The Night They Saved Christmas (1984)

An oil company is exploring two Arctic sites for oil. The needed blasting at the first site rocks Santa Claus' North Pole village. He realizes that any blasting at the second site will ... See full summary »

Director:

Jackie Cooper

Writers:

Jim Moloney (teleplay), David Niven Jr. (teleplay)

Stars:

Jaclyn Smith, Art Carney, Paul Le Mat

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

An oil company is exploring two Arctic sites for oil. The needed blasting at the first site rocks Santa Claus' North Pole village. He realizes that any blasting at the second site will destroy his home. He enlists the aid of a woman and her children to convince her husband (who works for the company) that the first site is where the oil they want is. Along the way, Santa explains all his secrets in delivering presents all around the world.

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Plot Keywords:

north pole | santa claus | arctic | santa's workshop | father son hug | 

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Taglines:

You're going to believe in Santa all over again!

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Joulupukki pulassa

Filming Locations:

Arctic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Robert Halmi

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Santa (Art Carney) tries to prove to Claudia that he's Santa, he knows that she was living in Houston, Texas at an early age. In real-life, Jaclyn Smith (Claudia) was born in Houston, Texas.

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Goofs

The fact this movie takes place up by the North Pole during the beginning of winter, there should be 24-hour darkness, but there's day and night in this movie.

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Quotes

Claudia: I'm really worried David. Do you really think we're going a hundred miles per hour?
David: Of course not, it's an illusion. We're probably not going 20 miles per hour.
Claudia: Well we seem to be going pretty fast.
David: I know...
[matter of factly]
David: there's an increased perception of velocity at both the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
Claudia: If you say so
[looks at David in confusion]

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XI (2000)

User Reviews

super movie

I've been looking for this movie all over the internet, all i can find is amazon, even my local video stores don't have it..one of the most heartwarming stores I've ever seen, just a super job of bringing you a little down then lifting you up with the belief in the north pole folk. Wish it were a little more widely available. Best Christmas movie I've seen. It would be a good investment for a family who wants to spend some quality time together and see the magic of Christmas. Paul Lemat and Paul williams are excellent as is Jacly Smith who seems to appear all to infrequently in movies these days.

Again a masterful job of bringing the magic of Christmas alive and making believers out of even the most cold hearted.