It Happened On 5th Avenue

This year I was looking through our numerous Christmas DVDs and realized I had seen each one of them about a million and six times. I did what I always do when I need to know more: I googled it! I found some seasonal movies I'd never even heard of much less seen. It Happened On 5th Avenue is one of them. Alan Hale, Jr. (Skipper from Gilligan's Island) plays one of 3 WW2 veterans who figure in the plot.

This is a 1947 story of a homeless man who house-sits every winter for a wealthy man who spends winters in his other home. The problem is that the wealthy home-owner doesn't know his house is hosting a "guest" every year. This year, the unofficial house guest ends up letting several other people move in with him, including the disguised home owner. It's a bit slow moving but a pleasant low-key holiday film.

Here's a short clip that puts together a couple of scenes:



DVD Talk says,

Roy Del Ruth's It Happened on Fifth Avenue is a hive for double, triple, and quadruple-layered situational humor, easily one of the best of its kind and a real gem of a holiday picture.

TCM has an overview. MUBI has some information.