Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsSXSW Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Christmas Eve

  • 1947
  • Approved
  • 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
827
YOUR RATING
Randolph Scott, Joan Blondell, George Brent, Virginia Field, Dolores Moran, and George Raft in Christmas Eve (1947)
ComedyDrama

To save her fortune from a designing nephew, Matilda Reed must locate her three long-lost adopted sons in time for a Christmas Eve reunion.To save her fortune from a designing nephew, Matilda Reed must locate her three long-lost adopted sons in time for a Christmas Eve reunion.To save her fortune from a designing nephew, Matilda Reed must locate her three long-lost adopted sons in time for a Christmas Eve reunion.

  • Director
    • Edwin L. Marin
  • Writers
    • Laurence Stallings
    • Richard H. Landau
    • Robert Altman
  • Stars
    • George Raft
    • George Brent
    • Randolph Scott
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.7/10
    827
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Edwin L. Marin
    • Writers
      • Laurence Stallings
      • Richard H. Landau
      • Robert Altman
    • Stars
      • George Raft
      • George Brent
      • Randolph Scott
    • 22User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos14

    Joe Gray, Mack Gray, and George Raft in Christmas Eve (1947)
    George Brent, Virginia Field, and Dolores Moran in Christmas Eve (1947)
    Konstantin Shayne in Christmas Eve (1947)
    Konstantin Shayne in Christmas Eve (1947)
    George Raft in Christmas Eve (1947)
    Randolph Scott and Dolores Moran in Christmas Eve (1947)
    Ann Harding in Christmas Eve (1947)
    Randolph Scott, Douglass Dumbrille, and Dolores Moran in Christmas Eve (1947)
    George Raft and Konstantin Shayne in Christmas Eve (1947)
    Randolph Scott, Joan Blondell, George Brent, Virginia Field, and George Raft in Christmas Eve (1947)
    Randolph Scott, Joan Blondell, George Brent, Reginald Denny, Virginia Field, Ann Harding, Clarence Kolb, John Litel, Dolores Moran, and George Raft in Christmas Eve (1947)
    Christmas Eve (1947)

    Top cast

    Edit
    George Raft
    George Raft
    • Mario Torio
    George Brent
    George Brent
    • Michael Brooks
    Randolph Scott
    Randolph Scott
    • Jonathan
    Joan Blondell
    Joan Blondell
    • Ann Nelson
    Virginia Field
    Virginia Field
    • Claire
    Dolores Moran
    Dolores Moran
    • Jean Bradford
    Ann Harding
    Ann Harding
    • Aunt Matilda
    Reginald Denny
    Reginald Denny
    • Phillip Hastings
    Douglass Dumbrille
    Douglass Dumbrille
    • Dr. Bunyan
    • (as Douglas Dumbrille)
    Carl Harbord
    • Dr. Doremus
    Dennis Hoey
    Dennis Hoey
    • Williams
    Clarence Kolb
    Clarence Kolb
    • Judge Alston
    Molly Lamont
    Molly Lamont
    • Harriet Rhodes
    John Litel
    John Litel
    • Joe Bland
    Walter Sande
    Walter Sande
    • Mario's Hood
    Joe Sawyer
    Joe Sawyer
    • Private Detective Gimlet
    Konstantin Shayne
    Konstantin Shayne
    • Gustav Reichman
    Andrew Tombes
    Andrew Tombes
    • Auctioneer
    • Director
      • Edwin L. Marin
    • Writers
      • Laurence Stallings
      • Richard H. Landau
      • Robert Altman(uncredited)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This was the final non-western role for Randolph Scott, who portrays Johnny. From 1948 until he retired in 1962, he acted only in Westerns.
    • Goofs
      The banister at the top of the stairs moves as Jonathan falls after being knocked out and then again as he gets up.
    • Quotes

      Aunt Matilda Reed: [Entering the room] I always ring that gong, gentlemen, to warn people to stop talking about me behind my back.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Große Regisseure: The Films of Robert Altman (2001)
    • Soundtracks
      Adeste Fidelis (O Come All Ye Faithful)
      (uncredited)

      Written by Frederick Oakeley and John Francis Wade

      [Played during the opening credits, sung by offscreen carollers near the end, and played by church bells near the end]

    User reviews22

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Christmas EVE (Edwin L. Marin, 1947) **1/2
    The perennial title in itself but especially the splendid cast rounded up for this Christmas movie should have earned it durability but, instead, its genuine oddity has ensured its obscurity; in fact, it was later retitled as SINNERS' HOLIDAY for theatrical reissue purposes (despite there having already been a non-festive 1930 film featuring James Cagney and Joan Blondell by that name!) and, much later, another unrelated (and made-for-TV) one called Christmas EVE in 1986 that was Loretta Young's much-heralded return in front of the cameras!!

    There are three male leads in the film – George Brent, George Raft and Randolph Scott – playing the three adopted sons of eccentric millionairess Ann Harding (a weird casting choice if ever there was one, seeing how she is younger in real life than her on screen off-springs and, consequently, sports heavy make-up to appear older!) who is on the point of being declared insane by duplicitous relative/guardian Reginald Denny (who while outwardly concerned about Harding's reckless philanthropic spending is actually interested in appeasing his own creditors). Harding (dutifully waited upon by an unrecognizable Dennis Hoey as her butler!) assures visiting Judge Clarence Kolb that this Christmas Eve at least one of her wayward sons will come to her rescue and the film then episodically trails the path (via Harding's investigating detective Joe Sawyer) taken in life by each individual before reaching the inevitable all-inclusive happy ending.

    And so it is that we meet up with playboy Brent, who is on the point of hooking up with an heiress – an attachment he badly needs in order to cover up a run of $75,000 in fraudulent cheques that are currently doing the rounds about town – but true love intervenes in the shape of his ditzy friend Joan Blondell!; although this was a plot line worthy of Preston Sturges in his prime, the heavy-handed treatment it receives here renders it the least effective segment of the lot. Next up is George Raft's lording it over in South America and stepping on the toes of fugitive Nazi Konstantin Shayne in the process – not least because of his attachment to the latter's feminine associate, Virginia Field!; the violence and downbeat nature (the latter is felled by a bullet and Raft is eventually apprehended by FBI agent John Litel) of this episode jars considerably with the Capra-esque sentimentality of the main narrative strain but is nonetheless interesting for that. It is worth noting here that director Marin had just directed Raft in the noir NOCTURNE (1946; which I also own but have yet to watch) and that he had also helmed the 1938 MGM version of A Christmas CAROL! The third and last part is the corniest but also the most enjoyable as we watch second-rate rodeo rider Randolph Scott getting mixed up in Douglas Dumbrille's adoption racket as he is convinced by attractive undercover agent Dolores Moran (in her first film for future husband, producer Benedict Bogeaus) to pose as a married couple looking to acquire some kids! The eventual confrontation between the two parties earns the film its biggest laugh when Scott, gun firmly in hand, invites Dumbrille to "Raise (his) arms to the perpendicular"!
    helpful•10
    4
    • Bunuel1976
    • Dec 27, 2011

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 31, 1947 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Sinner's Holiday
    • Production company
      • Benedict Bogeaus Production
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 30 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Randolph Scott, Joan Blondell, George Brent, Virginia Field, Dolores Moran, and George Raft in Christmas Eve (1947)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Christmas Eve (1947) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Production art
    Photos
    Actors in Their Early Roles
    See the gallery
    Production art
    Photos
    Stunning New Posters
    See the gallery
    Production art
    List
    What We're Watching: Time Travel and Anime
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2024 by IMDb.com, Inc.