This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2019) |
The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Genre | Drama |
Based on | The Silent Stars Go By (short story) by Bess Streeter Aldrich |
Screenplay by | Earl Hamner, Jr. |
Directed by | Delbert Mann |
Starring | Lee Remick Angela Lansbury Polly Holliday Joseph Warren Mart Hulswit Michael Pearlman Samantha Atkins Michael Higgins |
Theme music composer | Fred Karlin |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers | Kenneth Kaufman Michael Lepiner Earl Hamner Jr. (co-executive producer) |
Producers | Dick Atkins J. Boyce Harman Jr. (co-producer) |
Production locations | Burlington, Vermont Chelsea, Vermont Shelburne, Vermont |
Cinematography | Larry Pizer |
Editor | Paul Fried |
Running time | 96 min. |
Production companies | Amanda Productions Telecom Entertainment Inc. |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | December 20, 1983 |
The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story is a 1983 American made-for-television Christmas drama film, originally broadcast on CBS as an annual tradition for more than five years, premiering December 20, 1983. It starred Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury and Polly Holliday. It was produced by Dick Atkins and Michael Lepiner; directed by Academy Award winner Delbert Mann; and written by Earl Hamner, Jr., creator of The Waltons , based on the short story "The Silent Stars Go By" by Bess Streeter Aldrich. The film was filmed on location in 1983 in Vermont, mainly in Burlington and the small town of Chelsea.
With her world in turmoil, Janet (Lee Remick) feels she is losing so much that is important… her beloved mother (Angela Lansbury), the family business, maybe even her husband. Janet dreams of simpler times, of Christmas in the idyllic Vermont of her younger days, and of taking her children back to the family home where her parents and spinster aunt (Polly Holliday) would be waiting for them. And they are, in all the warmth of the holiday. But only when even more seems lost, as one of her children is in jeopardy, does Janet search for that ‘secret place’ where we all may find what really matters, at Christmas and always.
Writing for The Star-Ledger , the film was praised as "The epitome of this year's Christmas offerings. Will catch at your heart and loosen your tear ducts. If you loved 'It's a Wonderful Life' or 'The Homecoming' you will spend a four-handkerchief night with 'The Gift of Love.' The entire project is a joy."[ citation needed ]
Albany News described the film as "...a tale of love, joy, memory and disappointment, put together in a way that will touch your heart."[ citation needed ]
In a review for the Los Angeles Times , the film was praised for "Lovely performances by Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury... luminous presence of Polly Holliday... make this a special that merits repeating in seasons to come." [1]
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury was a British and American actress and singer. In a career spanning 80 years, she played various roles across film, stage, and television. Although based for much of her life in the United States, her work attracted international attention.
Murder, She Wrote is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series focuses on the life of Jessica Fletcher, a mystery writer and amateur detective, who becomes involved in solving murders that take place in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, across the United States, and abroad. The program ran for 12 seasons from September 30, 1984, to May 19, 1996, for a total of 264 episodes and included amongst its recurring cast Tom Bosley, William Windom and Ron Masak, as well as a vast array of guest cast members including Michael Horton, Keith Michell and Julie Adams.
Lee Ann Remick was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film Days of Wine and Roses (1962).
Mame is a musical with the book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Originally titled My Best Girl, it is based on the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and the 1956 Broadway play by Lawrence and Lee. A period piece set in New York City and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, it focuses on eccentric bohemian Mame Dennis, whose famous motto is "Life is a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death." Her fabulous life with her wealthy friends is interrupted when the young son of her late brother arrives to live with her. They cope with the Depression in a series of adventures.
Leonard Joseph Cariou is a Canadian actor and stage director. He gained prominence for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979) alongside Angela Lansbury for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also received Tony nominations for his roles in the Betty Comden and Adolph Green musical Applause (1970), and the Sondheim A Little Night Music (1973).
Mrs. Claus is the legendary wife of Santa Claus, the Christmas gift-bringer in Western Christmas tradition.
Robert Montgomery Presents is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the sponsor, usually Lucky Strike cigarettes, for example, Robert Montgomery Presents Your Lucky Strike Theater, ....The Johnson's Wax Program, and so on.
Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, but closely follows the story of The Supremes as the musical follows the story of a young Black female singing trio from Chicago, Illinois called "The Dreams", who become music superstars.
Something's Got to Give is an unfinished American feature film shot in 1962, directed by George Cukor for 20th Century Fox and starring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse. A remake of My Favorite Wife (1940), a screwball comedy starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant, it was Monroe's last work, but from the beginning of its production it was disrupted by her personal troubles, and after her death on August 4, 1962, the film was abandoned. Most of its completed footage remained unseen for many years.
Julie Beth Hagerty is an American actress. She starred as Elaine Dickinson in the films Airplane! (1980) and Airplane II: The Sequel (1982). Her other film roles include A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982), Lost in America (1985), What About Bob? (1991), She’s the Man (2006), A Master Builder (2014), Instant Family (2018), Noelle, Marriage Story, and A Christmas Story Christmas (2022).
Jennifer Yvette Holliday is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as Dreamgirls (1981–83), Your Arms Too Short to Box with God (1980–1981) and later became a successful recording artist. She is best known for her debut single, the Dreamgirls number and rhythm-and-blues/pop hit, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", for which she won a Grammy in 1983. She also won a 1982 Tony Award for Dreamgirls.
Gaslight is a 1944 American psychological thriller film directed by George Cukor, and starring Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten and Angela Lansbury in her film debut. Adapted by John Van Druten, Walter Reisch, and John L. Balderston from Patrick Hamilton's play Gas Light (1938), it follows a young woman whose husband slowly manipulates her into believing that she is descending into insanity.
A Christmas Carol is a 1984 British-American made-for-television film adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (1843). The film was directed by Clive Donner, who had been an editor of the 1951 film Scrooge, and stars George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. It also features Frank Finlay as Marley's ghost, David Warner as Bob Cratchit, Susannah York as Mrs. Cratchit, Angela Pleasence as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Edward Woodward as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Roger Rees as Scrooge's nephew Fred; Rees also narrates portions of Charles Dickens' words at the beginning and end of the film. The movie was filmed in the historic medieval county town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire.
Mrs. Santa Claus is a 1996 American made-for-television musical fantasy comedy film directed by Terry Hughes, with a score by Jerry Herman, starring Angela Lansbury in the title role.
Belinda Montgomery is a Canadian-American actress. She initially attracted notice for playing Cinderella in the 1969 television film Hey, Cinderella! She appeared in films including The Todd Killings (1971), The Other Side of the Mountain (1975) and its sequel The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2 (1978), Stone Cold Dead (1979), and Silent Madness (1984). She starred as Dr. Elizabeth Merrill in the science-fiction series Man from Atlantis (1977–78), and as Katherine Howser, Doogie's mother, in the medical comedy-drama series, Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989-1993).
Sheila Walsh is a Scottish-born American contemporary Christian vocalist, songwriter, evangelist, author, inspirational speaker, and talk-show host.
The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow is a 1975 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions which originally premiered on NBC on December 19, 1975. It is narrated by Angela Lansbury and co-stars Cyril Ritchard.
Snowglobe is a 2007 television film directed by Ron Lagomarsino and starring Christina Milian, Josh Cooke and Matt Keeslar. The film was produced by ABC Family and first aired on December 15, 2007, in their 25 Days of Christmas programming block.
If Winter Comes is a 1947 American drama film directed by Victor Saville and starring Walter Pidgeon, Deborah Kerr and Angela Lansbury. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it is based on the 1921 novel by A.S.M. Hutchinson. The film tells the story of an English textbook writer who takes in a pregnant girl. The novel had previously been made into the 1923 silent film If Winter Comes.
The Living Doll was a 1908 French short silent Christmas film by Georges Méliès. The film, combining American ideas about Santa Claus with Méliès's fantasy style and a modern touch, followed the adventures of a young girl, Polly, one Christmas night, as she escapes kidnappers, travels to Santa's palace, and—by changing places with a large doll—goes with Santa on a giftgiving journey by airplane.