Face it. Holiday movies of the past 20 years have been about a frantic matriarch praying that the whole family gets along, and that doesn't happen until the end of the film. I'm frankly sick of watching holiday films about fighting families and neurotic individuals who makes the holidays all about them. While you do get a family drama here, it is a drama about hope and happiness that comes from the simple fact that a World War II soldier is coming home on leave. The title is based on the song that was the number one hit in December of 1944, heard iover the credits as the camera stands over this gorgeous New England small town, and several times during the film.
With Hal Holbrook and Eva Marie Saint in the leads, that's already an indication that you're getting a class act, and the WWII setting automatically brings in the patriotism and the sentimentality of that era. Unfortunately, with the war going on, there's not always going to be happiness, and the sight of the Western Union man walking down the street with a cablegram in his hand alert the neighbors to the fact that someone is about to get bad news. The looks on their face indicates sadness for the neighbors, not the thought that they were glad that he didn't walk up their sidewalk. When Saint questions the grocery man about his own son, you can see that she's as concerned about him as she is about her two sons away from home.
A perfect performance by David Moscow as your typical teenage boy the looks up to his brother as a hero and is afraid that the war will be over by the time he's old enough to join up will have you adoring him. Nancy Travis is the older sister who works the "swing shift". Whip Hubley and Jason Oliver plays the older sons whom everyone is patiently waiting for arrival, especially mom and his pregnant wife (Courtney Cox). The sweet marriage of Holbrook and Saint that is the strength of this family, and when Saint berates her husband, it's never with a condescending finger wag but understanding and love, something you can't say about many films today. Unresolved issues between Holbrook and Oliver is pretty much the only conflict that this family has to deal with other than the fact that Hubley's pending arrival doesn't go as planned. Charles Tyner as Isaiah, the Western Union man, only has to act with his eyes to indicate what is going on.
This film beautifully captures the essence of the time it takes place in and the holidays as well as the Pittsfield Massachusetts setting and the small town where the family lives nearby. Travis has to deal with transportation issues coming from Pittsfield home, and on the way needs soldier Peter Gallagher. Issues that this family faces over the holidays are realistic and unselfish and heartwarming, so it gives you hope that everything will be resolved. That's what a Christmas movie should be about, not what you see today. Save the family dramas when there isn't a holiday involved. This film is touching and funny and patriotic, a classic well worth seeing and as warm as cocoa on a chilly night.
With Hal Holbrook and Eva Marie Saint in the leads, that's already an indication that you're getting a class act, and the WWII setting automatically brings in the patriotism and the sentimentality of that era. Unfortunately, with the war going on, there's not always going to be happiness, and the sight of the Western Union man walking down the street with a cablegram in his hand alert the neighbors to the fact that someone is about to get bad news. The looks on their face indicates sadness for the neighbors, not the thought that they were glad that he didn't walk up their sidewalk. When Saint questions the grocery man about his own son, you can see that she's as concerned about him as she is about her two sons away from home.
A perfect performance by David Moscow as your typical teenage boy the looks up to his brother as a hero and is afraid that the war will be over by the time he's old enough to join up will have you adoring him. Nancy Travis is the older sister who works the "swing shift". Whip Hubley and Jason Oliver plays the older sons whom everyone is patiently waiting for arrival, especially mom and his pregnant wife (Courtney Cox). The sweet marriage of Holbrook and Saint that is the strength of this family, and when Saint berates her husband, it's never with a condescending finger wag but understanding and love, something you can't say about many films today. Unresolved issues between Holbrook and Oliver is pretty much the only conflict that this family has to deal with other than the fact that Hubley's pending arrival doesn't go as planned. Charles Tyner as Isaiah, the Western Union man, only has to act with his eyes to indicate what is going on.
This film beautifully captures the essence of the time it takes place in and the holidays as well as the Pittsfield Massachusetts setting and the small town where the family lives nearby. Travis has to deal with transportation issues coming from Pittsfield home, and on the way needs soldier Peter Gallagher. Issues that this family faces over the holidays are realistic and unselfish and heartwarming, so it gives you hope that everything will be resolved. That's what a Christmas movie should be about, not what you see today. Save the family dramas when there isn't a holiday involved. This film is touching and funny and patriotic, a classic well worth seeing and as warm as cocoa on a chilly night.