“A Christmas Wish” is an old-fashioned, heartwarming story featuring the antics and singing of the talented Jimmy Durante. The plot involves the Amendola family trio, entertainers of the circus, made up of Papa Louie (Durante), Mama (Queenie Smith), and daughter Rosalinda (Terry Moore), who rent an old, dilapidated house. The landlord’s son, Peter Dingle (Tom Drake), takes a liking to Rosalinda and she to him. The Amendolas have been out of work for some time, but when Peter’s father begins storing his savings behind a wall, little does he know that a squirrel that is hiding there gets rid of it through a hole in the ceiling. The result is that, while Mama Amendola prays for new shoes for Rosalinda, the money literally falls from the ceiling! So, every week on Thursday, at the same time, she sits and prays again, and Mr. Dingle keeps making the Amendolas’ dreams come true!
Papa Amendola does a lot of good with the money, helping out various people in the town and donating to charities. In the end, the story is all tied up like a neat Christmas bow. If you enjoy watching scenes of an old-fashioned Christmas, along with music and some romance, “A Christmas Wish” is the movie for you. We are happy to award it our Dove Family Approved Seal. If you have ever had a Christmas wish, this movie will inspire you to keep on wishing and believe that dreams do come true.
