XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

dbdumonteil It's only when the movie is over you 'll realize how deeply moving this very simple story is.A propaganda movie,it certainly is ,but a good propaganda movie which speaks to the heart .In those WW2 trouble times , a poor family is preparing a Sunday dinner for a guest : a soldier on furlough who will be back to the front after these fleeting moments of happiness.It's just a joy to see this family give all they have (and it is not much) to treat their guest like a member of their family ,with a little help from their neighbor.Ann Baxter and John Hodiak are a good romantic couple and their meeting when she's dancing alone is a good moment .Like this? try this...."Babettes Gaestebud" (Babette's feast),Gabriel Axel,1987

MartinHafer Despite a very schmaltzy start, the film did have a certain silly charm. It's about an impossibly nice and incredibly poor family that wants to take what little they have and invite a soldier to dinner as a way of saying thank you. Unfortunately, for so many reasons, it looks like this evening won't come off properly--only in the end does everything magically work out for the best.Anne Baxter did a good job in the lead, as did John Hodiak, though their instant romance at the end of the film completely strained credibility. Charles Winninger was quite the character--I'm not sure if I liked him or not--he did come on awfully strong. As for the kids, the older two were fine but the part for the youngest (Bobby Driscoll) was WAY too annoying and cutesy. Of all the family members, he was by far the most unlikable.There are a lot of cute little movies that I really enjoy, but I'd hardly consider giving them a score of 10. So when I looked on IMDb at the reviews for this film, I was shocked to see two 10s for such an insignificant film--especially since although this film is rather cute, it's also a bit too saccharine and, at times, hard to take. I really wish there were two ratings on each film on IMDb--the quality/aesthetic value of the film and an enjoyability scale.Quality-wise, this is just a run of the mill B-movie from the WWII era--neither bad nor particularly distinguished. The direction and sets are not particularly inspired nor is the script (for the most part). In fact, despite being very watchable, I can't think of any way that this is a stand-out film. Don't believe the high ratings--this is not GONE WITH THE WIND or THE GODFATHER in quality!

jacksflicks People are letting themselves get carried away. Ann Baxter is lovely, the music is lovely, Connie Marshall is a real sweetheart (reminds me a little of Peggy Ann Garner), Anne Revere as usual steals the show, and there are a few touching scenes, particularly the flyovers and in the resort ruins. Unfortunately, Lloyd Bacon's direction is execrable. This was a cheap movie, and Bacon makes it show. The sets are obviously sound stage or back lot, which a couple of location shots don't compensate for at all. And the process shots are terribly phony.But what's worse is the cloying sentimentality. Bacon has everyone calling Charles Winninger's cartoonish grandfather "Grandfeathers" every other line, just to remind us how cute the movie is. Bobby Driscoll stands on his head while blowing a whistle to show us how cute he is. The hen's noises are so obviously human (was it Mel Blanc?) it's embarrassing, as are the piles of rubber prop chickens.Next-to-top-billed John Hodiak doesn't make his appearance until near the end, which is a rip-off, given that he gets less screen time than the chicken. The movie could have spent its time developing the Baxter and Hodiak characters, using the Florida shanty, the kids the gramps and other colorful characters as a backdrop, but Bacon front-loads the movie with bathos and the antics of the side characters, while trying to sell the notion of two people falling in love over Sunday dinner in a couple of brief scenes. (Yeah, yeah, they really were an item, but that's certainly not a given in the story. Bacon has The Soldier looking like he's smitten before he's even met the lady! Maybe it was the pheromones.) I like war morale movies, especially those which capture the era. I even like sentiment. But Lloyd Bacon's clumsy, manipulative and saccharine directing wastes a fine cast and a potentially moving story.

mellicott65 I saw this in original release as a teenager. Ann Baxter and John Hodiak were later married, I think they fell in love while making this movie. This flick is so heartwarming, it has everything - humor, romance, family values, and yes...dialogue!The last scene when Hodiak goes back to camp and on to war is so good. As he gets on the bus, he's holding a picture of himself taken with those that took him in for the holiday. Answering another soldier's question, he says THIS IS MY FAMILY! You know he's going to come back after the war and marry Baxter's character.See it if you can. We've got to get this on DVD or VHS.