Oh yeah Trainman - that's why it's on every bloody Xmas!
For the record, this the only film that has ever made me cry. Reason: Jimmy Stewart's totally unselfish charater that will help anyone without regard to himself or his own needs. Reminds me of me Mum. And how she did the same, and I could see everybody else take advantage of this help she gave. But she didn't care. She carried on helping regardless.
Actually, this film was not very unsuccessful when it came out. It only gained popularity by being a standard on American TV every Christmas. The reason for that is when the copyright came up for renewal, the studio, through an oversight, NEVER RENEWED IT.
Suddenly here we were with a Christmas movie the TV stations could air without having to pay royalties, so naturally it became standard TV fare every Christmas