Thanks, Dan. Definitely the better of the two noirs that Siodmak made in 1944, though critics and "the wisdom of the commons" (IMDB) have not quite come around to that notion. It might be that the double casting against type remains too much to absorb.

I'd venture to say that this film is as underrated as PHANTOM LADY is overrated. And the man who champions Siodmak the most (Eddie M.) has not helped CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY receive additional exposure: it has not appeared at NC since festival #2 in 2004, while PHANTOM LADY (originally paired with it back in the day...) was re-screened at NC just last year.