Carol for Another Christmas (1964) (TV)

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer:

Rod Serling (writer)

Release Date:

28 December 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | War

Plot:

Presented without commercial interruptions, this "United Nations Special" was sponsored by the Xerox Corporation...

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Loss Of Son | WWI | Based On Novel

Cast

Sterling Hayden	...	Daniel Grudge
Eva Marie Saint	...	The Wave
Ben Gazzara	...	Fred
Barbara Ann Teer	...	Ruby (as Barbara Ainteer)
Steve Lawrence	...	Ghost of Christmas Past
James Shigeta	...	The Doctor
Pat Hingle	...	Ghost of Christmas Present
Robert Shaw	...	Ghost of Christmas Future
Peter Sellers	...	Imperial Me
Britt Ekland	...	The Mother
Percy Rodrigues	...	Charles
Gordon Spencer	...	Marley Grudge

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Michael Myerberg Studios, New York, USA

Company:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC)

Trivia:

Peter Fonda was edited out of this film shortly before it aired, yet he is still visible in a portrait on a wall of the set.

Quotes:

[the Ghost of Christmas Present gorges himself at a banquet table, while barbed wired keeps out starving refugees]
Daniel Grudge: How can you sit there and eat like that, when these people are starving?
Ghost of Christmas Present: Oh? Do they bother you?
[he snaps his fingers, the lights go out and the refugees disappear]
Ghost of Christmas Present: Feel better?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Unknown Peter Sellers (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree

A Christmas Carol that may not translate to the 21st Century

The Museum of Television and Radio owns a copy of this film written by Rod Serling and only shown once on television. Part of its financing came from the United Nations and the theme of the film is more about international cooperation than simply being anti-war.

Sterling Hayden portrays a wealthy man who served in the Navy during World War II and is now a lonely bitter man upset over his son's death in a war he described as needless, presumably in Korea. Hayden is now an isolationist.

The three ghosts think their job is to make Hayden's character more of an internationalist and more willing to accept U.S. involvement in organizations like the United Nations. Coming right before the U.S. racheted up its involvement in Vietnam, it is easy to understand why this film didn't get shown again.

The visit from the Ghost of Christmas Future (Robert Shaw) is the most frightening part of the film. He shows Hayden a post nuclear apoclaypse world run by a weird character called the Imperial Me (Peter Sellers). Sellers is quite effective.

It's an interesting film, but you have to take it in its context. If you are a big Rod Serling fan, it is worth seeing. If you are not, you might find the themes in the film delivered in a rather heavy-handed manner.