Holiday Affair - 1949
Cats: Set Your Recorders, Mitchum, Comedy, Romance, Drama|| December 25, 2009 | ||
| 4:30 pm | to | 6:30 pm |
Strategically realeased on Christmas Eve in 1949, it is one of those slightly better than B pictures that RKO produced so many of ; they only did 6 big pictures a year and this was not one of them. The story is familiar, two strangers meet and though it seems that they will never get together, they do. What I am saying is you know how this story will end. What seperates this picture from others is that you don’t care (or as Mitchum would say “baby I don’t care”), you are in for the long haul of it’s 87 minute running time.
War widow Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh) is a commercial spy checking the prices and ware of other department store. She has invaded the turf of toy salesman Steve Mason, a vet who although is a very kind man is slightly aimless but has a heart of gold (all wrapped around the frame of the young Robert Mitchum).
Connie’s shenanigans are discovered and when Steve lets her go he gets fired. Feeling responsible but also attracted to Steve, Connie starts spending more and more time with him. She even introduces him to her young son who immediately takes a huge liking to Steve. All of this while declaring her allegiance and love for her fiancé Carl Davis (poor Wendell Corey who never gets the girl).
It is clear half way through the picture who is right for who but like I said, we don’t care. This is a charming (a word I almost never use) little movie with two talented leads in the beginning of the prime of their careers.
Friday December 25th at 4:30 PM on Turner Classic Movies
