One is wanted for passing bad checks; another is wanted for escaping from prison. The third somehow becomes involved in the exposure of an illegal baby racket. They are the three adopted sons of eccentric spinster Ann Harding, a New York millionairess whose nephew (Reginald Denny) is trying to have her declared incompetent. The sons she took in as young boys are George Brent, George Raft and Randolph Scott. they haven't seen her in years, having gone out to find their own way in the world and not all of them doing it honestly or with integrity. As Harding waits for them on Christmas Eve to come home to help her out, their situations come to shocking conclusions but where is there is a will, there is a way, and after all, this is Hollywood and somehow, all comes together at the end to have mainly happy endings for everybody.
Only in her mid-forties when she made this film, leading lady Ann Harding, one of the great forgotten stars of the early 1930s is put in old age makeup, but it's feisty enough to protect herself against the attorneys hired by her ruthless nephew. The women in their lives are the feisty Joan Blondell, the shady Virginia Field, and the determined Dolores Moran who is involved in the illegal baby racket. Each of their situations are dramatic and in Raft's case, extremely violent.
This is a Christmas movie simply in the fact that it is set on Christmas Eve as stories involving family estates could basically take place at any time of the year. it is a mixed bag of sentimentality and loyalty, with some of the incidence more well-written than others. Among the supporting cast are Clarence Kolb as Harding's seemingly honest attorney, Douglas Dumbrille as the mastermind behind the illegal baby ring, and John Litel as an FBI agent out to bring Raft to justice. Harding's casting would have been made more sensible had there been a flashback showing her character at a younger age with a three younger versions of the male leads. She instills dignity however into the character, but considering that she was in the same years Christmas-themed "It Happened on Fifth Avenue" playing her real age, it is obvious that her heavy old age makeup is a gimmick that didn't work as well as it did for Barbara Stanwyck in "The Great Man's Lady" several years before. A nice holiday spirited ending wraps everything up nicely.
Only in her mid-forties when she made this film, leading lady Ann Harding, one of the great forgotten stars of the early 1930s is put in old age makeup, but it's feisty enough to protect herself against the attorneys hired by her ruthless nephew. The women in their lives are the feisty Joan Blondell, the shady Virginia Field, and the determined Dolores Moran who is involved in the illegal baby racket. Each of their situations are dramatic and in Raft's case, extremely violent.
This is a Christmas movie simply in the fact that it is set on Christmas Eve as stories involving family estates could basically take place at any time of the year. it is a mixed bag of sentimentality and loyalty, with some of the incidence more well-written than others. Among the supporting cast are Clarence Kolb as Harding's seemingly honest attorney, Douglas Dumbrille as the mastermind behind the illegal baby ring, and John Litel as an FBI agent out to bring Raft to justice. Harding's casting would have been made more sensible had there been a flashback showing her character at a younger age with a three younger versions of the male leads. She instills dignity however into the character, but considering that she was in the same years Christmas-themed "It Happened on Fifth Avenue" playing her real age, it is obvious that her heavy old age makeup is a gimmick that didn't work as well as it did for Barbara Stanwyck in "The Great Man's Lady" several years before. A nice holiday spirited ending wraps everything up nicely.