The "Petit Papa Noel" (=sweet daddy Xmas)lullaby has become such a perennial that in 2008 Josh Groban felt compelled to include it in his best -seller "Noel" ;52 years after ,it was still selling.
Needless to say,the movie is quite forgotten and the song must have been catchy to survive such a dud!It is heard three times ,including one with full orchestra and heavenly choirs;Tino Rossi,who created the song ,sings also three or four other songs ,but whereas "petit Papa Noel" has not lost its appeal today ,because this is a song every child in France knows as soon he is able to sing for Xmas,these ditties may make you use the "fast forward" button,if your kind of music is,say,Bruce Springsteen.
The movie tells the story of two brothers ,both played by Rossi: the good one ,the virtuous gent ,an acclaimed singer who hit the big time in America (Rossi never did),a widower with a son,a man who never drinks,never smokes,never gambles and never dates women... In direct contrast with him,we have the twin brother (only their mother can....),a naughty boy who lives a wild life ,abetted by a bad gal,who has been just released from jail ,who blackmails his admirable brother,who goes as far as to kidnap his little brat....
A short scene featuring a grumpy -as always- Gabrielle Fontan as a two-bit fortune teller crying for coffee and another one ,a bit longer ,featuring Marcelle Géniat as the Corse Mamma -in spite of a racist gaffe in one of her lines- are pleasant.That makes about five minutes.Plus "Petit Papa Noel" ,which ,in its modest way,predates what Hitchcock will do with Doris Day and her "que sera sera" in "the man who knew too much" second version.
