Holiday Affair (1949)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Boring

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Director: DON HARTMAN. Screenplay: Isobel Lennart. Based on a story, "Christmas Gift", and a novelette called "The Man Who Played Santa Claus" by John D. Weaver. Photography: Milton Krasner. Film editor: Harry Marker. Art directors: Albert D'Agostino and Carroll Clark. Set decorators: Darrell Silvera and William Stevens. Miss Leigh's costumes: Howard Greer. Music composed by Roy Webb, directed by Constantin Bakaleinikoff. Hair styles: Larry Germain. Make-up: James House. Assistant director: Sam Ruman. Sound: Frank Sarver and Clem Portman. Producer: Don Hartman.Copyright 23 November 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc. U.S. release: 24 December 1949. New York release at Loew's State: 23 November 1949. U.K. release: 6 February 1950. Australian release: 6 April 1950. Sydney release at the Esquire: 10 March 1950. Australian length: 7,943 feet (88 minutes). U.K. length: 7,812 feet (87 minutes).SYNOPSIS: Comparison shopper inadvertently gets toy salesman fired from New York department store. Salesman romances shopper and her six-year-old son.COMMENT: A slight little Christmas romance with a foregone conclusion that seemed a lot more entertaining and engrossing back in 1950 than it does now. Admittedly, the two principal characterizations are fairly intriguing - Mitchum is likeably off-beat at first but becomes more conventionally outspoken as the film progresses; Miss Leigh's profession is refreshingly original - but the rest of the players are handicapped by their strictly clichéd roles, particularly Wendell Corey's stuffy attorney and Gordon Gebert's gap-toothed wonder. The players are not helped by direction that only comes to life with fluid camerawork in some of the crowd scenes, elsewhere letting the cast and the dialogue do all the work in a series of long takes. The dialogue is occasionally witty or pointed but mostly it and the situations are dull to the point of boredom. Even the episode in the police station which could have been fairly amusing seems somewhat strained as Henry Morgan makes heavy weather out of rather thin clouds. Miss Leigh looked good to indulgent males in 1950, but Father Time has stripped a lot of her illusion away, forcing her to rely on a charm and personality that is otherwise blandly inadequate. Photography and other credits are capable enough - even occasionally attractive. A Holiday Affair also has some historical interest as Mitchum's first starring essay into the field of romantic comedy and it must be admitted that he handled the lightweight part with a professional flair of delightful nonchalance (when he wasn't buried under sticky dialogue of the sentimental kind). However, despite mildly enthusiastic reviews and a domestic release that coincided with Christmas, Mitchum's fans were unimpressed and A Holiday Affair added little to RKO's coffers. It was not until his final RKO film, She Couldn't Say No (1954) that Mitchum was again cast in a comedy.

You can take the simplest, most familiar story and make it special and fresh all over again with a little warmth and inspiration. By opening with a very whimsical title-sequence shot following what proves to be a department store's toy train in close-up, this Golden Age Christmas charmer announces its intention to keep it small, sweet, and light without ever getting sticky or sentimental.Janet Leigh is adorable as the (incredibly young) single mother; Robert Mitchum is dashing and unusually (for him) lovable as the dreamer who has to take her away from the (slightly) wrong man, and it all revolves around a cute kid at Christmas and the circumstances that keep throwing these two lonely souls together. There isn't a slow moment on the trip, and when it all leads back- (spoiler? I don't think so)- to that opening shot, in truly inspired fashion, well, the jingle bells ring.This is the kind of film you love to stumble onto late at night or on a rainy Sunday, and say "Now, where has this one been hiding?"

Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh) is a war widow with son Timmy. Carl Davis asks her to marry him. She's a corporate spy and comparative shopper. Store clerk Steve Mason (Robert Mitchum) catches her but he lets her finish her job anyways. That gets him fired and he joins her on a 'date'. He loses her and tracks her home. He meets Carl who gets jealous and the night ends badly.Robert Mitchum is too perfect. He's a full out Hollywood movie star and his character is even better. He's a saint. I wouldn't have been surprised if Mason turned out to be an angel or the return of her husband's spirit. At least, that would be more interesting. It's a romance without intensity. The only tension comes from wondering if Carl would beat the boy. This is not at the same level as other Christmas classics but the two legendary leads keep it interesting.

Janet Leigh plays a war widow who's got an 8 year old son (Gordon Gebert), who wants to keep the expensive train he finds in his comparison shopper mom's bag, assuming it's his Christmas present. Mitchum plays a veteran who moves around and changes jobs a lot as he struggles to find his place in the world.While working as a department store toy salesman, hired to help out during the Holiday crunch, Mitchum meets Leigh when she tries to return the train. Apparently, returns weren't as easily accepted "back" in those days, but Mitchum helps her out of a jam (e.g. accepts the train), which costs him his job. He later buys the train for Leigh's son anyway.The lovely Ms. Leigh, who happens to be nearly engaged to Wendell Corey (a stable, if dull successful lawyer), spends some quality time with Mitchum in a park feeding seals and in her home at dinner with her folks. So, as is frequently the case in such "dramas", Leigh's character must choose between the "good boy" (that can offer her and her son a stable home environment) who doesn't excite her and the "bad boy" (dreamer, that doesn't even have a job) who does.The film was produced and directed by twice Oscar nominated writer Don Hartman, with a screenplay by twice Oscar nominated writer Isobel Lennart. Henry O'Neill, who I believe plays Mitchum's department store boss, and Harry Morgan, who plays a police lieutenant, also appear.