), has fallen for Andre’s nephew Paul Trochard (John Baer), even though Andre himself will never approve of the relationship. Once Felix finally opens the letter that the three convicts brought, he learns that his cousin (and Paul) are stuck quarantined on the ship in the harbor, and Andre is demanding Felix’s help getting off the boat. After Felix runs off, Isabelle reads the letter herself, and faints upon reading about Paul’s engagement (at Andre’s insistence) to the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder. Upon seeing Isabelle faint, the three convicts come down from the roof. Albert and Jules help carry her to her room to recover, while Joseph helps drum up business in the store. Later, to thank them for their help, Felix invites the men to stay for Christmas dinner. Honored, the three help out by stealing some food and decorations to help make things better for the Ducotels. With all the kindness and generosity being shown them, the three men reconsider their plans to rob and murder this family. However, things start going downhill when cousin Andre and Paul arrive at the shop in the middle of the night, with Andre demanding their best rooms and the account books without caring about what he’s putting the Ducotels through. Will the three convicts be able to help out their new friends, or will Andre and Paul make trouble for them, too?

Humphrey Bogart and director Michael Curtiz had worked together three times before (Angels With Dirty Faces, Casablanca and Passage To Marseille). For their fourth film together, they went with the story from the 1952 French play La Cuisine Des Anges by Albert Husson (although it later came out that they borrowed a lot without permission from the 1953 English version of the play, My Three Angels by Samuel and Bella Spewack, which forced those authors to sue). The film also featured Bail Rathbone (one of a handful of movies that he had done after the end of the Sherlock Holmes series), and Joan Bennett returned to the screen (with the help and insistence of Bogart) after a scandal nearly three years earlier had effectively blackballed her from Hollywood.

As I hinted at in the start of this post, I had actually intended to review this movie as my final film in November for my Star Of The Month, Humphrey Bogart. That plan was delayed, as I had never seen the film before, and didn’t get my hands on a copy in time to review it then. Having seen it now, I can definitely say that it was a lot of fun! It’s a fun story, as we start out with the three convicts trying to evade the authorities while they wait for a Paris-bound ship, and make the decision to rob the Ducotel family (but then find themselves getting involved in helping them out). The film makes use of some dark comedy, particularly with regard to the convicts’ jokes about prison. Some of the films’ most memorable comedic moments for me involve the three men “rushing” to tell Basil Rathbone’s Andre of the poisonous snake in the container he is trying to open (that he thinks they were stealing when it was in fact theirs to begin with), or their lack of worry when SPOILER ALERT the snake also bites Paul. END SPOILER ALERT It’s a different part for Bogart, since he rarely did any screen comedies, but he is effective (and funny!) in this film, which certainly helps make it entertaining. The Christmas holiday angle really makes the film work, as we have the added spirit of the season helping to reform the three convicts (and which also helps make Rathbone’s Andre even more villainous). Speaking of which, while it is a small part, it just goes to show just how good Basil Rathbone is as a villain that he can make us hate him in such a short time, and cheer on the convicts when they hope to do something about him. For being a new (to me) Christmas film, I found this one quite entertaining, and I certainly look forward to coming back to it again and again in the future around this time of the year (so, yes, I definitely recommend it)!

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2020) with… We’re No Angels (1955)

This movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Paramount Pictures. In my opinion, the recent Blu-ray release looks pretty good. Not having seen the movie before, my best guess is that it is probably the same transfer used for the DVD (but looking better with more space available on the Blu-ray disc). There are some minor specks here and there, and some scratches more easily visible on bigger/better screens, but nothing too distracting. For now, this is likely to be as good as this film gets, and I certainly recommend it!

Film Length: 1 hour, 46 minutes

My Rating: 9/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

The Caine Mutiny (1954) – Humphrey Bogart

Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) – Aldo Ray

Father Of The Bride (1950) – Joan Bennett

The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad (1949) – Basil Rathbone

Father Of The Bride (1950) – Leo G. Carroll

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm (2021) with… Since You Went Away (1944)

Continuing on with another film for the holiday season, we’ve got the 1944 movie Since You Went Away, starring Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Psychedelic Pink (1968)

(available on Blu-ray and DVD as part of The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 2 (1966-1968) from Kino Lorber)

(Length: 6 minutes, 17 seconds)

The Pink Panther walks by a psychedelic book store, and comes inside after being hypnotized by the door. A lot of weird stuff happens in this one (although that’s not too surprising, given the hypnotism). It leans a bit into the look and feel of the era, which dates this a little bit. Some of the gags with the books and letters are decent, but this is not one of the better Panther cartoons (even if the Little Man does sport a slightly different look than usual because of the facial hair).

And Now For The Main Feature…

It’s January, 1943. Advertising executive Tim Hilton has just left to join the Army, leaving behind his wife Anne (Claudette Colbert) and their two daughters, Jane (Jennifer Jones) and Bridget “Brig” (Shirley Temple). Without his income, they find themselves letting their housekeeper Fidelia (Hattie McDaniel) go, and, at Brig’s suggestion, they decide to take in a boarder. Their ad is answered by Colonel William G. Smollett (Monty Woolley), who takes over Anne’s room. They find themselves even more crowded when Fidelia returns (taking her old room), and then an old friend of Tim and Anne’s, Lieutenant Tony Willett (Joseph Cotten) shows up and take a room as well (for a little while before he is shipped out). Jane has a bit of a crush on Tony, but she also soon meets the Colonel’s estranged grandson, Corporal William G. “Bill” Smollett II (Robert Walker), who falls for her. After graduating from high school, Jane wants to get a job at a hospital instead of going to college (which Anne refuses to consider at first). After the family tries (and fails) to meet up with Tim when he has a train stop close by, Anne relents and lets Jane get a job as a nurse’s aid for the summer. Not long after, Anne receives a telegram telling her that Tim is missing in action. When Bill is given his orders to leave, he and Jane get engaged, with plans to marry after the war. However, those plans are put on hold permanently when he is killed in action. Later on, Anne’s “friend” Emily Hawkins (Agnes Moorehead) chides Jane for her work at the hospital, resulting in Jane calling her out for her own selfishness. When Emily tries to rebuke Jane, Anne comes to Jane’s defense, realizing that she herself hasn’t been much better than the very selfish Emily, and so Anne gets a job as a welder in a shipyard to do her patriotic bit. Will the missing Tim be found, or will the family have to carry on without him?

After producing the back-to-back Best Picture Oscar winners Gone With The Wind and Rebecca, David O. Selznick had closed up his production company Selznick International Pictures, and took a few years off (mainly using the time to lease out his various stars to the bigger studios and some film projects). He had been looking for another project to do under his new production company (The Selznick Studio) when he came across the novel Since You Went Away: Letters to a Soldier from His Wife by Margaret Buell Wilder. His first thought was to bring the author in to write the screenplay, but he later changed his mind and decided to write it himself. While stage actress Katharine Cornell had desired the role of Anne, Selznick advised her against it, and instead cast Claudette Colbert in the role. He assembled a group of other big stars, including Joseph Cotten, Monty Woolley, Shirley Temple (whom he had coaxed out of the retirement that she went into after her last film, Miss Annie Rooney, nearly two years earlier), and his new star (and future wife) Jennifer Jones (who was paired up with her current husband, Robert Walker). Selznick had hopes that the film would be another epic in the style of Gone With The Wind. While the film didn’t become the runaway success that Gone With The Wind had become, it still managed to be a decent hit with wartime audiences, and received a number of Oscar nominations (winning for the Best Score).

When I finished putting my schedule together for the year (with regard to my Stars Of The Month), I realized that I had at least one unreviewed holiday film for several of the stars, and made plans to review them this month for the holidays. Now, being that Claudette Colbert was one of my Stars, I opted to go with the film Since You Went Away (since I had already done Tomorrow Is Forever, and I don’t otherwise know of any other Christmas films that she had done). Now, I first saw Since You Went Away in early 2018, not long after it had been released on Blu-ray for the first time. I had no idea what to expect of it going in, but it turned out to be a movie that I enjoyed! For me, all the performances worked well. Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple all do well in showing us the struggles of a family in wartime, and help us care deeply for their characters. Arguably, Monty Woolley steals the show with a character who starts out quite similar to his Sheridan Whiteside from The Man Who Came To Dinner, but the family is able to help soften him up by the end of the film into a much more lovable guy. And Agnes Moorehead is, well, Agnes Moorehead (not a bad thing here!) as Anne’s selfish friend, who eventually gets her (well-deserved) comeuppance. The whole movie is good, with its moments of fun (like at the dance, which includes the familiar-to-me tune “The Emperor Waltz”, since I’ve seen the movie The Emperor Waltz enough times that I recognize the tune) and tragedy. Even though the film’s Christmas scenes are for the last fifteen minutes (of a nearly three hour movie), it’s enough for me to consider this a Christmas film. After all the tragedy and heartbreak we see the characters go through over the year’s time, it’s nice to see them have a good time and have hope of a brighter future. Plain and simple, this is a wonderful movie, and it’s one I have no hesitation in recommending!

This movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.

Film Length: 2 hours, 57 minutes

My Rating: 9/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

The Palm Beach Story (1942) – Claudette Colbert – Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)

Gaslight (1944) – Joseph Cotten – I’ll Be Seeing You (1944)

Miss Annie Rooney (1942) – Shirley Temple – I’ll Be Seeing You (1944)

The Man Who Came To Dinner (1942) – Monty Woolley – Kismet (1955)

You Can’t Take It With You (1938) – Lionel Barrymore

Agnes Mooreheard – Dark Passage (1947)

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm (2021) with… In The Good Old Summertime (1949)

We’re back for one final post in the “What’s Old Is A New Release Again” series to finish out 2021. This one is on the 1949 Christmas musical In The Good Old Summertime starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Chicago, The Beautiful (1948)

(Available as an extra on the In The Good Old Summertime Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection)

(Length: 10 minutes, 15 seconds)

This short from MGM’s series of TravelTalk shorts (narrated by James A. FitzPatrick) focuses on the American city of Chicago. We get to see some of the city and its landmarks (particularly from the era of the late 1940s). Those include several of the city’s big hotels, the old Watertower, Buckingham’s Fountain and Lorado Taft’s Fountain of Time, among others. Seeing what the city looked like at that time is interesting, but this short probably has greater significance for those who consider the city home or have a great interest in the city and its history.

Coming Up Shorts! with… Night Life In Chicago (1948)

(Available as an extra on the In The Good Old Summertime Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection)

(Length: 8 minutes, 53 seconds)

This is another TravelTalk short on the city of Chicago. This time, the focus is on the various hotels and other places that offer entertainment at night. Place shown include the Walnut Room of the Bismarck Hotel, the Ambassador Hotel’s Pump Room, and the boardwalk at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, with some of the performers shown doing their various acts. It’s an interesting idea (and, to a degree, you can’t help but wish they could have shown a lot more of the entertainment), but when all is said and done, most of the performers are quite unfamiliar to the average person, which takes away from the fun (especially when you do see some more famous names on the marquees that don’t make an appearance in this short).

And Now For The Main Feature…

Andrew “Andy” Larkin (Van Johnson) is the top salesman at Oberkugen’s Music Company in Chicago. He has recently begun corresponding with a lady when he answered a personal ad in the paper (but neither pen pal knows who the other is). Andy runs into trouble at work when his boss, Mr. Otto Oberkugen (S. Z. Sakall), orders one hundred harps, as Andy believes that they won’t sell due to the lack of market (which, of course, angers Mr. Oberkugen, since he likes them). In comes Veronica Fisher (Judy Garland), who is looking for a job. Andy and Mr. Oberkugen try to tell her that there isn’t any opening at the store currently, but Mr. Oberkugen hires her when she manages to sell one of the harps successfully (which, of course, gets her on the wrong side of Andy). Andy continues to write to his pen pal (with the two of them slowly falling for each other), but doesn’t get along with Veronica at work. The remaining ninety-nine harps continue to stay on the shelves (even with Mr. Oberkugen frequently trying to discount them), which causes friction between him and his bookkeeper/longtime girlfriend, Nellie Burke (Spring Byington). One day, when she is so frustrated that she decides not to go out with him that evening (claiming she has a date with another man), Mr. Oberkugen’s jealousy gets the better of him, and he orders all his employees to stay after work for inventory (which really bothers everybody). When Nellie decides to apologize to Mr. Oberkugen, he realizes how unjust he was being, and lets everyone go. Andy had arranged to meet his pen pal at a restaurant that night, but when he and his co-worker/friend Rudy Hansen (Clinton Sundberg) arrive at the restaurant, they find out that his pen pal is none other than Veronica! Disappointed, Andy leaves, but comes back later and tries to talk with Veronica (who gets very annoyed with him for disturbing her while she waits for her friend). When she finally gives up and leaves, she finds a carnation outside (which Andy was supposed to wear to help identify himself as her friend). She believes that her friend had seen the two of them together and left, which depresses her enough that she calls in sick the next day. Andy comes to visit her on his lunch break, and sees how much she perks up when she receives her next letter from her friend. The next day, Mr. Oberkugen and Nellie have a party to celebrate their engagement, but, much to Andy’s chagrin, Mr. Oberkugen asks him to sneak in his prized Stradivarius violin (which he plays at work when he is low, except he does it poorly, much to the dismay of his employees). Unsure what to do, Andy ends up loaning it to his friend Louise Parkson (Marcia Van Dyke) for an audition that night. When he arrives at the party, Andy is unable to tell Mr. Oberkugen that he loaned it out, pretending that he just couldn’t bear to bring it and left it at home. When Mr. Oberkugen vehemently insists that Andy bring the violin, Andy borrows Louise’s violin, which Hickey (Buster Keaton), Mr. Oberkugen’s nephew (and one of his employees), accidentally breaks when he goes to give it to his uncle. Andy is fired, but he gets the Stradivarius back after Louise’s audition goes well. With him out of a job now, will he reveal himself as Veronica’s pen pal, or will they continue to stay apart?

This film, a remake of The Shop Around The Corner, was being considered as early as 1944, with the likes of Frank Sinatra and June Allyson attached to the film at one point or another. By the time they got around to filming, Judy Garland was struggling a great deal at MGM, having been suspended (due to her addictions and illness causing her to miss shooting) from The Barkleys Of Broadway (originally intended as a follow-up to her successful teaming with Fred Astaire in Easter Parade), with her later filming two songs for Words And Music. She had recovered her strength enough to do In The Good Old Summertime, and she was able to get through filming fairly easily (compared to some of her recent films), which some attributed to the cast and crew helping make sure that she felt needed, wanted, and happy. Buster Keaton, who had been fired as a star by MGM in 1933 (but kept on as gag writer), was asked to help come up with a plausible (yet still funny) way to break a violin, and was cast when the director, Robert Leonard, realized that he was the only one who could do it (and Buster also came up with the comic bit when Van Johnson and Judy Garland’s characters first met at the post office). It turned out to be his last film at the studio (and the introduction of Judy Garland’s young daughter, Liza Minelli), but the movie proved to be a hit at the box office.

I had originally seen this movie prior to The Shop Around The Corner (but we’ll get around to comparing them later), and it’s one that I’ve seen many times. Of course, with a title like In The Good Old Summertime, you’d think that this was more of a summer movie, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, as all but about thirty minutes (give or take) takes place during the Yuletide season! With Judy Garland taking pretty much all the musical chores, that of course means that we get her singing a holiday song, in the form of “Merry Christmas.” To be fair, the song pales in comparison to “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” from Meet Me In St. Louis, but it certainly has its charm. The real musical highlight of the film is Judy singing the song “I Don’t Care,” which is a lot of fun (and, quite frankly, Judy also looks like she’s having fun doing it)! And while she doesn’t sing it, the title tune is also quite catchy (and prone to getting stuck in my head whenever I watch this movie)! The rest of the cast makes this one enjoyable, too, especially S. Z. Sakall, who first made a big impression on me with this movie (and has been a fun character actor in every other film that I’ve seen him in since). I do admit, the film’s biggest weakness is how underutilized Buster Keaton is, given that him breaking the violin is the only physical comedy bit that he does. Still, this has always been a very entertaining movie for me to watch (at any time of the year, but especially around Christmas), and therefore, I have no qualms whatsoever in giving this film some of my highest recommendations!

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2021) with… In The Good Old Summertime (1949)

This movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Archive Collection. The Blu-ray makes use of a 4K scan of the original nitrate Technicolor negatives and preservation separations, and the results are typical of Warner Archive. In short, it’s a great transfer, which allows the color to pop, and improves the detail over the earlier DVD. Plain and simple, it’s a great release that treats this wonderful holiday classic right!

Film Length: 1 hour, 43 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

*ranked #6 in Top 10 Disc Releases Of 2021

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

Easter Parade (1948) – Judy Garland – Summer Stock (1950)

Van Johnson – The Caine Mutiny (1954)

My Dream Is Yours (1949) – S. Z. “Cuddles” Sakall – The Daughter Of Rosie O’Grady (1950)

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) – Buster Keaton

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm (2021) & “Star Of The Month (August 2021)” Featuring Barbara Stanwyck in… The Bride Wore Boots (1946)

I’m back for one last turn with this month’s Star, and that would be Barbara Stanwyck’s 1946 comedy The Bride Wore Boots, which also stars Robert Cummings and Diana Lynn!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Congratulations It’s Pink (1967)

(available on Blu-ray and DVD as part of The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection: Volume 2 (1966-1968) from Kino Lorber)

(Length: 6 minutes, 12 seconds)

The Pink Panther steals a basket from some campers, only to find it has a baby in it and not food. This is another fun cartoon, with the gags varying between the Panther trying to palm off the baby, and then, once he realizes that he’s stuck with it, how he takes care of it. I know I get a chuckle out of him “milking” the milk truck like a cow (only for a cow to peek out a moment after he finishes)! It’s very enjoyable, and one I enjoy coming back to! The only complaint I have is that the audio seems a bit distorted (at least on the Blu-ray, anyway), although not so bad as to completely ruin seeing it.

And Now For The Main Feature…

After seven years of marriage, Sally (Barbara Stanwyck) and Jeff Warren (Robert Cummings) find themselves at odds over their various interests. Sally is running a horse farm with her partner (and former flame, which certainly bugs Jeff) Lance Gale (Patric Knowles), whereas Jeff doesn’t really like horses (and, although he tries to ride, is frequently thrown by even the gentlest horses). Meanwhile, Jeff is an historian and author of books on the old South, with groups of (mostly older) women who like to have him lecture at their meetings and send him various Civil War artifacts (and Sally resents the feminine interest, regardless of age, as well as the artifacts cluttering up the house). Jeff and Sally still love each other, though, and try to get along. For Christmas, Jeff tries to give Sally a horse named Albert (which he has been told is a good horse), but it turns out that he was suckered into buying an older horse that wouldn’t be able to race (an opportunity that Lance uses to pick on him, before they both fight each other). As her gift to Jeff, Sally tried to give him a desk that belonged to Jefferson Davis, but, she also is humiliated later when a group of women (for whom Jeff will be giving a lecture shortly) bring him a gift of a stuffed Confederate horse, and they reveal it to be a fake. What’s worse, one of their younger members, Mary Lou Medford (Diana Lynn), takes a shine to Jeff and kisses him under the mistletoe. Sally sees this, and threatens to leave him, but he convinces her to go with him to a convention (where he has to give a speech), hoping to make a second honeymoon of it. However, Mary Lou is also there, and kisses him again (which Sally sees). This time, Sally has had enough, and demands a divorce. When Jeff advertises for a secretary to help him write a new book, Mary Lou shows up and gets rid of the other applicants to take the job herself (which Jeff very hesitantly goes along with after she manipulates him). Sally had taken custody of their children in the divorce, but (since she is still in love with Jeff), she decides to send them Jeff’s way to help disrupt Mary Lou’s attempts at seducing Jeff. Meanwhile, the horse Albert has taken a shine to Jeff, and he decides to take up riding, in order to train Albert for the upcoming Virginia Challenge Cup (a steeplechase that Sally and her family had been trying to win for a long time). Of course, Mary Lou doesn’t like this, and arranges for Jeff to go on a lecture tour (and plans to go with him). Seeing this, Sally’s uncle, Tod (Robert Benchley) and her mother, Grace Apley (Peggy Wood), conspire to have her children eat so much as to make themselves sick. When they both hear about the children, Sally and Jeff rush right over. Sally quickly wises up to her mother’s tricks, but she keeps quiet about it since she still loves Jeff. Jeff decides not to go on the lecture tour (which results in Mary Lou breaking up with him), and he decides to ride Albert in the Virginia Challenge Cup, especially when he hears about Lance’s plan to propose to Sally if he wins. But, can Jeff, a very untrained rider, win the Cup and Sally’s heart again?

For what (sadly) turned out to be Barbara Stanwyck’s last feature comedy, she does quite well with her role here! I love how her character tries to love her husband, and yet, it’s hard not to feel for her when we see him go wrong. Of course, she is, in her own ways, rather devious, as she tries to get back at him for the “trouble” he causes. And she is quick to recognize that same quality in others, like when her mother tries to get them her and her husband back together (of course, she wants that, too, so no way will she mention that to her husband 😉 ). She does quite well with the film’s humor, which, to me, makes it disappointing that writers couldn’t come up with anything good comedy-wise for her after this film.

The movie evens qualifies, to some degree, as a Christmas movie, which adds to its appeal for me! Now, I know we’re mostly talking about the Christmas stuff happening in the first half hour before moving on, but it has enough importance to the rest of the film, in between Jeff’s (Robert Cummings) gift of a horse to his wife, the mistletoe (which is the start of his marital woes), and the stuffed horse that comes into play here and there. Of course, the film has more than just Christmas in its favor, as I like the comedic performances, too! Robert Cummings does well with his comedy bits (and, from what I’ve read, even did some of his own stunts in the steeplechase)! Robert Benchley as the Uncle Tod (whom the kids really like) and Peggy Wood as Sally’s (Barbara Stanwyck) mother add to the humor, especially when they get to scheming a little themselves. Willie Best is here, too, in what feels like one of his less-stereotyped roles, which at least doesn’t take away from it. The steeplechase scene does manage to be one of the more amusing horse races I’ve seen (at least for those that stay normal without getting screwy like the Marx Brothers). I will admit, I’ve seen much better horse/horseracing films, but the cast for this one makes it entertaining enough that I would love to keep coming back to it every now and then (especially at Christmastime)! So, yes, recommended by me!

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2020) with… The Bride Wore Boots (1946)

This movie is available on Blu-ray as part of the three film Barbara Stanwyck Collection from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. As usual, this one is sporting an HD scan. This one looks quite good, with most of the dirt and debris cleaned up. There are a few minor instances of scratches and the like, but overall, it’s as good as one could hope for!

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2020) with… Barbara Stanwyck Collection

The Barbara Stanwyck Collection includes Internes Can’t Take Money, The Great Man’s Lady and The Bride Wore Boots. All three films have HD scans that look quite good, outside of minor dust and dirt here and there. I think the set is worth it for all three films, as, while not seemingly among Barbara’s best-known films, each one of them still allows her to give a great performance as part of some very entertaining movies. Easily a worthwhile set to look into!

Whew! Now that we’re done with all that, I can safely say that this ends my month-long celebration of actress Barbara Stanwyck (well, it does for me, as my next posts will be in the month of September)! So join me again on Wednesday, September 1, as I move on to the second-to-last blogathon I am hosting this year (and on my favorite film genre, no less), Musicals: With A Song And A Dance In My Heart!

Film Length: 1 hour, 27 minutes

My Rating: 9/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

Christmas In Connecticut (1945) – Barbara Stanwyck – Titanic (1953)

It Started With Eve (1941) – Robert Cummings – Stagecoach (1966)

Road To Utopia (1946) – Robert Benchley

Tomorrow Is Forever (1946) – Natalie Wood – Miracle On 34th Street (1947)

The Great Man’s Lady (1942) – Barbara Stanwyck Collection

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm (2021) with… Holiday Affair (1949)

For the third and final part of our Christmas-themed triple-feature, we’ve got the 1949 Christmas comedy Holiday Affair, starring Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh and Wendell Corey!

War widow Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh) works as a comparison shopper to support herself and her six-year-old son, Timmy (Gordon Gebert). She has been going with lawyer Carl Davis (Wendell Corey) for some time, but is reluctant to accept his proposal of marriage. Her life changes when, as part of her job, she buys an electric train set from Crowley’s department store. Unable to do anything further with the train set (since it is late in the day), she brings it home with her. Timmy discovers it and thinks (quite happily) that it is for him until she mentions needing to take it back the next day. When she tries to return it, she has to deal with the same clerk who had sold her the train, Steve Mason (Robert Mitchum). He had been suspicious that she was a comparison shopper from the start, and threatened to out her as such (which would have resulted in her being fired). However, after hearing about her struggles, he decides not to turn her in and gives her a refund (which results in him being fired by an eavesdropping floorwalker). With nothing else to do, Steve decides to help Connie out, although they get separated at a bus by the Christmas rush. With a little detective work, he catches up to her later at her apartment, although his presence causes trouble, as Carl is also there. In the process, Carl ends up leaving after he and Timmy fight (and Connie intervenes on Timmy’s behalf). Before leaving himself, Steve talks with Connie, making known his observations about how she is trying to keep her husband alive by making Timmy over into his image, which makes Connie angry. Steve quickly says goodbye to Timmy and learns how Timmy was really hoping for the electric train set for Christmas. Fast forward to Christmas morning, and there is a special present under the tree, which turns out to be that train! Timmy is ecstatic, but his mother, upon realizing who it was from, seeks out Steve to try to pay him for it. He refuses, so she gives him a necktie originally intended for Carl. Connie decides to tell him that she has finally accepted Carl’s proposal of marriage, prompting a rebuke from Steve about not letting go of the past (which, again, makes Connie angry). She leaves him again, intending for that to be it. But, will his words sink in, or will she stay with a man she doesn’t really love?

In the late 1940s, actor Robert Mitchum was enjoying success in film noir while working at RKO studios. His success was briefly slowed down when he was arrested for possession of marijuana in 1948. After serving a brief prison sentence, he was back to work at RKO. While his films after his arrest were hits at the box office, Howard Hughes still insisted on trying to soften Robert Mitchum’s image by casting him in a romantic comedy (based on a story by John D. Weaver). The film was not a success at the box office, but it has found greater popularity by frequent television showings around the holidays.

I was first introduced to this film through a four movie DVD set of Christmas movies (which included It Happened On Fifth Avenue, the main reason I bought the set). I enjoyed the movie then, and I still do now. For me, this movie is a wonderful time capsule, one that encapsulates so much of what Christmas means to me. Every character in this movie is a human being with flaws, and yet, they all seem to be decent people (well, with the exception of the “hobo” who gets Robert Mitchum’s Steve in trouble with the law). There’s a lot of stuff that happens in this movie that I couldn’t even dream of seeing be reality nowadays, whether it be Gordon Gebert’s Timmy going off on his own to try to return the train at the department store, or being able to see the department store owner (who gives him the refund after hearing his story, even though the train was accidentally broken due to the pushing and shoving of other customers in the store). Overall, it’s just nice to see people being nice to each other, and being full of the Christmas spirit (instead of the greed and unkindness that would seem normal now), and with great performances all around, I have no trouble whatsoever recommending this wonderful Christmas classic!

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2020) with… Holiday Affair (1949)

This movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Archive Collection, with the Blu-ray utilizing a new transfer. This new transfer is a definite improvement over the previously available DVD, with better detail and a much crisper picture. I would certainly recommend the recent Blu-ray (which also includes, as an extra, the Lux Radio Theatre adaptation with Robert Mitchum and Gordon Gebert reprising their roles from the movie) as the best way to enjoy this wonderful Christmas movie!

Film Length: 1 hour, 27 minutes

My Rating: 9/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

Out Of The Past (1947) – Robert Mitchum – Fire Down Below (1957)

Janet Leigh – My Sister Eileen (1955)

Wendell Corey – The Killer Is Loose (1956)

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm (2021) with… It Happened On Fifth Avenue (1947)

We’re here again for the second part of today’s Christmas-themed triple-feature, and this time, it’s the 1947 movie It Happened On Fifth Avenue, starring Don DeFore, Ann Harding, Charles Ruggles, Victor Moore and Gale Storm!

For a number of years now, Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore) has survived by staying in the homes of various wealthy people (when they’re not around). In particular, he has been staying in the mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York City that is owned by millionaire Michael J. O’Connor (Charles Ruggles) for the last three winters, while Michael is living in Virginia during that time of year. McKeever has mainly been living by himself (well, and his dog too), but this year will be a little different. He comes across veteran Jim Bullock (Don DeFore), who has been evicted by Michael so that a new building can go up. Without any place to stay, Jim is sleeping on a park bench when McKeever comes across him, and offers him a place to stay. That night, they are interrupted by an interloper: Trudy O’Connor (Gale Storm), who has run away from the finishing school she had been sent to! Of course, Jim and McKeever don’t know who she really is, as they assume her to be a thief (since she was trying to take some of her own fur coats out of the place). In doing so, McKeever reveals to Jim that he is not living there by Michael’s invitation, and so they cannot turn Trudy in to the police (which she overhears, and decides not to reveal who she really is). The next day, she gets a job at a music store, and Jim walks her home afterwards. They run across his old army buddies Whitey (Alan Hale, Jr.) and Hank (Edward Ryan) (and their families), who are struggling to find a place to live (so, of course, they also movie in). Michael has come back to New York to find Trudy, and when they come across each other as she is leaving her job, he tries to start in ordering her around. She refuses to go back to finishing school, and tells him about Jim (whom she has fallen in love with). She convinces him to disguise himself as another homeless man to meet Jim (since she worries about Jim loving her for her sake and not for her father’s money). “Mike” tries, but it isn’t long before he is irked at his treatment by the others, and he confides to Trudy that he will have everyone removed from the house. Unsure of what to do, Trudy brings in her mother, Mary O’Connor (Ann Harding), to help. Meanwhile, Jim and his friends are trying to buy the army barracks at Camp Kilson, with the intention of remodeling the barracks to be housing. The problem is that Michael O’Connor has also been bidding on them, and he tries to stop them (and even has one of his companies offer Jim a job out of country). Will Mike come to his senses, or will everybody be thrown out of the mansion?

At the time, Monogram Pictures was a Poverty Row studio mainly known for releasing “B” pictures. They started a new division, Allied Artists Pictures, which would attempt to release more “A” films, and It Happened On Fifth Avenue was the first movie released under Allied Pictures. The film proved to be a decent hit, and was nominated for a Best Story Oscar (although it lost to another Christmas classic, Miracle On 34th Street). The movie ended up being part of a package of movies licensed by Monogram/Allied Artists for television broadcast in the early days of TV, where it still enjoyed some popularity (mostly because the major studios hadn’t licensed out any of their stuff yet). When the bigger studios did license their films for broadcast, It Happened On Fifth Avenue faded into the background, eventually staying off the air for nearly twenty years from the 90s on. When the film was released on DVD finally, in 2008, the movie started to make a comeback, eventually becoming a regular holiday film on TCM.

I probably saw the movie for the first time through TCM within a few years of when it came back, and took a liking to it on that first viewing! The cast here is wonderful! Of course, the main standouts are Victor Moore and Charlie Ruggles as their relationship is the most fun to watch. In general, it’s hard to fault any of the characters, as they all seem to be decent people at heart. Victor Moore’s character may seem to be a sponge, as he lives in the homes of the wealthy, but at the same time, he doesn’t believe in stealing either, as we see when he comments about needing to restock the food stores. And while Charlie Ruggles’ rich character starts off on the wrong foot, as he is all business (and how to make more money), he slowly comes around to the idea that life is not all about money, as he tries to help the others out.

As a whole, this movie is full of many fun moments. I know I get a good laugh near the end of the movie, with Don DeFore and Gale Storm’s characters out at a restaurant with a wobbly table (and a waiter trying to fix it). And I know I get a chuckle out of watching Don DeFore’s character and his buddies stuffing Homer Bedloe – er, I mean Charles Lane in a drinking fountain (sorry, after having watched several seasons of Petticoat Junction, I can’t think of actor Charles Lane as anybody else 😉 ). But it’s the Christmas scene that certainly sticks with me. The movie has a few songs by Harry Revel in it, but it’s the song “That’s What Christmas Means To Me” that sticks with me. For me, that song (while not a well-remembered one over the years) speaks very much to what the Christmas season does indeed mean to me, with the company of family and friends all together, and peace to all! This is such an overall wonderful movie. If it has much in the way of flaws, it’s the use of rear-screen projections whenever the characters are out walking on the streets, as the action doesn’t quite fit with the footage (but, again, this wasn’t from a major studio, so I can forgive it). Seriously, this movie is a lot of fun, and one I would highly recommend (mainly at Christmas, but it’s nice to watch throughout the rest of the year, too)!

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2020) with… It Happened On Fifth Avenue (1947)

This movie is available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection. This new release makes use of a restoration from a 4K scan of the best surviving nitrate elements, and it looks wonderful! The detail is superb, and all the debris is gone. Seriously, this classic Christmas movie hasn’t looked this good for a while, and it also includes a Lux Radio Theatre broadcast that adapted the story, with original cast members Victor Moore, Don DeFore, Charlie Ruggles and Gale Storm! This Blu-ray is certainly highly recommended!

Film Length: 1 hour, 55 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

Don DeFore – Romance On The High Seas (1948)

Balalaika (1939) – Charles Ruggles

Ziegfeld Follies (1945) – Victor Moore

An Old-Fashioned Christmas Movie On The Farm (2021) with… The Shop Around The Corner (1940)

Today, we’ve got a Christmas-themed triple-feature (mainly because they are recent releases and I don’t want to wait for December to review them)! To start things off, we’ve got that 1940 classic The Shop Around The Corner, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart! So let’s first get through our theatrical short, and then it’s on with the show!

Coming Up Shorts! with… Field And Scream (1955)

(Available on Blu-ray and DVD as part of Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 2 from Warner Archive Collection)

(Length: 7 minutes, 9 seconds)

We follow American sportsman Ed Jones as he goes fishing and hunting. This cartoon was a lot of fun, with some of the types of gags that Tex Avery was known for. To a degree, you can see the ending coming, but that doesn’t take away from the humor of it (or all the hilarity that led up to it). It’s one of the last cartoons Tex did for MGM, but it’s still enjoyable to see, and I look forward to future revisits!

And Now For The Main Feature…

In Budapest, Hungary, we find Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) working as the head clerk at Matuschek And Company, which, as the shop’s name implies, is run by Hugo Matuschek (Frank Morgan). One time, while they were waiting for Mr. Matuschek to open up the shop, Alfred tells his friend and co-worker Pirovitch (Felix Bressart) that he answered a personal ad from the newspaper, and is now writing letters anonymously to somebody else. That same day, Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) comes in looking for a job. Alfred tries to tell her they have no opening, but when she manages to sell a cigarette box that plays “Ochi Tchornya” when opened (something that Mr. Matuschek wanted to sell in the shop but Alfred thought wasn’t for them), she is hired. Fast forward to the Christmas shopping season, and a number of things have changed. For one thing, Alfred and his pen pal have become more serious, and are trying to plan when to meet. In the shop, Alfred and Klara continue to bicker and fight, and, for some reason, Mr. Matuschek is having issues with Alfred as well, resulting in him being fired one day(of course, it would be the day he hoped to meet his pen pal). Alfred’s friend Pirovitch takes him to the meeting place at a restaurant as his moral support, where they both see that his pen pal is none other than Klara! Alfred decides not to go in at first, but later comes back alone. He doesn’t reveal his identity to Klara, but instead stops to talk with her (and it’s not long before they start bickering again). Later that night, Alfred learns from the shop’s errand boy, Pepi Katona (William Tracy), that their boss, Mr. Matuschek, had tried to commit suicide (but Pepi stopped him from going through with it). The reason? Mr. Matuschek had found out his wife was having an affair with someone! He had suspected Alfred (which is why he fired him), but it turns out it was another employee, Ferencz Vadas (Joseph Schildkraut). In the hospital, Mr. Matuschek rehires Alfred, and makes him the store manager (since he himself will be away from work while he recuperates). Almost all of Alfred’s co-workers are happy to see him back (and in a new position), but Alfred quickly finds an excuse to fire the flattering Vadas (like Mr. Matuschek wanted him to do). Klara, however, wasn’t feeling well, and so doesn’t come in. Alfred checks up on her after work, and sees her perk up when she receives another letter from her unknown pen pal. With Alfred now genuinely falling for Klara, will he be able to tell her the truth, or will they continue to stay apart?

The Shop Around The Corner was based on the 1936 play Perfumerie by Nikolaus László. Director Ernst Lubitsch bought the film rights himself, and brought them with him when he signed with MGM. However, the two stars he wanted, James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan, were unavailable to start right away, and, while he waited for them to become available, he directed the classic Ninotchka. In making The Shop Around The Corner, Ernst Lubitsch drew from his own life experiences working in his father’s tailor shop when he was younger. The film would end up being a hit, and would be remade on the big screen two more times (in 1949 as the musical In The Good Old Summertime and again in 1998 as You’ve Got Mail).

I’ve seen this movie once previously on television (I’ve actually had more experience with seeing its musical remake, In The Good Old Summertime), but that first viewing left me a fan of this movie! I’ll admit, I didn’t get the chance to see it again until the new Blu-ray release (but I’ll get to that in a moment). But I still enjoy this movie (possibly even more now)! The story is a fun premise, with the two main characters falling in love via their correspondence (and all without even knowing that they are actually working together). The chemistry between James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan is still there, in this third of four films they did together (and, so far, the only one of the four that I’ve had the opportunity to see). And the rest of the cast is good, too! Frank Morgan proves himself as an actor, in a role that’s different from his usual persona (but well-acted, as opposed to his stiff performance in Fast And Loose, which I reviewed earlier this year). He in particular helps make this movie great, as we see him struggle with his feelings of betrayal by someone he regarded as a son (even though he was wrong about it). And Joseph Schildkraut as the suckup Vadas does a great job of making you dislike him (even before the revelation about him having an affair with his boss’ wife), and I can’t help but cheer when he finally gets what’s coming to him later on in the film! And, aside from Vadas, you do get a sense of all of the employees at Matuschek being a tightknit family, so well do they work together (especially when Vadas is removed from the picture)! And, while the majority of this movie takes place around Christmastime, it’s still fun to watch any other time of the year as well (but I can guarantee that I’ll be trying to watch it again around Christmas)! So, if you get the chance to see it, you owe it to yourself to give this one a try!

What’s Old Is A New Release Again (2020) with… The Shop Around The Corner (1940)

This movie is available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection. As best as I can determine, the movie was restored from a 2K scan of some protection elements made from the original nitrate negative. Whatever was used, the movie looks FANTASTIC!! The picture is so nice and crisp, showing off all the details now. I’ve been waiting for this one to show up on Blu-ray for quite a while, and the wait has been well worth it! This release is highly recommended as the best way to see this movie!

Film Length: 1 hour, 39 minutes

My Rating: 10/10

List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections

The Good Fairy (1935) – Margaret Sullavan

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) – James Stewart – The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Balalaika (1939) – Frank Morgan – Broadway Melody Of 1940 (1940)