The Night They Saved Christmas (1984) (TV)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Jackie Cooper

Writer:

Jim Moloney (writer)

Release Date:

13 December 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An oil company is exploring two Arctic sites for oil. The needed blasting at the first site rocks Santa Claus' North Pole village...

Plot Keywords:

Oil | Santa Claus | Arctic | Christmas In Danger | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win

Cast

Jaclyn Smith	...	Claudia Baldwin
Art Carney	...	Santa Claus
Paul Le Mat	...	Michael Baldwin
Mason Adams	...	Sumner Murdock
June Lockhart	...	Mrs. Claus
Paul Williams	...	Ed
Scott Grimes	...	David
Laura Jacoby	...	Marianne
R.J. Williams	...	C.B.
James Staley	...	Marin
Albert Hall	...	Loomis
Anne Haney	...	Hedda
Buddy Douglas	...	Dr. Fernando
Billy Curtis	...	Jack
Michael Keys Hall	...	Faulkner

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Arctic

Company:

RHI Entertainment

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Ed is taking them to North Pole City in the tracked vehicle, the tracks of the camera vehicle can be seen in the snow in one wide shot of the tracked vehicle traveling forward through the snow.

Quotes:

David: [about going to meet Santa Claus] We'll all meet a big white rabbit and go to the mad hatter tea party.

Movie Connections:

References 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

A spirit of Christmas past

Somewhere between the sugary sweet fantasies of Rankin-Bass and the more cynical (yet enjoyable in their own right) offerings like "Scrooged" lies this little TV movie. It makes few efforts at being cool, instead aiming for pre-teen innocence, or maybe just the innocence adults think they had at that age. In any event, whether by design, by accident or even by the idealizing effects of misty childhood memory, this movie has won a place in the hearts of many kids and kids at heart who watched it in the 1980s.

It has all the usual ingredients for a decent Christmas movie. Family strife, imminent peril but no real violence, little people as elves, singing, colorful toy clutter, and some fairly imaginative Christmas-themed props. But it takes itself fairly seriously and doesn't devolve into complete goofiness like "Elf."

This was one of the early movies showing a "high tech" Santa, far presaging "The Santa Clause" or "Santa vs. the Snowman." Of course, by modern standards, the effects are primitive, but remember that this is a kid's movie, and kids are not nearly as picky as adults are. Which is a good thing. Take it for the story and don't whine that it's not a Disney/Pixar visual extravaganza. It could have been a lot worse, being a TV movie, and you have to give them points for doing quite a bit of exterior filming on location in Alaska. The interiors of North Pole City were small, limited by the budget, but there was a bit of homey coziness in there.

If there is one real weakness in the movie, it's the acting. Many were fine, including Jaclyn Smith, Art Carney, June Lockhart, Paul Williams and veteran character actor Mason Adams. On the other hand, R.J. Williams was not a good child actor, being roughly in the same league as the "Full House" era Olsen twins. He overacted during most of his scenes, and the emotion just never seemed genuine. In the other direction was Paul Le Mat as his father. Either he didn't have his heart in the role or he just couldn't act. He always seemed to be simply following the director's orders, not truly putting himself into the role. With flat delivery of his lines and an unexpressive face, he was as unconvincing as his young co-star.

All in all, it's a worthwhile treat for the family, although it may bore many adults who didn't grow up with it.