The low rating is due largely to the bad print that I watched on TCM, choppy and dark enough to qualify as film noir.
But it's easy to see why this one has slipped through the cracks over the years. It's a little too simplistic, too sentimental and has a rather silly story to tell that could only have been made in the '40s when the world was on the verge of falling in love with IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.
Three wise old fools become the guardians (from beyond) of two people they helped meet and fall in love. Not bad for the outline of a story, but the way it's fleshed out here is less than convincing from start to finish.
At least the performers aren't to blame for the bland script. CHARLES WINNINGER does nicely as the man who thinks up the idea of tossing his wallet and business card into the snow to see if anyone will return it (on Christmas Eve of course) and thereby be invited to spend time in the luxurious suite he shares with SIR C. AUBREY SMITH and HARRY CAREY, SR. Two lonely people do return the wallet--JEAN PARKER and RICHARD CARLSON--and stay for dinner and immediately fall in love.
To tell any more would be to give away what little remains of the plot, but let's just say it struggles to be "warm and cozy" while at the same time falling apart once the kindly gentlemen disappear into the beyond.
The story gets a brief lift from the presence of MARIA OUSPENSKAYA as a wistful housekeeper who senses the presence of the ill-fated men who want to act as guardians from beyond.
A viewer should be aware that staying awake for this one may be a problem. A better print may have made the whole thing more bearable.
But it's easy to see why this one has slipped through the cracks over the years. It's a little too simplistic, too sentimental and has a rather silly story to tell that could only have been made in the '40s when the world was on the verge of falling in love with IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.
Three wise old fools become the guardians (from beyond) of two people they helped meet and fall in love. Not bad for the outline of a story, but the way it's fleshed out here is less than convincing from start to finish.
At least the performers aren't to blame for the bland script. CHARLES WINNINGER does nicely as the man who thinks up the idea of tossing his wallet and business card into the snow to see if anyone will return it (on Christmas Eve of course) and thereby be invited to spend time in the luxurious suite he shares with SIR C. AUBREY SMITH and HARRY CAREY, SR. Two lonely people do return the wallet--JEAN PARKER and RICHARD CARLSON--and stay for dinner and immediately fall in love.
To tell any more would be to give away what little remains of the plot, but let's just say it struggles to be "warm and cozy" while at the same time falling apart once the kindly gentlemen disappear into the beyond.
The story gets a brief lift from the presence of MARIA OUSPENSKAYA as a wistful housekeeper who senses the presence of the ill-fated men who want to act as guardians from beyond.
A viewer should be aware that staying awake for this one may be a problem. A better print may have made the whole thing more bearable.