Silver Bells (2005) (TV)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Dick Lowry

Writers (WGA):

Jim McGrath (teleplay)
Luanne Rice (novel)

Release Date:

27 November 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Plot:

Manhattanite Catherine O'Mara (Heche) bonds with a young man who has run away from his father. When the father returns to New York a year later to sell his Christmas trees, he and Catherine cross paths. |

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Anne Heche	...	Catherine O'Mara
Tate Donovan	...	Christy Byrne
Michael Mitchell	...	Danny Byrne
Courtney Jines	...	Bridget Byrne
Max Martini	...	Rip
John Benjamin Hickey	...	Lawrence
Margo Martindale	...	Mrs. Quinn
Steve Ryan
Mike Colter	...	Bill
Joel Steingold
David Doty
Lenora May
Victoria Justice	...	Rose
V.J. Foster	...	Policeman#1 (2005)
Marc D. Wilson	...	Policeman #2

Runtime:

120 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Movie Connections:

References Be Cool (2005)

Maudlin and Melodramatic!

"Silver Bells" was billed as the 225th presentation in the Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television film series. Sadly, this effort was not among the strongest of their offerings.

The likable cast included Anne Heche and Tate Donovan, whose characters were a widow and widower, and who inevitably became the central romantic couple. Unfortunately, the plot focused on a teenager runaway problem, as opposed to joys of the holidays, which should have been the film's central preoccupation.

As played by Donovan, the young runaway's father was a hard-working Christmas-tree dealer and decent man, and it made no sense that the boy would take to the streets of New York City following an argument with his father. The runaway story bogged down the film as a lugubrious, mechanical plot device.

The film should have celebrated the holidays with more joy in the lives of the characters. The most heart-warming scenes were the ice-skating sequence and the singing of the children in the church choir. The son Danny (Michael Mitchell) was an aspiring photographer. The film should have been about the photos, the great New York scenery, and the young man's love of photography, not the maudlin, melodramatic, and ultimately unconvincing story of a runaway.