Funnily enough, I think this is one of Bob Hope's most underrated movies, since most people don't seem to have ever heard of it. And the truth is, if you've never seen him in anything back from the era when he was a movie star rather than the iconic TV host and presenter he became later, I'd recommend this one over anything else. He's a con man here who cooks up a "Santa Claus racket" to get hold of the money he owes to some gangsters who want to kill him- with some hilarious lines and some of the funniest set pieces in any of his movies, this is a fairly unsentimental comedy (Hope never turns the corner in this, unlike what would happen if this movie was made today) that also manages to be a genuinely heartwarming Christmas movie (it's the one that introduced the classic "Silver Bells" to the world). Check it out and prepare for a delightful yuletide treat.
Original 1951 Trailer (sorry about the watermark):
