Christmas Eve (1947)

Christmas Eve is a 1947 United Artists comedy film directed by Edwin L. Marin. It is based on the story by Richard H. Landau and stars George Raft, George Brent and Randolph Scott. It was rereleased under the title Sinner's Holiday.

Plot
The greedy nephew Philip Hasting (Reginald Denny) of eccentric Matilda Reid (Ann Harding) seeks to have her judged incompetent so he can administer her wealth; In an informal meeting with Philip, the doctor, Dr. Doremus, and the judge Alston they convene that she will be saved if her three long-lost adopted sons appear for a Christmas Eve reunion, as any of them is the one she could trust, but not Philip. Later on it is revealed that Philip did some very illegal things with her money, but she doesn't claim anything.

Separate stories reveal with the help of Private Detective Gimlet (Joe Sawyer) that


 * Michael (George Brent) is a bankrupt playboy loved by loyal Ann Nelson (Joan Blondell);
 * Mario (George Raft) is a seemingly shady character tangling with a Nazi war criminal in *South America and a beautiful lady, Jean Bradford (Dolores Moran);
 * Jonathan (Randolph Scott) is a hard-drinking rodeo rider who falls for a flirtatious woman Claire (Virginia Field) at the station, who is revealed to be a policewoman in disguise chasing after an orphanage that doesn't seem to do right.
 * Finally the gathering at the Christmas Eve happened and the couple Johnatan-Claire bring the three girl orphans from the orphanage. Aunt Matilda feels like the day she got the three little boys for adoption.