Made for TV Movies

[Kitty]

This is Rod Serling's adaptation of A Christmas Carol, an updated version of the Dickens classic. It was part of a series of films that were created to promote the United Nations.

This is a hard-hitting, still relevant retelling about a man who has never gotten over the loss of his son in the second world war.

You will recognize some of the actors in the story, including Peter Sellers and Robert Shaw. Eva Marie Saint also makes an appearance.

Though this is sobering, it is thought provoking and well worth the watch. It's also not particularly Christmassy, so I'd recommend watching as soon as possible.

It's a bit slow going in the beginning, but it's totally worth the message. One specific scene.... I think you can guess which one made the largest impression on me.

Interestingly, at one point they call the old radio shows "old time radio", which tells you they were calling it that way back in 1964.

Let me know what you think.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gbp1du33l0c&feature=share

[donnie]

I just finished watching this—quite interesting! And yes, very dark and sober, and not very Christmas-y, but certainly very relevant to today. This is quite a piece of work from Rod Serling.

One specific scene.... I think you can guess which one made the largest impression on me.

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I'm guessing it's the scene with the Japanese girls lying underneath the gauze. That's certainly the one that made the most impression on me. And also Grudge trying to comfort the little boy afterwards.

A couple of other thoughts:

This quote from the Future Ghost: "Behind each separate fence, each separate wall came screams of suspicion and anger and prejudice. And they grew and they grew…but there were no answers, no discussion, no place for it. And so in the end, the world was filled with hate…."
If you don't think that's relevant...just turn on the news.

I thought Peter Sellers was particularly chilling as ME, didn't you?

The "coming round" / wake up scene at the end was unusually low key and subtle, I thought—perhaps too subtle. I expected a little more of an overt reaction to what he'd experienced, including probably telling his nephew he'd changed his mind about the exchange program. But there were hints that would come, I guess.

[Kitty]

I'm really glad you watched this.

One specific scene.... I think you can guess which one made the largest impression on me.

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I'm guessing it's the scene with the Japanese girls lying underneath the gauze. That's certainly the one that made the most impression on me.

That's the one. Horrifying!

This quote from the Future Ghost: "Behind each separate fence, each separate wall came screams of suspicion and anger and prejudice. And they grew and they grew…but there were no answers, no discussion, no place for it. And so in the end, the world was filled with hate…."
If you don't think that's relevant...just turn on the news.

Hard-hitting, but sad and relevant.

I thought Peter Sellers was particularly chilling as ME, didn't you?

This is the first thing I've been actually aware what character he portrayed. I know he was a huge actor, but this is not how I pictured him. At any rate, I thought he was really good. I saw Dr. Strangelove many years ago, and had a hard time paying attention to it at the time. I'd be glad to see other things he's in.

The "coming round" / wake up scene at the end was unusually low key and subtle, I thought—perhaps too subtle.

I was unclear exactly what role he had in the UN. Did I miss that? And I'm sure you noticed the references to the original Christmas Carol such as his son being named Marley. Speaking of him, it was pretty spooky when things started happening and the man was seeing his son in the house. Heartbreaking!!! I also thought the ghosts' performances were very good. Robert Shaw is just a pure natural.

[donnie]

Responses:

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I know he was a huge actor, but this is not how I pictured him. At any rate, I thought he was really good. I saw Dr. Strangelove many years ago, and had a hard time paying attention to it at the time. I'd be glad to see other things he's in.

I've not seen Peter Sellers in anything else except a James Bond spoof Casino Royale. But yes, I think this role is not characteristic for him, in that he usually plays (I believe) lighter roles with a debonair/comic flair. And he was a little harder to recognize. I thought, is that Peter Sellers? Maybe it was the hat.

I thought that whole presentation of the Imperial ME was very original—his entrance on the wooden "horse" carried by four minions, the glittery ME on the top hat, the microphone, etc.

Also, I've only ever seen Steve Lawrence (Past Ghost) as a singer. I was quite surprised to see him acting in a heavy dramatic role like this.

I was unclear exactly what role he had in the UN. Did I miss that?

Well, although the UN was obviously a big theme throughout, I didn't think Grudge was connected with it. My understanding was he was just head of a board of directors of a local college or something like that. But I could be completely wrong—have to go back and check that. The information on what his connections were may not be very clear.

And I'm sure you noticed the references to the original Christmas Carol such as his son being named Marley.

I did!

Also, did you notice in the opening credits, they used all Currier and Ives winter scenes for the background?

Speaking of him, it was pretty spooky when things started happening and the man was seeing his son in the house.

Yes, it was. Most eerie. It was also creepy with the music going on and off.

[donnie]

The House Without a Christmas Tree (1972)

My wife introduced me a few years ago to this made-for-TV Christmas movie, and it has become one of my favorite Christmas specials—if not my favorite of all. I wanted to write down some thoughts that were fresh in my mind after watching again the other night. So here's my review of it (which got too long, but...)

It’s a gentle, low-key story in many ways, and I think that’s caused it to remain more beneath the radar in comparison to other Christmas classics we all know and love. But it has many fans, and a lot of them say it’s their favorite Christmas special ever, and there is good reason for that.

Although there is lots of enjoyable humor and nostalgic Christmas-y goodness to make you smile and laugh, this is really a story about our contradictions and dysfunctions as human beings, and ultimately about the challenges of coping with and overcoming pain and loss. The subtlety and depth of the story impresses me more each time I watch it.

The wonderful script is by Eleanor Perry and is based on a story by Gail Rock. It features masterful performances by Jason Robards as the father and Mildred Natwick as the grandmother, and a wonderful performance by Lisa Lucas as the child, Addie.

The story is skillfully constructed so that understanding of what’s driving the characters becomes steadily clearer throughout. At first you wonder

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why and what the big deal is with the father’s refusal to let a Christmas tree into the house. Only gradually do you realize that the reason is that this celebration of the season would violate the fragile emotional shell he has built around himself because of the loss of his wife.

The climactic point happens when James enters Gloria’s house and sees the tree there that he has forced his daughter to remove. At this moment he realizes that this tree, a source of great happiness for her that he has turned into a source of pain—has now been turned by Addie’s selflessness into an object of happiness for someone else. When is he confronted by that, it hits him deeply and apparently brings about a conviction that maybe it is time to let go of some of his own pain for the sake of his daughter. And that brings about a profound lasting change in their relationship.

I also think (although the story doesn’t spell this out—it doesn’t spell out a lot of things, which is I think one of its strengths) that he sees his wife in this act of Addie’s, and has a deeper realization that his wife lives on in her. Perhaps the conversation they have later about how much Addie looks and sounds like her brings this out. And I'd like to think that, just maybe, he has a realization of what Christmas is really about to begin with, a celebration of the one who came to earth to bring the gift of love through sacrifice, reflected in Addie's sacrificing her tree for Gloria's happiness.

At the end, the adult Addie relates the fact that she and her father’s relationship remained problematic for the rest of his life, but that from that point on they knew there was a person on the other side of the defenses. That narrative makes what could have been a simplistic, they-lived-happily-ever-after ending into something much more realistic.

And as a counterbalance to all these happenings, you have the delightful subplot of the children’s interactions at school and their buying of the teacher’s gift, and the “love affair” between Billy and Addie. That keeps the whole thing from being too depressingly heavy.


Characters:

James is a complex person. You can dislike him for his lack of feeling, but as the story goes on, you can sympathize with his pain. He is also a person who cannot seem to express in words but only in actions. The ultimate example is his bringing the tree in at the end with no explanation of why he has reversed course 180 degrees.

Jason Robards’s performance as James is superb. He was an actor who excelled in subtle portrayal of a character with a lot going on beneath the surface.

As for Addie, she is such a delightful, feisty, contradictory, and likable character. And I think the story’s characterization of her is brilliant in that she shows so many characteristics of father: defensiveness, stubbornness, and also that inability to express some things in words. She also, like her father, has a tendency to build that emotional shell. (Example: her insistence in the conversation with Carla May at the beginning that Christmas trees are useless.)

Mildred Natwick’s magical performance as the grandmother who tries to mediate between father and daughter is really in many ways what moves the story along. Her character, like James's and Addie’s, also shows those human paradoxes. An example is her raking James over the coals for his treatment of Addie, and basically saying he’s a crummy father—but then a short while later in the sweet scene with Addie in bed, she defends him to Addie and talks about how much he loves them. He is still “Jamie” to her.

I think a lot of credit also goes to the director, Paul Bogart. Again, an example (well, not sure if this is in the original story or not): After the argument between James and his mother, which ends with his saying some awful things, did you notice how he grasps her hand silently as he leaves the room? Such a small detail, but so meaningful. With that gesture, he’s saying what he cannot say in words, “I’m sorry” and “I love you”.

And then you have the production. Although this is pretty low-budget—well, maybe because of that to an extent—it has a feeling of quiet gentleness and dignity. I love the feel of that little town and like to think about what it would have been like to live there. I also like how the house is treated as a character itself; it has its own personality, made obvious from the artwork at the very beginning.

The sound of the narrator’s voice as she looks back and the background music are special, but most of all that artwork dissolving into and out of the scenes…. Such a simple thing, yet it somehow just makes it. I read that the artist who assembled those collages won an Emmy for it, and he deserved it.

I can never watch the ending without a lump in my throat, as the star reverts back into artwork and narrator says she always knew they were both thinking about that Christmas back in 1946.

I hope you enjoyed it, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3nDjqxqBm4