With obvious parallels to several other older films ("The Young in Heart", "The Man Who Came to Dinner"), this initially promising Christmas film looses steam early on with a humorless presentation. Billie Burke and Eugene Palette are the heads of a supposedly wealthy New York family living a facade who bring into their home a downtrodden man (Joseph Schildkraut) who was once a legendary actor, now missing. Schildkraut basically becomes "The Man Who Played God" as he sets out to turn this family's life around, as well as a woman (Ona Munson) whom Burke claimed was a distant relative in attempts to fleece her for a fortune she really didn't have.
Much like Minnie Dupree as the sweet old lady in "The Young in Heart" and Monty Woolley as the sarcastic columnist in "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (ironically films where Billie Burke played a befuddled matron), Schildkraut teaches them a valuable lesson, particularly with his brief recital of "A Christmas Carol". The Christmas theme is sweetly presented, but Schildkraut becomes a bit too chatty and morally overbearing that the result is decidedly mixed. Raymond Walburn provides some amusement as a cheery associate of Pallettes, one of the few lighter moments in the story.
Much like Minnie Dupree as the sweet old lady in "The Young in Heart" and Monty Woolley as the sarcastic columnist in "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (ironically films where Billie Burke played a befuddled matron), Schildkraut teaches them a valuable lesson, particularly with his brief recital of "A Christmas Carol". The Christmas theme is sweetly presented, but Schildkraut becomes a bit too chatty and morally overbearing that the result is decidedly mixed. Raymond Walburn provides some amusement as a cheery associate of Pallettes, one of the few lighter moments in the story.