A Christmas Wish (1950)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Ted Allen, Harry Crane, James O'Hanlon, and László Vadnay
Directed by Irving Pichel
Starring Terry Moore, Jimmy Durante, Tom Drake, Frank Cady, Queenie Smith

Features:

• Running audio commentary by actress Moore; Barry Sanders, president of Legend Films; Brant Cramer, Terry Moore's son; colorizer Rosemary Horvath; producers Susan Olney & David Martin; audio engineer Chris Lusmith
  
• Original, non-colorized version
  

Released by: 20th Century Fox
Region: 1
Rating: NR
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format

My Advice: Rent it if you're sick of The Muppet Christmas Carol. Skip it if you think Die Hard is the perfect Christmas flick.

Originally released as The Great Rupert, A Christmas Wish is one of the oft-overlooked holiday classics that gets shoved aside for the perennials. The tale centers around the struggling Amendola family who shares their rented home with a squirrel, the Amazing Rupert. Every week, the family's crooked landlord Mr. Dingle (Frank Orth) hides his ill-gotten cash in the attic, and Rupert, trying to keep his home neat, throws the bills down into the living room--just when Mrs. Amendola (Smith) is praying for funds to get Rosalinda (Moore) new shoes. Soon, the Amendola change in fortunes draws the ire of Dingle, but the gratefulness of the rest of the town, as Mr. Amendola willingly shares his funds with anyone who needs it. Meanwhile, the Dingle son (Drake) and the Amendola daughter are falling in love...and the FBI, the IRS, and more want to know just where this "money from Heaven" is really coming from.

The features list is spare, but well-done. The audio commentary is done with several knowledgable people: Moore is delightful and full of stories, such as about the detail of play money instead of real cash; her reminiscences make this film a great deal more fun to watch, and her appreciation for the color makes even that more palatable to purists like myself.

The colorization is, as always, rather obvious, but at least was done with an aesthetic spirit this time. If you have ever seen black and white photos that have been touched here and there with oil paints, then you'll have an idea of what this film looks like; on the audio commentary, star Terry Moore stated repeatedly how much she loved the overall look of the movie now, as opposed the old colorless version. I have to say that while I am normally myself something of a purist with film, this was not a movie that was shot in black and white for a reason, and the sumptuousness of the film's final scenes, not to mention Moore's dresses, do benefit from the addition of color. If you aren't horribly against colorization on moral grounds, you might give this one at least a try just to see if you like it. Besides, the producers of this disc have had the enormous foresight and thoughtfulness to provide the original black and white version on this disc as well, anyway, so if you really hate the color painting, then you can always switch back to the old version.

A nice change from the endless reruns of Miracle on 34th Street and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, A Christmas Wish is a fun, lighthearted romantic comedy from the heyday of Hollywood. If you're a sucker for Christmas and Christmas films, then you will almost certainly love this one. If, on the other hand, It's a Wonderful Life makes you want to jump off a bridge yourself, then you're better off skipping this one and checking out The Nightmare Before Christmas again instead. Either way, I strongly suggest you spend the time to listen to the audio commentary, even if you don't watch the movie without it.