When I read a synopsis for "Kathy O'" and learned it was about a bratty child star who keeps adults rushing around to please her, I pictured something screechy and inane. "Kathy O'" is actually a plush little comedy-drama that does nearly the impossible: it illustrates how the pressures of Hollywood can be painful and frustrating even for a child-actor in the midst of her success. Kathy is not a little tyrant, she's tired and anxious and cranky. A publicist (also all of the above!) reintroduces her to family life and normalcy, and she begins to brighten. Movies about personal redemption always tend to work if the build-up is right, and here it's done tastefully and emotionally. By the end, I was enamored of this youngster who blossoms under the right circumstances. Movies about the movies are usually a little coy, but "Kathy O'" is an exception. It understands the movie world and is quite wise (but not ugly) about actors' lives off-screen. It also recognizes everyday life in suburbia for the grind it can be, but also how much more wonderful it is when shared with people you care about. Kathy learns to care, and, in turn, I came to care about her. *** from ****
11 Reviews
Chafing under that control
bkoganbing8 November 2016
Patty McCormack who zoomed to stardom playing the ultimate of bad girls in The Bad Seed gets a chance at something a whole lot different in Kathy O. This film used to be broadcast a lot during Christmas time and has strangely been unavailable for years.
Kathy O'Rourke played by McCormack is a Hollywood child star all sweet as sugar candy on screen but one holy hellion off screen. Her career is managed by her aunt Betty Jane Croft, McCormack being an orphan. McCormack is quite the meal ticket and Croft controls every aspect of her life.
Dan Duryea plays the studio publicity man and he's assigned to work with his ex-wife Jan Sterling on a feature story. Duryea is now married to Mary Fickett and I have to say they have one civilized relationship as Fickett and Sterling used to be girl roommates back in the day.
McCormack is good, she can turn the charm on and off. But she's a troubled kid and she sees what she's really lacked when she's with Duryea, Fickett, and their two kids Ricky Kelman and Terry Kelman at Christmas time.
McCormack delivers a standout performance. It's also nice to see Dan Duryea in a sympathetic role. Mary Jane Croft best known for being a foil for Lucille Ball has a nice turn herself her as the business minded aunt who will protect her interests at all costs.
Sterling and McCormack have some nice bonding scenes as well. Away from all of her handlers McCormack let's her hair down. Later on her hair comes literally down.
Kathy O' still a nice family film which should resume being broadcast regularly.
Kathy O'Rourke played by McCormack is a Hollywood child star all sweet as sugar candy on screen but one holy hellion off screen. Her career is managed by her aunt Betty Jane Croft, McCormack being an orphan. McCormack is quite the meal ticket and Croft controls every aspect of her life.
Dan Duryea plays the studio publicity man and he's assigned to work with his ex-wife Jan Sterling on a feature story. Duryea is now married to Mary Fickett and I have to say they have one civilized relationship as Fickett and Sterling used to be girl roommates back in the day.
McCormack is good, she can turn the charm on and off. But she's a troubled kid and she sees what she's really lacked when she's with Duryea, Fickett, and their two kids Ricky Kelman and Terry Kelman at Christmas time.
McCormack delivers a standout performance. It's also nice to see Dan Duryea in a sympathetic role. Mary Jane Croft best known for being a foil for Lucille Ball has a nice turn herself her as the business minded aunt who will protect her interests at all costs.
Sterling and McCormack have some nice bonding scenes as well. Away from all of her handlers McCormack let's her hair down. Later on her hair comes literally down.
Kathy O' still a nice family film which should resume being broadcast regularly.
Would film noir vet Dan Duryea like to add bad seed Patty McCormick to all his children?
mark.waltz24 August 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I only ask that because his character is married to Mary Fickett, the matriarch of the Martin family on the long running soap "All My Children", mother of his two sons here, and he's as far from Dr. Joe Martin as a husband can possibly be. Like Joe, Duryea's on his second marriage, his first to the beautiful but career oriented Jan Sterling having failed because of her ambitions. Fickett and Sterling were old roommates in New York years before and Sterling basically pushed her old friend and ex-husband together, and now she's coming to L.A. to interview precocious child star Patty McCormick, sassy on the outside but obviously missing the kind of love she really needs and involved in a life she pretty much hates. She lives with her cold aunt Mary Jane Croft who basically uses McCormick as a key to the good life and doesn't give her niece the kind of love she craves.
A day out fishing with Sterling shows McCormick what it's like to have real meaningful attention, and before long, McCormick is showering her with love, showing Sterling that inside her determined career mindset is a desire to be a mother herself. When McCormick has enough and runs away, it appears that she's been kidnapped, and staying with Duryea, Fickett and their two sons shows her what family life is really like, giving the reluctant spoiled brat her first evidence of what a real family is like. Croft, so light hearted in all of Lucille Ball's TV sitcoms, plays a character quite different, subtly envious of not only her niece's success but the Broadway success of her late sister which Sterling remembers.
Following her evil young sociopath in "The Bad Seed", it was evident that there had to be less of that yet someone still very complex for her next film, and for "Kathy O'", Patty McCormick gets to show both extreme lady-like behavior and subtle anger, and she does quite well. Duryea goes from film noir bad guy to Disney like family good guy successfully as well, giving his character many nuances that shows his complexity. As his ex and current wives, both Sterling and Fickett are on opposite sides of the spectrum, not quite Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins in "Old Acquaintance", but equally complicated. While it is obvious that there is still a connection between Duryea and first wife Sterling, the stronger one is with the patient Fickett who has several great moments, one comforting McCormick in a way that she would utilize in great detail many times as Ruth Brent Martin.
There's also funny guy Sam Levene as the child hating fellow press agent who gladly hands McCormick off to Duryea's tender care. She's not a nightmare child as we find out, and twists at the end give us hope in this fictional situation that she'd find some happiness outside the lavish but cold home of her aunt. This doesn't end ideally, but neither do situations like this in real life, and could be a warning to parents or relatives trying to push young talent into show business before their time (or other situations which require a mature mind) that the years of being a child should be cherished, and that using them for an agenda that destroys their childhood should be avoided at all costs.
A day out fishing with Sterling shows McCormick what it's like to have real meaningful attention, and before long, McCormick is showering her with love, showing Sterling that inside her determined career mindset is a desire to be a mother herself. When McCormick has enough and runs away, it appears that she's been kidnapped, and staying with Duryea, Fickett and their two sons shows her what family life is really like, giving the reluctant spoiled brat her first evidence of what a real family is like. Croft, so light hearted in all of Lucille Ball's TV sitcoms, plays a character quite different, subtly envious of not only her niece's success but the Broadway success of her late sister which Sterling remembers.
Following her evil young sociopath in "The Bad Seed", it was evident that there had to be less of that yet someone still very complex for her next film, and for "Kathy O'", Patty McCormick gets to show both extreme lady-like behavior and subtle anger, and she does quite well. Duryea goes from film noir bad guy to Disney like family good guy successfully as well, giving his character many nuances that shows his complexity. As his ex and current wives, both Sterling and Fickett are on opposite sides of the spectrum, not quite Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins in "Old Acquaintance", but equally complicated. While it is obvious that there is still a connection between Duryea and first wife Sterling, the stronger one is with the patient Fickett who has several great moments, one comforting McCormick in a way that she would utilize in great detail many times as Ruth Brent Martin.
There's also funny guy Sam Levene as the child hating fellow press agent who gladly hands McCormick off to Duryea's tender care. She's not a nightmare child as we find out, and twists at the end give us hope in this fictional situation that she'd find some happiness outside the lavish but cold home of her aunt. This doesn't end ideally, but neither do situations like this in real life, and could be a warning to parents or relatives trying to push young talent into show business before their time (or other situations which require a mature mind) that the years of being a child should be cherished, and that using them for an agenda that destroys their childhood should be avoided at all costs.
Sprinkle in some bad seed please
mls418222 July 2022
I realize this was made in the 1950s but so was the Bad Seed. This is just schmaltz. I'm sorry. It was boring and I thought it stunk.
When I watch a movie about a brat, I at least want to see one adult get kicked in the shin.
When I watch a movie about a brat, I at least want to see one adult get kicked in the shin.
Still waiting......
chrystalmoon19 September 2007
I am still waiting for this movie to be brought out in DVD format. It is a *classic* Christmas story if there ever was one. I am surprised that it is still hidden away deep in some dark vault. I am still waiting for it to be shown on television around Christmas time also....but so far... This movie i have personally rated as my all time, most favorite movie. I was 3 years old when it was made and i watched it when i was around her age in the movie. To this day i still search every now and then hoping to see it has been brought back to the public. I believe even in today's world of a different value system for families that this movie would be well received and become a favorite with people even though it's over 50 years old.
Rarely Shown Gem
RoswellFan6 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I first saw this movie back in the 90's during the Christmas season on AMC when it was still a class act and liked it so much that I taped it when it was repeated and later transferred it to DVD.
The movie has a great cast from one of the best child actors (if not the best), Patty McCormick, to Dan Duryea, a very underrated actor and great as the harried studio publicity man. Also, the viewer will notice various character actors that later appeared on TV.
"Kathy'O" has a good story with a mixture of drama, empathy, and humor and as someone else said, should be aired every Christmas as a good family movie.
It's a shame it hasn't been released on DVD. I would certainly like to upgrade my copy.
UPDATE: This movie is a Christmas tradition. So after watching it in December, I decided to look up the "Saturday Evening Post" story on which it was based. While doing so, I ran into reviews by the critics at the time of the movie's original release, which prompts this edit of my original post.
First, the critics were disappointed that the caustic humor at the beginning did not continue throughout the movie. If this had been done, the movie would have lost its warmth.
Their second complaint was that they felt the story moved too slow. Really, the pacing was just right. It developed the characters, the cynical publicity man, the career woman who in her pursuit of success, neglected the other important things in life, and finally the neglected and unloved child.
Their final criticism was the ending, that it was too sweet, and disappointing that Kathy didn't do something like burn down the Christmas tree in the tradition of Patty's bad seed character. Really, the ending was perfect. It let the audience know that the child found people that loved and wanted her, that she would be happy. As to a bad seed type of ending, what would have been the point of the movie then?
This is a case where the critics truly got it wrong!
The movie has a great cast from one of the best child actors (if not the best), Patty McCormick, to Dan Duryea, a very underrated actor and great as the harried studio publicity man. Also, the viewer will notice various character actors that later appeared on TV.
"Kathy'O" has a good story with a mixture of drama, empathy, and humor and as someone else said, should be aired every Christmas as a good family movie.
It's a shame it hasn't been released on DVD. I would certainly like to upgrade my copy.
UPDATE: This movie is a Christmas tradition. So after watching it in December, I decided to look up the "Saturday Evening Post" story on which it was based. While doing so, I ran into reviews by the critics at the time of the movie's original release, which prompts this edit of my original post.
First, the critics were disappointed that the caustic humor at the beginning did not continue throughout the movie. If this had been done, the movie would have lost its warmth.
Their second complaint was that they felt the story moved too slow. Really, the pacing was just right. It developed the characters, the cynical publicity man, the career woman who in her pursuit of success, neglected the other important things in life, and finally the neglected and unloved child.
Their final criticism was the ending, that it was too sweet, and disappointing that Kathy didn't do something like burn down the Christmas tree in the tradition of Patty's bad seed character. Really, the ending was perfect. It let the audience know that the child found people that loved and wanted her, that she would be happy. As to a bad seed type of ending, what would have been the point of the movie then?
This is a case where the critics truly got it wrong!
So much unused potential
seasoningspice25 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I'm likely to sound the cynic in this review, and honestly, I am sometimes; a lot of "family" movies aren't my cup of tea. However, this wasn't entirely the case for Kathy O'. I wasn't disappointed because of the saccharine moments themselves, but rather because of the potential for something truly meaningful, something more than the lip service paid to various concepts. If taken at face value, this is probably a cute little piece of escapism - but I can almost never take films at face value!
The main problem is that this film introduces plot threads, only to give them almost no development and mostly just drop them. Harry Johnson's ex-wife Celeste coming to town, and his subsequent seeming conflicted interest in her, is barely given any notice outside of two or three scenes around halfway through. His wife's problem with this attention is given exactly one scene, in which Harry comes home late and she acts upset for all of ten seconds, drops the matter, and never speaks of it again. Celeste's offering Harry a job in New York is mentioned, angst-ed over once, and then forgotten about until the end when it seems to be casually dismissed. Kathy herself reveals her guardian/manager aunt to be controlling and selfish, but only three-quarters of the way through. Thus we get around one minute's worth of auntie's true colors, after she's hardly appeared in the entire film. See the problems here?
The interesting characters are neglected. Harry himself, despite Dan Duryea getting top billing (for once!) and playing the role very appealingly, doesn't get much to do outside of talk awkwardly with his ex-wife and then fret - even before Kathy is "kidnapped" and he starts panicking over being arrested. His wife, who is surprisingly likable, rational, and interesting (most '50s housewives are very bland to me), hardly even gets any casual scenes with her husband to show why they fell in love and married. Their sons, both decent child actors, get some adorable and hilarious lines but fade into the background for quite a while. This is all thanks to the "kidnapping" plot taking up much more time than it probably should.
Meanwhile, Celeste is the type of female character with whom I have very little patience. At about the second or third of her flippant, Katharine Hepburn-esque comments while she and Harry explored Kathy's mansion, I lost interest and started down the well-worn road of disliking her. She travels her own road, the path of the driven career woman who realizes she dreadfully misses life's domestic charms, and as usual, this is developed in a sort of glancing fashion. She's jealous of Harry having children because the plot tells her to be - loves Kathy because the plot says she must. Simply put, the film tells you, via tears and "I just love her"s, that Kathy and Celeste are meant to be adopted mother and child. Outside of a clip of one day's worth of interaction, and a montage of around thirty seconds, you aren't actually shown their bond at all.
Now when it comes to Kathy herself, I understand the psychology behind the character - she has had no chance to actually be loved, hence her unruliness - and Patty McCormack plays the role better than some adult actors could do it. But as I watched the film unfold, all I could think of was the future of her relationship with Celeste, and all I could see was Kathy probably moving from cold material spoiling straight to smothering psychological overindulgence due to Celeste's inexperienced desperation for children. Add that to my lack of investment in their bond, and you get an ending I just didn't care about.
For me, a better film would have focused on Harry and his family, with Kathy as the unexpected "intruder" who gives them a new perspective. While running away from her aunt, Kathy could have fallen in love with the dynamics of the Johnson family and wanted to become their adopted daughter (half of this already happens in the film, so it actually makes more sense to me anyway!); she could have realized her own responsibilities via their support and wisdom; she could have become less selfish and begun to grow up, knowing they would be there for her. Harry's wife could have struggled with letting go the daughter she never had, giving her the depth she sorely lacks; Harry himself could have become the father figure Kathy needed (just drop the New York job angle). It wouldn't be a groundbreaking movie, but who needs groundbreaking? In taking away the "career woman finds domestic bliss" thing and replacing it with something different yet equally sweet and idealistic, it would have more time to spend on developing the Johnson family and Kathy herself, and it would feel more real.
Of course, that's not what happens! Ultimately, this potential is what makes Kathy O' sting a bit. I've seen plenty of disappointing films, and can move on from most, but this one still has me stewing on how much better it could have been.
The main problem is that this film introduces plot threads, only to give them almost no development and mostly just drop them. Harry Johnson's ex-wife Celeste coming to town, and his subsequent seeming conflicted interest in her, is barely given any notice outside of two or three scenes around halfway through. His wife's problem with this attention is given exactly one scene, in which Harry comes home late and she acts upset for all of ten seconds, drops the matter, and never speaks of it again. Celeste's offering Harry a job in New York is mentioned, angst-ed over once, and then forgotten about until the end when it seems to be casually dismissed. Kathy herself reveals her guardian/manager aunt to be controlling and selfish, but only three-quarters of the way through. Thus we get around one minute's worth of auntie's true colors, after she's hardly appeared in the entire film. See the problems here?
The interesting characters are neglected. Harry himself, despite Dan Duryea getting top billing (for once!) and playing the role very appealingly, doesn't get much to do outside of talk awkwardly with his ex-wife and then fret - even before Kathy is "kidnapped" and he starts panicking over being arrested. His wife, who is surprisingly likable, rational, and interesting (most '50s housewives are very bland to me), hardly even gets any casual scenes with her husband to show why they fell in love and married. Their sons, both decent child actors, get some adorable and hilarious lines but fade into the background for quite a while. This is all thanks to the "kidnapping" plot taking up much more time than it probably should.
Meanwhile, Celeste is the type of female character with whom I have very little patience. At about the second or third of her flippant, Katharine Hepburn-esque comments while she and Harry explored Kathy's mansion, I lost interest and started down the well-worn road of disliking her. She travels her own road, the path of the driven career woman who realizes she dreadfully misses life's domestic charms, and as usual, this is developed in a sort of glancing fashion. She's jealous of Harry having children because the plot tells her to be - loves Kathy because the plot says she must. Simply put, the film tells you, via tears and "I just love her"s, that Kathy and Celeste are meant to be adopted mother and child. Outside of a clip of one day's worth of interaction, and a montage of around thirty seconds, you aren't actually shown their bond at all.
Now when it comes to Kathy herself, I understand the psychology behind the character - she has had no chance to actually be loved, hence her unruliness - and Patty McCormack plays the role better than some adult actors could do it. But as I watched the film unfold, all I could think of was the future of her relationship with Celeste, and all I could see was Kathy probably moving from cold material spoiling straight to smothering psychological overindulgence due to Celeste's inexperienced desperation for children. Add that to my lack of investment in their bond, and you get an ending I just didn't care about.
For me, a better film would have focused on Harry and his family, with Kathy as the unexpected "intruder" who gives them a new perspective. While running away from her aunt, Kathy could have fallen in love with the dynamics of the Johnson family and wanted to become their adopted daughter (half of this already happens in the film, so it actually makes more sense to me anyway!); she could have realized her own responsibilities via their support and wisdom; she could have become less selfish and begun to grow up, knowing they would be there for her. Harry's wife could have struggled with letting go the daughter she never had, giving her the depth she sorely lacks; Harry himself could have become the father figure Kathy needed (just drop the New York job angle). It wouldn't be a groundbreaking movie, but who needs groundbreaking? In taking away the "career woman finds domestic bliss" thing and replacing it with something different yet equally sweet and idealistic, it would have more time to spend on developing the Johnson family and Kathy herself, and it would feel more real.
Of course, that's not what happens! Ultimately, this potential is what makes Kathy O' sting a bit. I've seen plenty of disappointing films, and can move on from most, but this one still has me stewing on how much better it could have been.
What a Wonderful Picture!
rbradle2-128 August 2013
I saw this movie in a theater in 1958 or 1959 and I never forgot it. Tonight I watched it again on a tape that I recorded from AMC many years ago. Unfortunately, it is a pan and scan version of a CinemaScope picture. Patty McCormack was such a natural actress whom I fell in love with when I was 11 years old. The musical score was beautiful, especially when they played "Where Are You?" in the scenes where Dan Duryea and Jan Sterling were together. If only Universal would release this in a widescreen DVD, I'd be the first to buy it. It is perfect for the whole family and it has a Christmas theme. It's a shame that they don't make clean, entertaining family pictures like this today.
Too much Kathy, not enough "O"!
JohnHowardReid14 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Producer: Sy Gomberg. A Universal-International picture. Copyright 1958 by Universal-International. New York opening at neighborhood theaters: 24 September 1958. U.S. release: July 1958. U.K. release: 25 May 1958. Australian release: 16 October 1958. 8,921 feet. 99 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: A Hollywood press agent is assigned to keep the world — and especially his ex-wife, gossip columnist Celeste Saunders — from finding out that beloved child star, Kathy O'Rourke, is really a temperamental brat.
COMMENT: A disappointing follow-up by director Jack Sher to his "Four Girls in Town". This time the setting is again Hollywood, but on this occasion he has revived an old short story he wrote twelve years earlier for "The Saturday Evening Post".
Not a bad premise, certainly, and at half the length, a reasonably entertaining picture it may well have made. But at 100 minutes, it's not just close to tedious, but plain boring. And whilst Patty McCormack (of "The Bad Seed") is suitably obnoxious as the brat Kathy, she is much less appealing as Kathy reformed.
True too that Same Levene contributes a bit of fun, but Dan Duryea is too callow to garner much sympathy as the press agent. Jan Sterling too seems a trifle miscast as the lovelorn Celeste. In short, once the script changes tack from mild satire to mountainous sentiment, our patience with 99 minutes of Kathy O' wears extremely thin.
OTHER VIEWS: Considering the movie's aggressively small budget, Universal have something of a hide to release this impossibly gooey little effort as an "A". Who is the studio trying to con? Certainly not kids. Yet even the most indulgent adults will be bored stiff by this talkative, flatly directed, lackluster-all-round tilt at Hollywood ballyhoo. — JHR, writing as G.A. (George Addison).
SYNOPSIS: A Hollywood press agent is assigned to keep the world — and especially his ex-wife, gossip columnist Celeste Saunders — from finding out that beloved child star, Kathy O'Rourke, is really a temperamental brat.
COMMENT: A disappointing follow-up by director Jack Sher to his "Four Girls in Town". This time the setting is again Hollywood, but on this occasion he has revived an old short story he wrote twelve years earlier for "The Saturday Evening Post".
Not a bad premise, certainly, and at half the length, a reasonably entertaining picture it may well have made. But at 100 minutes, it's not just close to tedious, but plain boring. And whilst Patty McCormack (of "The Bad Seed") is suitably obnoxious as the brat Kathy, she is much less appealing as Kathy reformed.
True too that Same Levene contributes a bit of fun, but Dan Duryea is too callow to garner much sympathy as the press agent. Jan Sterling too seems a trifle miscast as the lovelorn Celeste. In short, once the script changes tack from mild satire to mountainous sentiment, our patience with 99 minutes of Kathy O' wears extremely thin.
OTHER VIEWS: Considering the movie's aggressively small budget, Universal have something of a hide to release this impossibly gooey little effort as an "A". Who is the studio trying to con? Certainly not kids. Yet even the most indulgent adults will be bored stiff by this talkative, flatly directed, lackluster-all-round tilt at Hollywood ballyhoo. — JHR, writing as G.A. (George Addison).
This one offers some HUGE surprises...and is well worth seeing.
planktonrules26 May 2020
Apart from a sappy opening song, this film took me by surprise. It's charming and well worth your time.
Back in 1956, Patty McCormack starred in "The Bad Seed"...the story of an incredibly evil and dark child who is superficially charming but a demon inside. Well, at the beginning of "Kathy O'" you might think it's "The Bad Seed II", as Patty plays an awful child actress who treats those around her like dirt. It's so bad that the studio has had to switch public relations workers, as she assaulted the last one! So Harry Johnson (Dan Duryea) is NOT thrilled when the case is dropped in his lap. He's also not particularly happy that he has to try to get this hellion child actress to be nice and do an interview for a magazine...done by Harry's ex-wife (Jan Sterling)! What's next? See the film.
For the first half of the film, you could easily think it's the story of a man cheating on his second wife with his first. After all, the ex-Mrs. Johnson seems very interested in Harry and it's obvious she missed the family she never had with him...something Harry now has with wife #2. But this is NOT where the film ends up...nope, it really caught me by surprise where the film went next...and I'll say no more other than I liked where it went AND you might want to have some Kleenex handy if you watch.
Exquisitely well written and acted, I am surprised I never heard of this film before nor that it's not particularly famous. It's a shame, as McCormack is great here...really, really amazing.
Back in 1956, Patty McCormack starred in "The Bad Seed"...the story of an incredibly evil and dark child who is superficially charming but a demon inside. Well, at the beginning of "Kathy O'" you might think it's "The Bad Seed II", as Patty plays an awful child actress who treats those around her like dirt. It's so bad that the studio has had to switch public relations workers, as she assaulted the last one! So Harry Johnson (Dan Duryea) is NOT thrilled when the case is dropped in his lap. He's also not particularly happy that he has to try to get this hellion child actress to be nice and do an interview for a magazine...done by Harry's ex-wife (Jan Sterling)! What's next? See the film.
For the first half of the film, you could easily think it's the story of a man cheating on his second wife with his first. After all, the ex-Mrs. Johnson seems very interested in Harry and it's obvious she missed the family she never had with him...something Harry now has with wife #2. But this is NOT where the film ends up...nope, it really caught me by surprise where the film went next...and I'll say no more other than I liked where it went AND you might want to have some Kleenex handy if you watch.
Exquisitely well written and acted, I am surprised I never heard of this film before nor that it's not particularly famous. It's a shame, as McCormack is great here...really, really amazing.
Little known Christmas Classic.
skyemann-6310125 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Next to "A Christmas Carol". one of my favorite Christmas movies. I have been watching this movie every Christmas season since late 1960's. I love the story. Very Heart warming story of young actress used just as a publicity tool. I think this is Patty McCormicks best acting performance even surpassing "The Bad Seed". It was a Great seeing how she was finally found somebody in her life in Celeste who saw her more than money. GREAT MOVIE!
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