The Christmas Shoes (TV 2002)

A young boy tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for his dying mother, while a lawyer tries to deal with the break-up of his marriage.

Director:

Andy Wolk

Writers:

Donna Van Liere (book), Wesley Bishop (teleplay)

Stars:

Rob Lowe, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Max Morrow

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rob Lowe	...	Robert Layton
Kimberly Williams-Paisley	...	Maggie Andrews (as Kimberly Williams)
Max Morrow	...	Nathan Andrews
Maria del Mar	...	Kate Layton
Hugh Thompson	...	Jack Andrews
Dorian Harewood	...	Dalton Gregory
Shirley Douglas	...	Ellen Layton
Amber Marshall	...	Lily
Rhonda McLean	...	Gwen
Jeremy Akerman	...	Tom Wilson
John Maclaren	...	Dean McGraw
Brian Heighton	...	Jake Cardwell
Geoff Herod	...	Young Adult Nathan
Bill Carr	...	Dr. Mather
John Dunsworth	...	Dr. Julian

Storyline

Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir and declines a job in Robert's firm. When Robert's mother passes away, he begins to reconsider things and his and Nathan's paths cross on Christmas Eve as Nathan tries to raise the money for the shoes and Robert tries to get a present for his daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | based on book

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les souliers de Noël

Filming Locations:

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beth Grossbard Productions, Craig Anderson Productions, Nova Scotia Film Industry Tax Credit

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The book that the screenplay was based on, was based on the lyric written by Eddie Carswell for the song of the same name - a #1 song by the group New Song.

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Goofs

It is supposed to be set in 1985 (as evidenced by the dates on the grave markers at the beginning and end of the film), but many later-generation cars (mostly from the '90s) can be seen throughout the film.

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Quotes

Maggie Andrews: Honey, what's the matter?
Nathan Andrews: Your heart. I just wanted to see if it was still beating.

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Connections

Featured in The Christmas Blessing (2005)

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Soundtracks

"The Christmas Shoes"
Written by Eddie Carswell and Leonard Ahlstrom
Performed by Newsong
Courtesy of Reunion Records

User Reviews

Great Movie

Me and my family thoroughly enjoyed the movie on TV. The plot was excellent and the characters were great. The movie changed a lot of ways people thought about Christmas and the importance of sacrifice for something you really want to do. We enjoyed the movie enough that we wish it would broadcast again. The boy wanting the shoes for his mother showed that he loved his mother dearly and wanted to please her on her last days before going to see Jesus. The man that gave him the extra money so that the boy could afford the shoes realized that he needed to spend more time with his kids and less time with work. It was really a tear jerker and I cried halfway through the movie.