''Christmas Eve'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin. It is based on the story by

Laurence Stallings Laurence Tucker Stallings (November 25, 1894 – February 28, 1968) was an American playwright, screenwriter, lyricist, literary critic, journalist, novelist, and photographer. Best known for his collaboration with Maxwell Anderson on the 1924 pl ...

and Richard H. Landau and stars

George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...

George Brent George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. He is best remembered for the eleven films he made with Bette Davis, which included ''Jezebel'' and ''Dark Victory ...

and

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

. An

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

production by

Benedict Bogeaus Benedict Bogeaus (May 4, 1904, in Chicago – August 23, 1968, in Hollywood), was an independent film producer and former owner of General Service Studios. Biography and filmography Bogeaus' business career started when he was seventeen, workin ...

it was distributed by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio ...

. It was rereleased under the title ''Sinner's Holiday''. It was one of several films Raft made with Edwin Marin.

Plot

The greedy nephew Philip Hastings of eccentric Matilda Reed seeks to have her judged incompetent so he can administer her wealth. In an informal meeting with Philip and Dr. Doremus, Judge Alston rules that she will be saved if her three long-lost adopted sons, whom she can trust, appear for a Christmas Eve reunion. Separate stories reveal with the help of Private Detective Gimlet that: * Michael is a bankrupt playboy loved by loyal Ann Nelson; * Mario is a seemingly shady character tangling with a Nazi war criminal in South America and a beautiful lady, Claire; * Jonathan is a hard-drinking rodeo rider who falls for a flirtatious woman Jean Bradford at the station, who is revealed to be a policewoman in disguise chasing after an orphanage that doesn't seem to do right. Finally, the gathering at Christmas Eve happens, featuring the three sons and Jean. Jonathan and Jean, end up bringing three girl orphans from the orphanage. Mario confronts Phillip about taking the rap for a bad deal in New Orleans ten years ago, for which he makes sure to have each leave town before Matilda gets hurt. Aunt Matilda feels like the day she got the three little boys for adoption.

Cast

Ann Harding Ann Harding (born Dorothy Walton Gatley; August 7, 1902 – September 1, 1981) was an American theatre, motion picture, radio, and television actress. A regular player on Broadway and in regional theater in the 1920s, in the 1930s Harding was ...

as Aunt Matilda Reed * Reginald Denny as Phillip Hastings *

Clarence Kolb Clarence William Kolb (July 31, 1874 – November 25, 1964) was an American vaudeville performer and actor known for his comedy routines that featured a Dutch dialect. Biography Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy team, Kolb ...

as Judge Alston * Carl Harbord as Dr. Doremus *

Joe Sawyer Joe Sawyer (born Joseph Sauers, August 29, 1906 – April 21, 1982) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1927 and 1962, and was sometimes billed under his birth name. Early life Sawyer was born August 29, 1 ...

as Private Detective Gimlet *

as Mario Torio *

as Michael Brooks *

as Jonathan "Johnny" *

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

as Ann Nelson *

Virginia Field Virginia Field (born Margaret Cynthia Field; 4 November 1917 – 2 January 1992) was a British-born film actress. Early years An only child, born in London, her father was Sir John Field. He was the judge of Leicester County Court Circuit. ...

as Claire *

Dolores Moran Dolores Jean Moran (January 27, 1926 – February 5, 1982) was an American film actress and model. Early years Moran was born in Stockton, California, and attended elementary and secondary schools there. She won the Northern California O ...

as Jean Bradford *

Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

as Dr. Bunyan * Claire Whitney as Mrs. Bunyan *

John Litel John Beach Litel (December 30, 1892 – February 3, 1972) was an American film and television actor. Early life Litel was born in Albany, Wisconsin. During World War I, he enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery. ...

as Joe Bland, FBI Agent *

Marie Blake Edith Marie Blossom MacDonald (August 21, 1895 – January 14, 1978), also known as Blossom Rock, was an American actress of vaudeville, stage, film and television. During her career she was also billed as Marie Blake or Blossom MacDonald. He ...

as Reporter *

Dennis Hoey Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. Early life Hoey was born Samuel Davi ...

as Williams-Butler * Molly Lamont as Harriet Rhodes *

as Joe Bland, FBI Agent *

Walter Sande Walter Sande (July 9, 1906 – November 22, 1971) was an American character actor, known for numerous supporting film and television roles. Films Born in Denver, Colorado, he was one of those stern, heavyset character actors in Hollywood no pe ...

as Mario's Hood *

Konstantin Shayne Konstantin Shayne (born Konstantin Veniaminovich Olkenitski; russian: Константин Вениаминович Олькеницкий, November 29, 1888 – November 15, 1974) was a Russian-American actor. Biography Shayne was born in Kh ...

as Gustav Reichman *

Andrew Tombes Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor. Biography The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a ...

as Auctioneer

Production

The film was produced by Benedict Bogeaus who had previously made an episodic film ''

On Our Merry Way ''On Our Merry Way'' is a 1948 American comedy film produced by Benedict Bogeaus and Burgess Meredith and released by United Artists. At the time of its release, King Vidor and Leslie Fenton were credited with its direction, although the DVD li ...

''. This involved using multiple stars in different storylines so they could be filmed at different times. In November 1946 Bogeaus announced that Raft, Scott and Brent would star. Each star would film for two weeks individually and then act together for one week. Filming started 18 November with the Brent-Joan Blondell sequence. Dolores Moran, who appeared in the cast, was Bogeaus' wife at the time. The film marked Ann Harding's first appearance since ''

It Happened on Fifth Avenue ''It Happened on 5th Avenue'' is a 1947 American comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Victor Moore, Ann Harding, Don DeFore, Charles Ruggles and Gale Storm. Herbert Clyde Lewis and Frederick Stephani were nominated for the Academy ...

''. The film was financed through money from Walter E. Heller & Co, a finance company. During filming, George Raft suffered first-degree burns in his right leg when a maritime engine caught fire and set his clothes alight.

Reception

Critical

The ''Los Angeles Times'' said the premise of the film had "considerable appeal" but the "plot lacked cohesion" and the story was done in by its "slow pace".

Box office

The film did not do very well at the box office.Everett Aaker, ''The Films of George Raft'', McFarland & Company, 2013 p 126 According to ''Variety'' it earned an estimated $1 million. Walter Heller and Co initiated foreclosure proceedings to recover money for the film, claiming they were owed $223,000. (They also did this for '' Bachelor's Daughters''.) This was rare in Hollywood at the time.

1986 remake

The film was remade as a

made-for-TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

that first aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

, December 22, 1986. It was directed by

Stuart Cooper Stuart W. Cooper (born 1942) is an American filmmaker, actor and writer. Career Cooper was a resident in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s where his most notable film appearance was as one of ''The Dirty Dozen'', Roscoe Lever, in 1967. ...

and starred

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...

, Arthur Hill,

Ron Leibman Ron Leibman (; October 11, 1937 – December 6, 2019) was an American actor. He won both the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 1993 for his performance as Roy Cohn in ''Angels in Ame ...

, Patrick Cassidy, and

Season Hubley Season Hubley (born Susan Hubley; March 14, 1951) is an American retired actress and singer. Best known for Nikki in ''Hardcore'' (1979), Priscilla Presley in ''Elvis'' (1979), and Angelique in ''All My Children'' (1992–1994). Early life Hubl ...

References

External links

* * * *
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{Edwin L. Marin 1947 films American black-and-white films American Christmas comedy films 1940s English-language films United Artists films Films directed by Edwin L. Marin 1940s Christmas comedy films 1947 comedy films 1940s American films