Holiday Affair (1949)

Director:

Don Hartman

Writers:

Isobel Lennart (screenplay)
John D. Weaver (story)

Release Date:

24 December 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

It happened in December...but its hotter than July !

Plot:

The Christmas-season romance of a young widow and a sales clerk who (thanks to her) is unemployed.

Plot Keywords:

Widow | Train | Department Store | Christmas | War Widow

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Steve
Janet Leigh	...	Connie
Wendell Corey	...	Carl
Gordon Gebert	...	Timmy
Griff Barnett	...	Mr. Ennis
Esther Dale	...	Mrs. Ennis
Henry O'Neill	...	Mr. Crowley
Harry Morgan	...	Police Lieutenant (as Henry Morgan)
Larry J. Blake	...	Plainclothesman
Helen Brown	...	Emily
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pat Barton	...	Saleswoman (uncredited)
Genevieve Bell	...	Saleswoman (uncredited)
Chick Chandler	...	New Year's Celebrant (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Waiter (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Man Entering Nightclub (uncredited)
Yvonne Crossley	...	Elevator Operator (uncredited)
Michka Egan	...	Man (uncredited)
George Eldredge	...	Elevator Starter (uncredited)
Louise Franklin	...	Elevator Operator (uncredited)
James Griffith	...	Crowley's Floorwalker (uncredited)
Patricia Hall	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Jimmy Hawkins	...	Boy in Park (uncredited)
Mame Henderson	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Billy Henry	...	Boy (uncredited)
Robert Hughes	...	Joey from Upstairs (uncredited)
Jimmy Hunt	...	Boy Looking at Crowley's Trains (uncredited)
Frank Johnson	...	Santa Claus (uncredited)
Jack Kelly	...	Drunk on Train (uncredited)
Genevieve Kendall	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Man (uncredited)
Robert Lyden	...	Boy (uncredited)
Allen Mathews	...	Mr. Gow (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Bum in Park (uncredited)
Frances Morris	...	Mary (uncredited)
Philip Morris	...	Train Conductor (uncredited)
Al Murphy	...	Man (uncredited)
William J. O'Brien	...	Peanut Vendor (uncredited)
Melinda Plowman	...	Girl (uncredited)
Theodore Rand	...	Man (uncredited)
Joey Ray	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
Paula Raymond	...	Girl at Drinking Fountain (uncredited)
Charles Regan	...	Man (uncredited)
Al Rhein	...	Detective (uncredited)
Sammy Shack	...	Man (uncredited)
Carl Sklover	...	Department Store Clerk (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Henry - Husband on Bus (uncredited)
Harmon Stevens	...	Clerk (uncredited)
Mary Stewart	...	Girl (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Park Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Don Hartman

Writing credits
Isobel Lennart		(screenplay)
John D. Weaver		(story "Christmas Gift")

Produced by
Don Hartman	....	producer

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
Milton R. Krasner		(director of photography) (as Milton Krasner)

Film Editing by
Harry Marker

Art Direction by
Carroll Clark
Albert S. D'Agostino

Set Decoration by
Darrell Silvera		(set decorations)
William Stevens		(set decorations)

Makeup Department
Larry Germain	....	hair styles
James House	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Vera Peterson	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sam Ruman	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Clem Portman	....	sound
Francis M. Sarver	....	sound (as Frank Sarver)

Camera and Electrical Department
James Almond	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Ernest Bachrach	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Jim Kirley	....	grip (uncredited)
Eddie Pyle	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Howard Greer	....	gowns: Miss Leigh
Bruce MacIntosh	....	gowns: Miss Leigh (uncredited)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Other crew
Richard Kinon	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures (presents) (as RKO Radio Pictures, Inc, )

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (as an RKO Radio Picture)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Turner Home Entertainment (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Odeon Entertainment (2012) (UK) (DVD)
• RKO Radio Films (195?) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• RKO Home Video (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Turner Entertainment  VHS package design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

UK:U | USA:Approved | Netherlands:14 (original rating) (1951)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Although this modest film was not a success at the time, annual showings on Turner Classic Movies in recent years has made this film something of a minor Holiday classic.

Quotes:

Steve Mason:Carl isn't the real threat to me. Maybe I'm not to him. This isn't two fellows and a girl, you know. This is two fellows, a girl and her husband. I can't fight a shadow - I tried - competition's too tough. You were even going to play it safe and settle for someone you didn't love so you wouldn't be unfaithful to your husband.
Connie Ennis:Oh, you're always so wrong about me. I have a wonderful memory of a husband and a marriage. You're trying to take it away from me.
Steve Mason:Nobody wants to do that. I know. I'm sure Carl doesn't. All anybody wants is for you to live in the present and not be afraid of the future. You know, maybe it could happen again if you quit pretending that something that's dead is still alive.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Night at the Movies: Merry Christmas! (2011) (TV)

An undiscovered Christmas classic

I love this film and am amazed that it seems to have been undiscovered among the many holiday movies we are blitzed with every Christmas season. I am actually VERY happy about this, as it is usually shown only about once or twice every year on cable and has not been ruined (at least for me) by over-saturation. Its a Wonderful Life is a movie that I no longer can stand because it was shown so many times during the 1980s--sometimes on two or three or more cable channels AT THE SAME TIME!! But, somehow lazy television programmers haven't yet done this to A Holiday Affair. Hmmm,...maybe I should NOT review it so that it remains a hidden gem.

Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh and Wendall Corey all star in this delightful little film about a train set and Christmas. Janet Leigh is a single mom (her husband having been killed in the war) and works as a comparison shopper (a spy who buys products and tests them out for competing stores). She buys a train for just this purpose but her adorable little son (Gordon Gebert) finds the very expensive train and assumes it's for him. Mitchum works at the store where this is purchased and correctly assumes she is a spy BUT because he feels sorry for her and does not turn her in, he is fired. Leigh feels sorry for him and invites him to Christmas dinner with her son and fiancé (Corey). Soon after arriving, Mitchum learns from the little boy that he thinks he's getting this great train that he found hidden in his mom's room (though this was bought for her job--the train she could afford to buy him was MUCH cheaper and less fancy). Mitchum decides to buy the kid that exact train (though he is out of work). When Leigh finds out, she is upset--Mitchum is practically a stranger and is out of work. When the boy hears this, he knows he can't keep the train and so he sneaks out of the house to return the train (although he looks to be only about 7 years-old). This scene of such a little boy wandering up the chain of command at the department store to return the train is priceless! What happens next is something you'll have to see for yourself. Although the eventual outcome is rather predictable, it arrives at this destination in such a classy and engaging way that you won't be disappointed.

This movie is perhaps one of the best examples of the magical films that Hollywood was capable of making in the 1940s. The dialog is among the best and the long string of coincidences make this film charming, not clichéd. Give it a chance--it's sure to brighten up your holiday.