# Forgotten Christmas specials/movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157 "2012-12-06T04:34:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/41 "2012-12-06T20:45:12Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Do they ever show “Olive, the Other Reindeer” anymore? I thought that was cute. Cartoon Network is supposed to air it on 12/16. Barbara Mandrell had a Christmas special that ran twice on CBS; I think the only part of it that’s available on YouTube is the part where Irlene saws Barbara and Louise in half. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/42 "2012-12-06T20:53:11Z")
In the Philadelphia area, [_The Spirit of Christmas,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spirit_of_Christmas_%28TV_program%29) featuring the Mabel Beaton Marionettes, was a holiday staple in the 1950s and 1960s. I happened to catch it last year, so I guess it’s still not totally forgotten. Here is a [clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXCNTW2glEw). ---
**Author:** ![Panthan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Panthan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panthan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/43 "2012-12-06T21:01:18Z")
The Littlest Angel. I think it was Johnny Whitaker. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/44 "2012-12-06T21:08:43Z")
Bob Hope in [The Lemon Drop Kid](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043733/) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/45 "2012-12-06T21:34:54Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > They don’t live in our stone age. They live in a future stone age following some dreadful apocalypse. Hence their efforts to copy half-remembered present day technology in stone/wood/live animals and their celebration of Christmas. You really didn’t know this? Ah. So Bamm-Bamm (in his later incarnation) is a _Teenage Caveman_? > **[Teenage Caveman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Cave_Man)** > > Teenage Caveman may refer to: ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/46 "2012-12-06T22:10:12Z")
Speaking of _A Miracle on 34th Street_, there was a version done with Sebastian Cabot as Kris Kringle. I don’t remember that is was all that good. I just like Mr. Cabot. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/47 "2012-12-06T22:49:54Z")
[The Cinnamon Bear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cinnamon_Bear) > [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > … I remember a very lengthy animated movie that aired on Cartoon Network a few times…I think it was called “The Life and Times of Santa Claus”. I only saw part of it; I think it was OK. The movie ends with Santa dying in his sleep, only to be brought back by some angel/fairy because he has so much to give to the world (or something like that). The [Rankin-Bass production](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_%26_Adventures_of_Santa_Claus_%28TV_special%29) of L. Frank Baum’s [_The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_and_Adventures_of_Santa_Claus)? IMHO the best non-Christian Christmas story. CMC ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/48 "2012-12-06T23:27:56Z")
That one is my favorite of the Rankin/Bass specials. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/49 "2012-12-06T23:43:06Z")
I miss the “\_\_\_\_\_(fill in name of celebrity) Family Christmas” specials they used to show. (I think PBS actually did recently air an Andy Williams Family Christmas from years gone by.) Andy Williams, Dolly Parton, Kathie Lee Gifford, Perry Como, The King Family. You know, celebs and spouses and kids and hangers-on, arriving at a snowy cabin in a one-horse sleigh, singing carols in front of a roaring fire, just One Big F’ing Happy Family. Always ends, “from our house to your house, we wish you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.” Just no call for that kind of sentimental retro thing any more. Oh, I came here to mention a Muppet Christmas show I saw years ago, the Muppets all gathered at a farmhouse for Christmas during a snowstorm, waiting for Miss Piggy to show up. I had that one on VHS, it was charming as heck. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2012, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/50 "2012-12-06T23:56:34Z")
Two come to mind: (1) National Lampoon’s “Savage Christmas” (2) a long forgotten movie, starring Lloyd Bridges -“Silent Night, Lonely Night” ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/51 "2012-12-07T00:23:39Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > [The Cinnamon Bear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cinnamon_Bear) > > The [Rankin-Bass production](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_%26_Adventures_of_Santa_Claus_%28TV_special%29) of L. Frank Baum’s [_The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_and_Adventures_of_Santa_Claus)? > IMHO the best non-Christian Christmas story. > > CMC That’s definitely the plot, but I don’t remember it being stop-action. Looks like ABC Family is airing it on the 18th…I’ll be setting the DVR. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/52 "2012-12-07T00:47:25Z")
“Dragnet” first on radio in 1949 and then on television in 1952 had an episode called “A Gun for Christmas” where a child was killed by a gun he got for Christmas. The NRA howled but Jack Webb and the LAPD threatened to broadcast a dozen similar stories. The NRA backed down and instead asked for copies for its members to learn about the consequences of unsupervised kids with guns. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/53 "2012-12-07T01:00:01Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > The NRA howled but Jack Webb and the LAPD threatened to broadcast a dozen similar stories. The NRA backed down and instead asked for copies for its members to learn about the consequences of unsupervised kids with guns. > > [A Gun For Christmas : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](http://archive.org/details/Dragnet_A_Gun_For_Christmas) I doubt it. At that time the NRA was not the political organization it would later become and didn’t react to TV or movies the way it does today. It was an organization dedicated to gun safety and marksmanship. Further, in those days when VCR’s, DVD players and such were all still the stuff of science fiction, in what format did the NRA supposedly supply copies of the episode to their members? ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/54 "2012-12-07T01:25:03Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Barbara Mandrell had a Christmas special that ran twice on CBS; I think the only part of it that’s available on YouTube is the part where Irlene saws Barbara and Louise in half. Because nothing says Christmas like dismembering your siblings. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/55 "2012-12-07T02:06:31Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > a long forgotten movie, starring Lloyd Bridges -“Silent Night, Lonely Night” I did see it back then, and probably only then. Very deep in the recesses, your post jogged the thought I liked the movie, and when I checked on IMDB, I remember rooting for the people, 43 years ago :eek: Watching Harry and Tonto the other night reminded me of the Twilight Zone Christmas episode, [Night Of The Meek](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGwHJL4RyOg) also starring Art Carney. Not everyone’s cup of tea, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Hottius\_Maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hottius\_Maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hottius_Maximus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/56 "2012-12-07T02:08:37Z")
Several come to mind: “The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t” where mean old Mr. Prune (Rossano Brazzi perhaps?) owns the North Pole and threatens to foreclose the mortgage on Santa’s Castle. I remember this used to come out on weekend kiddie matinees every year. “Santa Claus & The Three Bears” a feature length cartoon, also broadcast in kiddie matinees during the season. I guess I’ll throw in “Littlest Angel” with Johnny Whittaker, “Santa Claus” where he helps a young girl battle the wicked demon Pitch; “The Magic Christmas Tree” and of course the musical version of “Scrooge” starring Albert Finney (although it always bothered me that on network television the best scene in the movie with Scrooge and Marley in Hell is always cut)! Most of these are cheap low-budget foreign films, but there’s still a charm about them when seen in an old one screen movie theater with sticky floors and enjoying hot salty popcorn covered in buttery flavored grease while washing it all down with a high-calorie soft drink. Ahh, 70s memories… ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/57 "2012-12-07T04:08:31Z")
> [@Hottius\_Maximus](#): > > Several come to mind: > > “The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t” where mean old Mr. Prune (Rossano Brazzi perhaps?) owns the North Pole and threatens to foreclose the mortgage on Santa’s Castle. I remember this used to come out on weekend kiddie matinees every year. I remember that on HBO. Very cheesy but quite charming in its way! I’d like to see Rifftrax tackle that one. Or even someone to do a homemade riffing (several of those are for sale on Rifftrax). > [@](#): > > and of course the musical version of “Scrooge” starring Albert Finney (although it always bothered me that on network television the best scene in the movie with Scrooge and Marley in Hell is always cut)! I agree with that one, but I kind of think the hell scene (which I never saw until I rented the VHS) was kind of over-egging the pudding. I mean, we saw the consequences of Scrooge’s life both on earth and in what Marley suffered, so why go that far? Besides, I liked the more subtle version of hell that Dickens implied–not fire or brimstone, but “incessant torture of remorse.” Which reminds me–I never did see it all the way through, but **An American Christmas Carol** with Henry Winkler updated the story to Depression-era New England, and from what I understand did a rather good job of it. Its Marley analogue said something along the lines of what I just described: “Hell isn’t brimstone or pitchforks…it’s living with all of your mistakes, all of the time, forever.” So there’s another one that could use more love. (And another one which ABC Family used to show in the old days instead of **Santa Paws.)** (Oh, and this version and the aforementioned **Scrooge** are the only two live-action versions I can think of where the same actor plays old and young Scrooge–thanks to the most convincing age makeup I’ve ever seen.) There are also a couple different filmed versions of Truman Capote’s wonderful story **A Christmas Memory.** The older of the two had Capote’s narration–unfortunately. I say “unfortunately” because although his writing is superb his voice is enough to make me want to drive nails into my eardrums. And I’ve never seen this one at all (except for the one scene that’s on YouTube), but Denholm Elliott, Marcus Brody himself, starred in and narrated a TV movie of Dylan Thomas’ wonderful book **A Child’s Christmas In Wales.** (A story which, in itself, deserves more recognition and love.) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/58 "2012-12-07T13:04:15Z")
“The Santa Suit” from 2010, featuring Kevin Sorbo as the ‘evil’ CEO of a toy company. Seen by viewers as a Scrooge-like business man in a suit, but through mystical mumbo jumbo is seen by people in movie as ‘Santa Claus’. Learns true meaning of giving, spirit of Christmas, mends his ways, etc… It’s surprisingly watchable, not bad at all, and it has Kevin Sorbo! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/59 "2012-12-07T14:06:14Z")
[J.T. (1969)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0158681/), about a ghetto kid who wants to keep a cat for a pet. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157/60 "2012-12-07T14:42:44Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Straight play. Our set was awesome - we had a bridge span soaring over a corner of the stage for the “contemplating suicide” scene. I didn’t know there was a musical version … Joe Raposo, you say? Yup. It’s simply called A Wonderful Life. It never made Broadway because of some sort of rights flap over the original short story IAWL was based on, but it’s made the rounds of smaller theatres and I saw it a couple years ago at a local community theatre–and liked it a lot. I also understand it had a concert version with Brian Stokes Mitchell, baritone god. I don’t think it ever had a cast album, though. The adaptation’s good and (not to sound as though I’m spitting on a classic) actually improves on the movie in one or two ways. For example, Harry’s rescue (which isn’t depicted, only described) wasn’t a near-drowning in an icy river–George pushed him out of the way of a speeding truck, ending up with a steel plate that impaired his hearing in the one ear. Which very neatly sidesteps the plot hole of “why would Harry have been sledding that day if there were no big brother to tag along with?” I also liked the fact that after Harry returned to Bedford Falls with a new wife and a job offer, George actually called him out on how he flat-out WELSHED on his promise to take over the Building and Loan. (Look, you weasel, you wouldn’t even be ALIVE if not for George! Which the show’s Harry acknowledged as well.) And Harry was allowed to present his side. (“Things have changed, George–I’ve changed. This is a dead end and if you had any sense you’d get out of it!”) Also, the suicide attempt wasn’t a bridge but a train track. This was probably logistical–few stage plays short of Les Mis could depict a bridge jump–but also a very nice callback to George’s wish that a train would one day take him out of Bedford Falls. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-christmas-specials-movies/643157.md?page=4)