(Roy Del Ruth, US 1947, 116 min., 35mm)
The lesser-seen New York City-based 1947 Hollywood Christmas film released out-of-season, overshadowed by Miracle on 34th Street. Wandering hobo Aloysius McKeever has a great system: he moves into the residences of the rich as they vacation elsewhere. The past three winters he has occupied the Fifth Avenue home of Michael J. O’Connor, the second-richest man in the world, as he winters in Florida. This year, he has also taken in Jim Bullock (Don DeFore), an ex-GI hoping to secure housing for men like him, and Trudy (Gale Storm), an eighteen-year-old runaway. The house becomes crowded, however, as more and more family members show up and Jim’s plans for a piece of land become complicated. In the madcap tradition of You Can’t Take It With You, relationships are born and others are re-ignited as a grand celebratory meal is planned.