• It’s right on the fringes of the archives for me. Cary Grant and Loretta Young are very good it in
  • Apparently Grant switched roles with Niven—and thank God- unless it was an entirely different movie (It would’ve been even with the same script) – it was a no-brainer for Grant
  • The writing team of Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett did pretty heavy re-writes (boy how bad was the original?)
  • Grant is charismatic and he’s perfect in many ways to play an angel- he absolutely glides when he moves
  • Photography by Gregg Toland but there’s nothing overly spectacular here
  • I’ve seen the films an unreasonably high amount of times because of Christmas and my love for seasonal films
  • Monty Woolley is solid in a small role—some of the most charming moments are the film are with him and Young or him and Grant—Elsa Lanchester as Matilda the maid has a good scene or two
  • 1946 and 1947 are loaded with Xmas movies for some reason—this, it’s a wonderful life (1946) and miracle on 34th street (1947)—even the young actor (Robert J. Anderson) that played the George Bailey Jimmy Stewart character is here
  • The basic premise is sort of borrowed for Elf and there’s a remake with Denzel and Whitney Houston that isn’t as good
  • Niven plays an ass in the film but Grant really comes close to making you root for him as he basically tries to take Loretta Young (Niven’s wife) away. It’s a peculiar film
  • Recommend but barely, not near my top 10 of 1947