A Christmas Without Snow (TV 1980)

A divorced woman moves to a new city with her child, trying to build her life again. She joins the choir of a local church but has some personality conflicts with the choirmaster, a ... See full summary »

Director:

John Korty

Writers:

John Korty (teleplay), Richard Beban (teleplay),

Stars:

Michael Learned, John Houseman, Ramon Bieri

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Learned	...	Zoe Jensen
John Houseman	...	Ephraim Adams
Ramon Bieri	...	Henry Quist
James Cromwell	...	Reverend Lohman
Valerie Curtin	...	Muriel
David Knell	...	Terry
Calvin Levels	...	Wendell
Ruth Nelson	...	Inez
Beah Richards	...	Wendell's Grandma
William Swetland	...	Hartley
Ed Bogas	...	Seth
Daisietta Kim	...	Maisie Kim
Joy Carlin	...	Cora Newman
Anne Lawder	...	Evangeline Burns
Barbara Tarbuck	...	Carol Thorpe

Storyline

A divorced woman moves to a new city with her child, trying to build her life again. She joins the choir of a local church but has some personality conflicts with the choirmaster, a curmudgeonly old gentleman who will accept nothing but perfection from his group. As Christmas approaches and the choir practices for a big show and the director pushes them all to their emotional limits, she contemplates quitting the group.

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Plot Keywords:

choir | christmas | church | racism | young | 

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Taglines:

Destined to be a Christmas classic.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Navidad sin nieve

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Korty Films, Frank Koenigsberg Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Ephraim Adams: Mrs. Burns is right, of course; you are amateurs, unlike certain pseudo-professionals like myself who insist on slave wages. Your voluntary and steadfast attendance at these rehearsals fully qualifies you for any definition of the word "amateur". What Mrs. Burns and many others are wrong about is the meaning of the word, which has to do with motivation, not quality. Remember "amo, amat, amas", the Latin verb "to love". The meaning of "amateur" is "he or she who does a thing for the love of it"....

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Soundtracks

"The Messiah"
by George Frideric Handel (as Georg Friedrich Händel)

User Reviews

above average holiday flick

This seemingly forgotten telefilm is far and away better that the current crop of yuletide dreck being offered by the likes of the Hallmark Channel and various others. A Christmas Without Snow offers a great cast, intelligent writing, and characters we care about. As other reviews have stated, Michael Learned plays a divorcée starting over in San Francisco who, in an attempt to find some stability, joins a church choir which is about to attempt an ambitious mounting of Handel's Messiah. John Houseman is the no-nonsense director who demands perfection from his choir. As the choir progresses toward its performance of the musical masterpiece, we gain insight into the lives and personalities of various members. What other reviewers have missed is the sense of community among the diverse parishioners/choir members, something that reflects positively on the traditional Christian church. In almost vignette-type fashion, we get to know these people, their loves, hopes, hurts, and see them rally together to tackle the Messiah and also the various problems they encounter as a church and as individuals. There are no quick fixes, no tidy happy endings. Yet these people have each other and the satisfaction of working hard at their endeavors. There's support, there's love, and there's a lot that is healthy and thriving and growing. Intelligent and life-affirming without being syrupy. Recommended.