You won't be disappointed!

The Worst Film Ever

Just perfect...

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

. . . about toy trains, check out the original version of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Released a couple years after HOLIDAY AFFAIR, the science fiction movie warmed the cockles of Great Depression Era hearts with its poignant scene showing an alien bonding with a little boy over a toy train set. On the other hand, HOLIDAY AFFAIR comes off more as a primer of what NOT to do with toy trains in a film. One key toy train no-no is to NOT break a tiny tyke's heart by messing with his mind over whether or not he's actually getting a toy train for his birthday, Christmas, Kwanzaa, the Fourth of July or some other occasion for gift-giving, as does HOLIDAY AFFAIR. Secondly, only someone with a screw loose would dream up equating a toy train giver with stranger-danger warnings against psychos with candy. Finally, if screenwriters are trying to figure out how to work a beloved toy train into their scripts, they definitely should NOT come up with a HOLIDAY AFFAIR scenario in which crowds of adults engulf the kid with a train, stomping on this prize possession and breaking it. Probably the only reason that HOLIDAY AFFAIR is not titled THE GRINCH WHO STOLE CHR!STMAS is that Dr. Seuss already had dibs on what would have been a more appropriate description of this mean-spirited story.

Directed by Don Hartman and written by Isobel Lennart and John D. Weaver, Holiday Affair stars Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh and Wendell Corey. Story finds Leigh as Connie, a widower with a young son still trying to get over the death of her husband. Semi-courting the safe and reliable Carl (Corey), Connie's head is spun when she meets the more macho and up-front Steve (Mitchum). This is all she needs at Christmas time!A lovely Christmas Cracker of a movie, Holiday Affair never over eggs the eggnog with the love triangle axis beating at the core story. The spectre of grief is a prominent character here, where thankfully the writers have come up with a smart and respectful screenplay that's blessed with quality actors able to make the script have resonance.The seasonal staging is delightful, especially when involving a white coated Central Park. Comedy is also rife, none more so than during a court hearing sequence when Harry Morgan pops in to add his delightful wry skills. The wonder of toys and trees, of snow and ice, of families and love, all come together in a seasonal film that should be on every movie lovers list of Xmas films to see. 8/10

A heart felt story which perfectly blends romance, comedy and drama, Holiday Affair may have fallen off the radar in the annual surge of classic Christmas movies we are offered each December but by no means is it lesser in quality.Set in the midst of holiday chaos Connie Ennis spends her time supporting her son Timmy whilst holding back on marriage proposals from Carl, her long standing suitor. If that was not enough for Connie, she immediately set sparks flying with store clerk Steve which begins the rocky relationship they endure through out the film. So what does this situation have to do with Christmas? Holiday Affair serves to prove the festive season should be about happiness and dreams coming true for all.The quest for happiness in Holiday Affair is an emotionally complex web which applies to children and adults alike. From a children's point of view there is Timmy, full of the typical joy and wonder which surrounds children every Christmas. What he wants is the perfect present yet as Holiday Affair reaches its close, Timmy realises there are more important things than gifts. This is related and expanded further in the love triangle that commences between Connie, Carl and Steve. Still affected by the loss of her Husband during the War, Connie wants predictability in the form of Carl. Yet Steve makes Connie question the need for predictability, if she prefers happiness instead. It is a conundrum we can all relate to and Holiday Affair handles the concept with class and dignity.Of course Holiday Affair's class and dignity was partly due to the acting talent. Janet Leigh added a delightful energy as a loving Mother and partner whose sheer presence made it understandable why two men were competing for her love whilst equally proving herself to be a damaged soul in Holiday Affair's more dramatic scenes. Robert Mitchum, although outside his usual territory of moody film noirs and action features, certainly held his own as the genuine nice guy who made a huge impression on Connie, Timmy and this spectator alike. Finally there was Wendell Corey, whose brought some sympathy to his character desperately holding onto his relationship with Connie whilst engaging in a love rivalry with Steve which had many moments of comical conflict.To briefly conclude Holiday Affair holds enough charm and entertainment to be a bigger Christmas feature than its current minority status. It certainly is worth a view if you're seeking alternatives from the overexposed classics guaranteed to be screened this year.

Looking back at my record in 2010,and seeing that I only watched one Christmas-themed film that year (the likable Elf),I felt that for this year,I should really try to get hold of some "X-mas classics" which I had never seen before.Whilst searching on Amazon Uk for some of the more well known titles,I suddenly got a rec from the site for a film that I had never heard of before.Checking the cast,and seeing that "The King of Noir" and Norman Bates favourite Blonde had starring roles in the film,made this sound like the perfect start for my Christmas classics viewings.The plot:Struggleing to makes ends meet for her and her young son,(who both have also been trying to deal with the death of their husband/father in the war)Connie Ennis decides to become a "comparison shopper" for a big company,with her main job being to buy one of a rival stores "big sellers",and return it the very next day,after the "comparison shopper" company has gotten all of the details about the item.For her latest fact-finding mission,Connie has been told to pick up a toy train set,which has become one of The must-have toys of the year.Interupting the stores toy seller Steve Mason from his latest demo of the toy.Ennis quickly makes a run for it after getting the set,due to Mason getting suspicious of her.Arriving home,Connie tries and fails from hiding the set from her son Timmy,whose sneaky look at the toy,starts to get him excited in receiving it as his main Christmas present.After getting a refund for the toy,Ennis is shocked when she runs into Steve Mason,and discovers that he has been fired due to refunding her!Wanting to cheer him up a little,Connie spends the whole day with Steve,until they are separated by rush hour traffic.Returning home,Ennis starts to plan spending Christmas with her son,and her long-term patient boyfriend Carl Davis. With Davis and Timmy each ready to take Connie out for a special meal,they are all stopped in their tracks when Steve Mason suddenly appears.Arriving with some items he had picked up with Ennis,Steve starts to relax,and attempts to introduce himself to her son Timmy and her now very uneasy boyfriend Carl. View on the film:When checking the DVD case to this film,my initial excitement for the movie experienced a bit of a drop,when I discovered that along with Mitchum and Leigh the film featured that old chestnut the slowly kills off any TV Comedy series:a kid.Impressively,child actor Gordon Gebert avoids most of those pit falls by making the character pretty balanced,with Timmy never completely becoming an "aw shucks" kid,or an annoying little brat,but instead walking that fine line of being in between.Looking at the rest of the strong cast,Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh show a very natural chemistry,with the scenes of Leigh and Mitchum spending the day together,allowing for Robert to show a pretty under rated comedic side with his very good dialogue delivery.Although Leigh and Mitchum do take centre stage in the film,Wendell Corey (who,like Leigh would work with director Alfred Hitchcock on the movie Rear Window and an episode of Hitchcocks TV show)is able to steal some of the films best scenes thanks to performing Connie's ambitious lawyer boyfriend role with a real relish.Whilst the cast do their best to cover up the cracks in Isobel "This Could Be The Night" Lennart's screenplay,some of the 'cracks' in the film are sadly left open,with Connie's job of being a "comparison shopper" for a company not having even the smallest appearance of someone from the company who she works for. (which could have been a nice little role for a character actor)And with the second half of the film hinting that the life of Mitchum's character is more troubled then it originally seemed (such as him being homeless),the film sadly leaves most of that mood behind,with the final moments of the film being a chase to a train station. Final view on the film:A very enjoyable,flawed Christmas Comedy-Drama,with great performances from the whole cast.