Joseph Schildkraut in a Christmas film. I can't seem to think where his character as a washed-out actor belongs. In some scenes he looks totally out of his mind and in others he tries to instill good virtues in this hum-drum picture.
The youngest daughter of Eugene Palette and Billie Burke is a real brat. She acts like a real princess and by the next scene, she is in the holiday spirit flapping pancakes.
Then, we have that annoying voice of Billie Burke. That voice was great to say Toto too in "The Wizard of Oz," or even as the wealthy dowager in "The Young Philadelphians," where Burke gave the best performance of her career. Not in this film, as she portrays a woman as part of a family trying to deny a total stranger her inheritance. Her voice is annoying and she finally remembers when her sonny finally says mom to her after so many years. What nonsense.
Ona Munson, Belle Wattling in the great "Gone With the Wind," is the woman they're all trying to fool here. I must say that Munson, who committed suicide in 1951, is good in this film as well. She is sympathetic and kind as the woman looking for holiday ties.
Schildkraut, who appears as the embodiment of evil in the film, suddenly comes to his senses and tries to revert back to the Christmas Carol in attempting to get the wayward family to mend their ways.
Any viewer who can compare this tripe with the memorable "It's A Wonderful Life," must be on another planet.
The youngest daughter of Eugene Palette and Billie Burke is a real brat. She acts like a real princess and by the next scene, she is in the holiday spirit flapping pancakes.
Then, we have that annoying voice of Billie Burke. That voice was great to say Toto too in "The Wizard of Oz," or even as the wealthy dowager in "The Young Philadelphians," where Burke gave the best performance of her career. Not in this film, as she portrays a woman as part of a family trying to deny a total stranger her inheritance. Her voice is annoying and she finally remembers when her sonny finally says mom to her after so many years. What nonsense.
Ona Munson, Belle Wattling in the great "Gone With the Wind," is the woman they're all trying to fool here. I must say that Munson, who committed suicide in 1951, is good in this film as well. She is sympathetic and kind as the woman looking for holiday ties.
Schildkraut, who appears as the embodiment of evil in the film, suddenly comes to his senses and tries to revert back to the Christmas Carol in attempting to get the wayward family to mend their ways.
Any viewer who can compare this tripe with the memorable "It's A Wonderful Life," must be on another planet.