"Baby, you're what I want for Chrismas"

Another fun romantic comedy for Christmas is the 1949 film Holiday Affair. The film is a change of pace for star Robert Mitchum, who is more famous for his roles in film noir and war films at the time. The film was made on a tight budget by Don Hartman and was released on Christmas Eve.

Steve Mason (Mitchum) is a department store clerk, who meets Connie Ennis (Janet Leigh), a customer willing to spend top dollar. What Steve doesn’t realize is that Connie is a commercial spy, trying to get the goods on his company. Steve comes to the realization that Connie isn’t what she seems, but in the Christmas spirit, he lets her go rather than turning her in. Of course, the store doesn’t see this as an act of kindness and fires him. Steve goes on a date with Connie, despite the complications with Connie’s boyfriend Carl Davis (Wendell Corey). Connie’s son Timmy (Gordon Gebert) , however, despises Carl and would much rather have Steve as his future step-father. As rom-coms go, the plot is very simple and easy to figure out with your basic complications and funny moments. Still, the film is sweet and great for Chris mast time.

The film still has a pretty big following, despite the fact that it is hard to find and not as well-known as other holiday films. You can find some other reviews of the film, however, like this one from Classicfilmguide.com. Frank’s Movie blog has done this review, this one is provided by the blog Out of the Past, and Eltremendo3000 has this to say about the film. The film was also ranked by Dirty Harry’s Place as one of the Top 25 Christmas films. A synopsis can also be found here, thanks to Turner Classic. The film is great if you want to see a romantic holiday comedy as well as see Mitchum in a new light or see Janet Leigh in a picture other than where she gets stabbed in a shower.