This was a saccharine and fun movie that of course shared a lot of DNA with It's A Wonderful Life, including a "everyone puts money in the basket" scene (in this film coming at the halfway mark rather than the denouement.) Jimmy Stewart in a fledgling role is fun — he's no star here, and recedes into the background compared to his father who has a surprisingly redemptive and meaty role and compared to Lionel Barrymore who basically plays an anti-Potter. The whimsical Vanderhorn family is delightful, and while I just don't really care about the romance around which the movie's plot orients, I certainly didn't mind it either. A good-but-not-great low-stake feel-gooder.

★★★