Korty Films, Frank Koenigsberg Productions,
James Cromwell, Barbara Tarbuck, Michael Learned, John Houseman, Ramon Bieri, Valerie Curtin, David Knell, Calvin Levels, Ruth Nelson, Beah Richards
Zoe Jensen is a recently divorced Mom who decides to survive by moving to San Francisco to find a job. Things are tough, but she manages to get by, but when she stumbles upon the church choir who are preparing to sing Handel’s Messiah for Christmas, she is intrigued. The choir director Ephraim Adams (John Houseman) is a harsh taskmaster though, and much quicker with the barbs and wise cracks than the occasional compliment. With her love of the chior, and the friends she makes through the choir members keeps her going, despite all the challenges she has to face.
This is a very dated TV Christmas movie. Surely Michael Learned was on the top of the heap with “The Waltons” and it was done in that time period. Therefore you’ll find it has the look of a 1980’s TV Movie. No special effects or camera tricks here, just a simple story. But it’s a pretty good story, especially as a Christmas film. The characters are real, and the drama is realistic. The crotchety old choir director is sure to have a heart of gold under there somewhere, and we know it’s all going to end up fine in the end. This film is now available on DVD, and it’s nice to see one of these made for TV films that is now around for us to enjoy it again. It’s certainly nice to go back to a much, much simpler time. I enjoyed the sentimental stuff of this film, and as one of the first Christmas movies I watched in 2014, this is a good start for our Christmas on TV Project.
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