Christmas Eve

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE FILM. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM HONEST!

Matilda Reid (Ann Harding) is in danger of being declared senile at the urging of her nephew, Phillip (Reginald Denny). To keep him from controlling her estate, Matilda must find her three adopted sons, who left home long ago. One of them, Michael (George Brent), lives in New York, where he's incurred a $75,000 debt. Another, fugitive Mario (George Raft), is hiding in South America. The last, Jonathan (Randolph Scott), is a small-time cowboy. All three must come home to save Matilda's fortune.

Now this film is nice change of pace from "HALLMARK MOVIES". The cast brings the most out of a screenplay that is most confusing. I have to admit that I watch this in over 3 evenings so I will have to re- watch it again. The film is enjoyable. I will watch it again.

What's a mother to do? If she's the seriously rich, eccentric but still shrewd Mathilda Reed, now in her late seventies or early eighties and living alone with servants in a huge mid-town Manhattan mansion, and her untrustworthy nephew attempts to gain control of her fortune by having her declared incompetent, the answer is simple. She'll call upon her three sons. The trouble is, she hasn't heard from the grown men in years. The three came to her as wards. She adopted them and raised them. But when they were grown, each decided to leave and make his own way. They didn't want to be a burden or to live off their mother's fortune. Mathilda Reed (Ann Harding) may be a wonderful old woman, but her sons are something else.

There's Michael (George Brent), a high-living ne'er-do-well who finances his expensive tastes by kiting checks and who hopes to marry a rich woman. His girlfriend, Ann (Joan Blondell), is starting to get impatient.

There's Jonathan (Randolph Scott), who went west and now is a broken down but charming rodeo rider who sometimes has to pawn his saddle.

And there's Mario (George Raft), a fugitive from the law who went to South America and prospered as a shady nightclub owner. He can't return to the States without the FBI picking him up.

Mathilda Reed is a fighter. She goes public with a press conference, hoping her sons, wherever they are, will hear about her need for them. She hires a private detective to try and locate them. They have to return by Christmas Eve to block Phillip's plans.

Will the three men make it? Will they even try? Well, of course they will. So we spend most of our time in three short stories. We watch how Michael, amusing and unreliable, gets himself under Phillip's thumb with those bad checks and then starts to get himself out. We watch how Jonathan, back in New York, finds himself involved in a phony adoption scam and winds up with three baby girls and a great-looking girlfriend. We also hear a lot of Hollywood home-on-the-range dialogue...all those "heifers." We see Mario take on a Nazi fugitive, with fistfights and gunfights, before he leaves for New York with the FBI right behind him. And on Christmas Eve, with snow drifting down, with the mansion alight, with the tree gorgeously decorated and the Christmas punch made, Mathilda Reed, her nephew and the judge sit waiting. Sure enough, first Michael and Ann arrive. Then Jonathan and his three babies. And last comes Mario, with an FBI man right behind. We learn everything is going to turn out all right, even for Mario. The "crime" he left the States over was really committed by another. Phillip's scheme is dealt with and so is Phillip. Most importantly, we learn that the idea of family, played up with a little sentimentality and a sometimes serious but often amusing screenplay, can get the job done.

The movie is a little corny at times, especially with Ann Harding, younger than each of the actors playing her sons, doing the trembling and wise old lady bit. Her makeup would convince only the oldest residents of an assisted living center. Raft, Scott and Brent each do fine jobs. Raft, of course, is Raft, and his story is the most serious. Scott does a charming turn as the rodeo cowboy who winds up with an instant family. And George Brent, who was even better as a skilled farceur and light comedian than he was as an all-purpose leading man (watch him in 1947's Out of the Blue), is a joy to watch. All three were at turning points in their careers. This was Scott's last non-Western movie. Brent was fading fast as a star. Raft was starting to make a series of poor movies. Still, for me the movie works emotionally as the story of how three very different men drop whatever they're doing, for some at great risk, to return to help the woman who raised them and gave them the values that they have. When the three start to greet each other with pleasure in their mother's mansion on Christmas Eve, maybe it's just good acting but they look like they mean it.

I was excited to see this film due to its cast and a premise that sounds ready-made for a great Christmas story. The movie's plot is that the greedy nephew of a rich old lady (Ann Harding) wants her declared mentally incompetent so he can have complete control of her fortune. The old lady, however, wants to leave her money to three adopted sons (George Brent, George Raft, Randolph Scott) she raised but hasn't seen in years. A judge postpones his decision until Christmas Eve, when she says her three sons will return to her. The bulk of the movie deals with telling the stories of the three sons, who have all grown up to be less-than-reputable men.

Sadly, this isn't a great film. There's many reasons for this. For starters, why is this old lady played by a 45 year-old Ann Harding in bad makeup? There was no shortage of fine elderly actresses in Hollywood at the time. Any one of them bringing some authenticity and warmth to the role would have helped the movie quite a bit, instead of Harding's doddering portrayal. Also, the three stories of the sons aren't great and seem oddly disjointed. Raft's dark story in particular stands out against the other two stories, which are much lighter in tone. It feels like they took three story ideas for other movies and cobbled them together to make this.

Lastly, the main reason I think this fails is that its ultimate point, that the boys love their mother so much they return to help her despite any trouble it may cause them, falls flat when you stop and consider that when she dies they become rich!!! I mean who wouldn't show up to help the old crow if there was a payday at the end of it? Look, I know it has a great cast but they can only do so much. It's got quite a bit wrong with it and I just scratched the surface. The biggest problem really is that, for a Christmas movie, it doesn't really give me a Christmasy feeling. See it for the curiosity factor and the assembled talent. But keep expectations low.

Enjoyed seeing this film which has a Christmas theme and concerns three adopted men who have gone in different places in the world after being adopted by their Aunt Matilda Reed, (Ann Harding). George Raft, (Mario Torio) had a background of serving time in prison and escaping into a foreign county. The second adopted son is George Brent,(Michael Brooks) who is a con-artist and the third son is Randolph Scott, (Johnny) who is an alcoholic and is a sort of burned out cowboy from the West. Their Aunt Matilda wants to locate these adopted sons and have them at her house on Christmas eve. The reason she wants to bring the family together is she is fearful her nephew is trying to cheat her out of her fortune, as she is very rich. This story goes into great detail about each of her sons which is very interesting with plenty of comedy, drama and even three babies get involved. Cute Film.

This film is absolutely charming. It is fun, keeps you in a bit of suspense and the acting is wonderful. The story is really three in one. Three adopted son's must come home before midnight on Christmas Eve in order to save their mother's home. George Raft is spectacular as the gangster/misfit son and Ann Harding does a great job as the aged mother although that is one roll that may have been played better by someone who was actually elderly. Harding was only in her forties and at times her performance was a bit flawed. Randolph Scott is perfect in his cowpoke roll and Brent is perfect as the playboy. Add in Joan Blondell and Virginia Field and the cast is really complete. The chemistry and sparks between Scott and Field's is so cute. Blondell does what she does best as the blond bombshell. The cast overall is superb and you have the joy of watching three stories unfold. This movie is wonderful to watch any time of the year but especially at Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas is shared in that family is more important than self.