I had been very impressed with the same director's THE STRANGER LEFT NO CARD (1952), a Cannes Film Festival award-winning two-reeler; in comparison, this Oscar-nominated British effort is a disappointment but, take on its own terms, it is decent enough. As the title suggests, this is inspired by the Yuletide ditty "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" – where a man showers his beloved with gifts for the duration of the mentioned period; the male protagonist (David O'Brien) here takes the verses literally and, soon enough, the heroine's mansion is filled to the brim with all sorts of presents
including a variety of animals and even people (so much so that the couple eventually takes off in a balloon)! Shot in colour and given the period setting (vividly rendered by designer Ronald Searle), the end result is quite pleasant on the eyes; still, the deliberately stylized treatment (recalling Powell & Pressburger's recently-viewed and equally average OH
ROSALINDA!! {1955}) ultimately proves incredibly corny – which renders the whole decidedly less palatable to this viewer! Incidentally, director Toye herself assumes the female leading role – and, for what it is worth, the only copy around is missing a bit of footage between the tenth and eleventh home visits!