Search - TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Holiday (Christmas in Connecticut 1945 / A Christmas Carol 1938 / The Shop Around the Corner / It Happened on 5th Avenue) on DVD

3 1/2 stars-Pleasant holiday diversions for a great price

Robert Badgley | London,Ontario,Canada | 11/13/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"These four films would cost you you about 4 times the price if you were to hunt for them individually.The only fly in the ointment is that the movies are on two double sided discs.This can send some screaming into the night,but if it doesn't bother you then you're laughing.
A Christmas Carol(1938)is a Christmas Carol light;for those who want their taste but not all the "calories"!.Clicking in at a speedy 69 min.it is no wonder this film was a TV staple for years until they began pushing the Alistair Sims version back in the 70s.The film is non stop and is over far too soon.By now we all know the plot of a miserly businessman who abhores Christmas and who gets his wake up call courtesy of three spirits;becoming a new man.The film doesn't linger on little plot nuances(that would have improved it immensely)like the door knob coming to life,or his old love,or his reunion with his nephew,etc.When Owen(Scrooge)argues with Fred watch the spittle literally coming out of his mouth and don't mind the wires when he "floats" out the window with the ghost of Christmas present.Also Scrooges'young sister talks very much like Stan Laurel while Feziwig,not to be outdone,does his best Stan Laurel smiling;it's uncanny! 2 1/2 stars.
It Happened on Fifth Avenue(1947)stars Gale Storm(well known later for her own show on TV),Don Defore(to become well known on TV as Ozzie and Harriets'next door neighbour and later Hazel's boss),veteran character actors Victor Moore and Charles Ruggles.Moore is the central character,a street bum,who inhabits a mansion that gets deserted so many months a year by its millionaire owner played by Ruggles.The games begin when the house becomes inhabited by more and more people and who are eventually caught by the owners' daughter.But she plays along as a fellow down-and-outer and falls in love with an ex-GI(Defore),even getting her father and mother in on the act.The film has its' charm but is not engaging enough to maintain interest on a consistent basis.Moore's den-motherish tongue waggings can get a little old quite fast and he seems a little out of place in such a lead role.Funny enough the gags in this film are the best things about it.Good and funny lines are given just throw away status and have little of the punch they otherwise would have had in a better film.Further,later in the film there is a beautiful sequence with Defoe and Storm sitting at a wobbly legged table and a waiter who tries to fix it.He comes to one side,goes under and reappears at the other side,and is repeated much to the couples amazement.It is so good it is out of place.Overall there just isn't enough spark in this film to give it any more than a 3 star rating.
Christmas in Connecticut(1945)stars Barbara Stanwyck(of TVs Big Valley fame;and yes she was a substantial star way back when!)who is a columnist who writes about her daily life and her cooking in a beautiful home in the country,with her hubby and child.Trouble is it is all made up;even her boss(Sydney Greenstreet)doesn't know it.But the jig is up when the boss invites himself to her "place" for Christmas.Stanwyck enlists the help of her Uncle Felix(SZ Sakall)for cooking and general back-up chores and a hubby-wanna be played by Reginald Gardiner.Throw in a hero GI(Dennis Morgan)who falls in love with this "married" writer and bedlam reigns supreme.This is a film that tries hard to be better than it is.Stanwyck and Sakall really do dominate this picture but their efforts aren't enough to save it from its' 3 star status.
The Little Shop Around the Corner(1940)stars Jimmy Stewart as a head clerk who toils in a general store in Budapest,run by Frank Morgan(stage and screen vet and the wizard in the Wizard of Oz).At first all is seemingly ok but Morgan has private troubles with his wife and he thinks Stewart is behind it.As tensions build a new clerk starts at the store played by Sullivan and Sullivan and Stewart start rubbing each other the wrong way.Morgan fires Stewart because of his suspicions and is suicidal.He ends up in the hospital,apologizes to Stewart when the truth comes out and makes him acting manager.All along both Sullivan and Stewart have had pen pals and Stewart is amazed to learn his pal is none other than Sullivan,but she remains oblivious to the end.This is a very smart and engaging film.Lubitsch reigns the actors in and all really under-play their parts to get a more immediate and "real" effect for their characters and it works wonderfully.In typical Lubitsch style it is a film that wants to tell its' story in its own way and if you keep with it you will be rewarded hansomely.Many films would have had Sullivan and Stewart in the dark for much of the film(with a double late-film revelation)but here he lets one of the two in on the "secret" and we watch how Stewart tries to deal with it,adding an extra dynamic to the plot which otherwise wouldn't have been there.This film deserves its' 4 1/2 stars;the best film in this collection.
All films have been transferred pretty well and all have the same features present on the discs than if you were to buy them seperately.An FYI,It Happened on Fifth Avenue has no features or even scene selections on it at all(!),just a play option.
Overall,for the price,this is a nice collection of mostly average Christmas films with Christmas Carol the poorest,The Little Shop Around the Corner the best and the other two falling into the middle.If you can stand the two double sided discs then this is certainly worth getting."

Great Collection of not 4 but 5 Movies

I. Alde | Oxford, AR | 01/18/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I loved all the movies but to my surprise all the reviewers mention only four movies. There actually are five! Not a single reviewer mentioned the wonderful Oscar-winning short which is on the same side as "Christmas in Connecticut." I had seen this 22 minute short on Turner Classic Movies several years ago and have been hoping to find it ever since. The problem was that I did not remember the correct title. Therefore, imagine my delight when I found that "Star in the Night" was the little gem on which I had almost given up.

Normally I would have given this collection 5 stars (and more if available) but that the whole collection is on double-sided disks is a serious drawback, especially since the back sides are not even marked. That seems to be the height of chintziness.

If I could rate contents and format separately, I would give 5 stars for contents and 1 star for the way it is presented."

Best 4 Christmas Movies!

M. conte | secaucas | 12/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think these are the best set of christmas movies ever!
i have never seen any of these but like Jimmy stewart and thought I would
give it a try.I was blown away by the quality and stories,
i will watch them every christmas..do not pass these up!"