Holiday Affair (1949)

A young widow is romanced by a sales clerk whom she inadvertently got fired.

Director:

Don Hartman

Writers:

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

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Mitchum	...	Steve Mason
Janet Leigh	...	Connie Ennis
Wendell Corey	...	Carl Davis
Gordon Gebert	...	Timmy Ennis
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

Storyline

Just before Christmas, department store clerk Steve Mason meets big spending customer Connie Ennis, really a commercial spy. He unmasks her but lets her go, which gets him fired. They end up on a date, which doesn't sit well with Connie's steady suitor, Carl, but delights her son Timmy, who doesn't want Carl for a step-dad. Standard (if sweet) romantic complications follow.

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Plot Keywords:

fiance fiancee relationship | christmas morning | christmas gift | christmas season | court hearing | 

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Taglines:

It happens in December...but it's hotter than July!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 December 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Christmas Gift

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The address of the rooming house where Robert Mitchum's character is living at the end of the film, given as #137 Christopher Street, is the address for the entrance for the Port Authority Trans-Hudson rapid transit system serving Newark, Harrison, Hoboken, and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey, as well as lower and midtown Manhattan. The address, which has been there since 1912, may here been chosen by the producers since it's not an actual residential address.

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Goofs

When Timmy opens the box containing the train set his mother buys, he quickly re-wraps the box leaving a small amount of the tissue paper hanging on the outside of the box. In the next scene, the paper is not hanging outside the box.

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Quotes

Connie Ennis: If you wish for things you can get, you're gonna be happy. If you wish for real big things, all you're gonna get is real big disappointments.

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Connections

Remade as Holiday Affair (1996)

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Soundtracks

Auld Lang Syne
(uncredited)
Written by Robert Burns

User Reviews

sweet little Christmas romance

Janet Leigh, playing a young war widow with a small child, meets Robert Mitchum in a department store - where he contributes to her losing her job. From then on he's on the chase to get Leigh away from her nice but boring boyfriend (played with a bit more life than usual by Wendell Corey).

Through this admittedly thin plot, there are lots of opportunities for Mitchum to be both charming and irritating, and long before the end you can see where Leigh is going to be by the end. But as a Christmas movie, with the atmosphere and the sheer class of Mitchum and Leigh, this really is a pearl and not to be missed.