Product Details

• Actors: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Wendell Corey, Gordon Gebert, Griff Barnett
• Directors: Don Hartman
• Writers: Isobel Lennart, John D. Weaver
• Producers: Don Hartman
• Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Turner Home Ent
• DVD Release Date: November 11, 2008
• Run Time: 87 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001CW7ZYE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,012 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Holiday Affair" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

A YOUNG WAR-WIDOW WITH A SMALL SON MEETS A STRANGER IN A TOYSTORE, WHICH SETS THE STAGE FOR A SPIRITED COMPETITION FOR THELADY'S AFFECTIONS.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Holiday Romance, June 9, 2001

By 

Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Holiday Affair [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I just discovered this gem from 1949 and am I glad. It has all the ingredients necessary to earn a place in my Christmas movies Hall of Fame: an adorable little boy who wants a train set his widowed mom can't afford; Janet Leigh as the WWII widow struggling to provide for her son; Wendell Corey as the kind and decent man who wants to marry her; and Robert Mitchum, as the drifter on his way to California who changes everything. It has charm without being schmaltzy, humor without being too cutesie, and an ending that has you standing up to cheer. Start stringing the popcorn and plan to watch this every Christmas season.

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent Christmas Fun, November 26, 2001

By 

D. M. Farmbrough "Dave Farmbrough" (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Holiday Affair [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Holiday affair is never mentioned when the roster of Christmas cinema classics is read, which is unfortunate because it's actually a very good movie. It would be unfair to compare this with It's A Wonderful Life which came out three years earlier, or even Miracle on 34th Street (two years before). But the similarities in style and tone are there, this being a feel-good Christmas family movie made with intelligence. The studios must have realised they were on to a good thing.

Underneath the layer of seasonal schmaltz is a story with its roots in the then popular obsession with psychoanalysis. The jilted fiancé makes references to subconscious desires of Janet Leigh's character, and the whole story is based around a Freudian-Oedipus arrangement with the son taking the place of a dead father. But this is all (just) under the surface of the story of little boy who Santa Claus forgot, whose Christmas is made special by a selfless eccentric played by Mitchum. Mitchum is an actor who could be accepted in almost any character - his face gives so little away that he is often described as 'laconic', but it's clear that here he is a good guy who is so honest he even cuckolds poor old Wendell Corey's character in front of him rather than be deceitful. Corey's character of `the other man' is so doomed from the start to be a poor runner up to Mitchum that it must have been a thankless role for him, but he tackles it well. Watch out too for future M*A*S*H* star Harry Morgan (credited as Henry Morgan) who steals one small scene as a bemused police lieutenant. If you want a change from Frank Capra or James Bond, try this with your turkey and Brussels sprouts.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Such a great movie, I'm reviewing it for the 2nd time!, December 24, 2000

By 

Kim K. (Bayonne, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holiday Affair [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I had the pleasure of watching this again last night. Invited my family over & we were all in the mood for a nice, holiday movie. I quickly pulled this off the shelf, knowing that they hadn't yet seen it, telling them they were in for a real treat. I tend to watch this every 2 years, so it was time. This movie is like a hidden gem, and though I am sure it received decent reviews when it was first released, there were probably more people who preferred It's A Wonderful Life & other more popular Christmas movies. Holiday Affair holds up well, despite the way things were at the time of the story(late 1940s). Guy meets girl, who is already practically engaged to another man, but that doesn't get in the way of his falling for her in a big way. One way to her heart is the way he quickly wins over her young son, by getting him the much desired set of trains he covets more than anything. Robert Mitchum shines in this film, & plays off both Janet Leigh & Wendell Corey quite well. When I previously reviewed this movie back in November of '98, I wrote it in such a hurry that I misspelled Ms. Leigh's surname, which I made a point to correct this time around. Yet again, I must highly recommend this terrific little movie, and it is an absolute must-have for those that like to collect Christmas themed movies. Definitely a movie to be enjoyed for many Christmases to come, & despite an attempt a few years back with a so-so remake, they just don't make 'em like this anymore. 'Nuff said!