The Great Rupert is a treasure starring Jimmy Durante. The movie is about aging vaudevillian performers falling on hard times, and the delightful antics of a squirrel who inadvertently showers them in blessings. The squirrel is very life like, but was actually done by animatronics, and is not really a trained pet squirrel. (As someone who has both been on movie sets and lived with a squirrel, I can tell you that making a movie with a squirrel cooperating on this level would be a miracle in itself).

The Amendola family are desperate to find accommodations, out of work acrobats, they are carrying all their worldly possessions. At the same time, Joe Mahoney who has a well trained squirrel named “The Great Rupert” as part of his act, must hit the road in search of work. He releases his squirrel into the park to fend for himself in the wild. The “Great Rupert,” used to living indoors, sneaks inside just as the Amendolas are taking possession of a tiny apt below their stingy landlord Mr. Dingle. He makes his home in the space between the two households.

As Christmas approaches the Amendolas fear eviction and Mrs. Amendola prays for a miracle. Suddenly money falls from the ceiling and they are able to pay their bills. Unbeknownst to them, Mr. Dingle is hiding the proceeds from his investments from the government inside his wall. Just where the “Great Rupert” has made his bed. Rupert, seeing the paper as a nuisance throws it away and the Amendola’s profit. The story is more about what should be done with good fortune than anything else, a different lighter take on the same theme as Scrooge.

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Christmas in Connecticut is a romantic Christmas tale warns of the pit-falls of lying. A successful food columnist has created a fictional life for herself, living on a farm in Connecticut with a husband and small child, In reality she lives alone in an apartment in the city and can’t cook. It is war time and a war hero takes inspiration in her writing, thinking of home. Her publisher thinks that a televised special with her cooking a welcome-home feast for him would be a great moral booster both at home and overseas. (Ironically. it was released just after the war ended when men were all returning home, and women were going back to their kitchens).

Christmas in Connecticut is a comical blend of mistaken identity, best laid plans that go haywire and wise elders who know what’s best for their loved ones. Barbara Stanwyck stars as Elizabeth Lane. With the help of her uncle Felix Bassenak, who is a chef, she uses her column to give his recipes a life of their own. In a desperate attempt to save her job and that of her editor, Elizabeth hatches a plan to continue her charade by marrying a friend who just happens to own a farm in Connecticut.

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They borrow a neighbor’s baby to show the producer and are just about to be wed (in secret) when the war hero Jefferson Jones arrives ahead of schedule. Lane falls in love at first sight and the judge is dismissed. Another baby is brought in the following day, and when it’s mother arrives to claim it, the producer Alexander Yardley thinks that it is being kidnapped. What’s more, a case of mistaken identity has Elizabeth and Jefferson spend the night in a jail cell. When they return her producer is livid, thinking she is the most irresponsible woman he has ever met. She comes clean with her duplicity and he fires her. But before he leaves, Felix entices him into the kitchen with one of his recipes and then suggests that his niece has other job offers. Alexander afraid to loose out on a good thing, rehires her and soon after Jefferson declares his love making her Christmas in Connecticut, one to remember.

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The Bells of St Mary’s stars Bing Crosby who is joined by Ingrid Bergman in the 1945 holiday classic, It was first released in December of that year. As for Christmas, the only link is a cute scene involving a children’s’ pageant. In it Bing Crosby reprises his award-winning role as the priest Father O’Malley. This black and white film has plenty of songs, as we’ve come to expect from Bing Crosby, but it also has a great story-line. The tale takes place in a run-down inner city school, run by nuns who are praying for a way to keep the school open and thereby keep the teachers and students together. The alternative is to bus some of the students elsewhere, with the poorer ones unable to attend the newer private school being put out entirely, while the nuns would be dispersed. Father O’Malley arrives to supervise the school and decide if it can be salvaged.

The Bells of St Mary’s, there is great chemistry between Ingrid Bergman’s character, Sister Mary Benedict and Bing Crosby’s Father O’Malley. The pair are at odds with how things should be run at the school, with Sister Mary being the experienced one and Father O’Malley being an astute judge of character, who seems to work his magic behind the scenes. As the movie is ending Sister Mary is being transferred away from her beloved school. She thinks it is done in spite because she wasn’t always the most cooperative with Father O’Malley, and struggles to remain calm, but in reality her saddened heart is for naught, as she is actually being moved for convalescence of a health condition. Just before she leaves, Father O’Malley reveals to her the reason for her transfer, unburdening her heart from her conflicted feelings.

The Bells of St Mary’s is twice linked (to my favorite film) “It’s a Wonderful Life”. First, it is the film shown on the marquee in Bedford Falls and secondly Henry Travers who plays George Bailey’s guardian angel, is in The Bell’s of St. Mary’s. His role is pivotal, first as a cantankerous industrialist who seems to dislike children and then as the hero of the film who’s generosity saves the school.

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The beauty of it’s a wonderful life is that it contains a timeless realism because the evil nemesis, Mr. Potter never gets his comeuppance. He cheats, steals and devalues humanity with impunity, getting richer and richer. His only competition is Bailey’s savings and loan cooperative that empowers the hardworking individual and helps people realize their dreams. The moral of the story is that all the money in the world won’t make people love you and that for the average person, their value is in their associations, friends and family. Or as Harry Bailey put it, “A toast to my big brother George, the Richest man in town.” – Truly, it’s a wonderful life is a Christmas Gift for the entire family

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