It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (film)

For the song, see It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Genre	Drama Family
Written by	Frank Cardea George Schenck
Directed by	Peter H. Hunt [1]
Starring	Mickey Rooney [1] Scott Grimes [1]
Music by	Arthur B. Rubinstein
Country of origin	United States
Production
Producer	George Schenck
Production locations	New York City Los Angeles
Cinematography	Dean Cundey
Editor	Jerrold L. Ludwig
Running time	96 minutes [1]
Production companies	Schenck/Cardea Productions Columbia Pictures Television HGV
Original release
Release	December 15, 1984 (1984-12-15)

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear is a 1984 American made-for-television Christmas drama film starring Mickey Rooney and Scott Grimes. ^{[2] [1]}

Plot

The film centers on Mike Halligan (Mickey Rooney), a retired cop, who suffers a fatal heart attack while putting up Christmas lights days before Christmas. While waiting in the queue before the gates of Heaven he makes a deal with an archangel to return to life on Earth for a few more days in order to fulfill a promise to take his grandson (Scott Grimes) to New York City for the Christmas holidays. In exchange, he has to find a wayward angel (William Griffis) and tries to restore the Christmas Spirit to New York City.

Cast

• Mickey Rooney as Mike Halligan
• Scott Grimes as Robbie Westin
• Barrie Youngfellow as Kate Westin
• George Gaynes as the Arch Angel
• Elisha Cook, Jr. as Mr. Bibbs
• Annie Potts as Cindy Mills
• Lloyd Nolan as Monsignor Donoghue
• Gary Bayer as Rick Westin
• William Griffis as Wiley Boggs
• Christina Pickles as Chris
• Hamilton Camp as Meek Angel
• Lurene Tuttle as Mrs. Hunt

See also

• List of Christmas films

References

1. Jason Ankeny (2009). "Movies: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (1984)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on December 28, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
2. Parish, James Robert (1994). Ghosts and Angels in Hollywood Films: Plots, Critiques, Casts, and Credits for 264 Theatrical and Made-for-television. McFarland. pp. 206–207. ISBN   9780899506760 . Retrieved July 8, 2025.

External links

• It Came Upon the Midnight Clear at IMDb