My Merry Christmas

By B. Francis Morlan



It is a familiar story. For every kid's Christmas wish fulfilled there are just as many, if not more, stories of kids who tear at beautifully wrapped packages in great anticipation only to be disappointed with what is inside. The Santa Clause 2 is much like a white elephant Christmas present. It looked great under the tree, but it was best left unwrapped.

As a general rule, sequels rarely top the original. But when it comes to Christmas sequels especially, di... [Read More]

By Sarita Mehra



If, like most parents, you start to stammer when you’re asked the eternal question about Santa, then this is the movie for you.

Fresh and funny, The Santa Clause was released in 1994 to rave reviews, and with its sequel out this year, it’s a movie worth revisiting.

Tim Allen plays advertising executive Scott Calvin who has the unfortunate experience of frightening Santa Claus off the roof of his home on Christmas. One thing leads to another and Scott heads to... [Read More]

By B. Francis Morlan



Spousal neglect, relationships with the in-laws, competitive workplace dynamics and the commercialization of the North Pole are dominant themes in Disney's 2006 release of The Santa Claus 3. The G-rated kid-targeted film is a heartless story full of tired characters. The packaging and relentless Disney channel promotion will make the kids beg to see it -- we urge resistance at all costs.

Tim Allen is back as Santa. His hands are full as Mrs. Claus, weepily pl... [Read More]

By Jeff Westover



They say there are four stages you go through in life: you believe in Santa, you don't believe in Santa, you believe in Santa again, and you look like Santa. Funny though that may be, there is an element of truth in the ageless conflict we all face when it comes to devotion to Santa Claus.

The Polar Express examines that conflict in the heart of a little boy and it does it in style. From the opening moments of the movie the viewer feasts on stunning visual images... [Read More]

By Jeff Westover



Years ago I wrote an article about the Nativity and in it I mused that this greatest of all stories would make an awesome movie. As 2006's The Nativity Story came to the big screen I received numerous emails suggesting that my movie had been made.

Almost. Not quite -- but almost.

Anticipation of seeing The Nativity Story reminded me of the anxiety I felt in writing that article years ago. This is a beloved story. It is a story with deep personal and spiritu... [Read More]

By B. Francis Morlan



The Muppet franchise bit off a big project by taking on Dickens. For some, perhaps pushing a Bob Cratchett played by a frog may have been too much with the Muppet's version of A Christmas Carol. But for others the Muppet's unique humor helps to offset a story that some take far too seriously at Christmastime anyway. As is the Muppet tradition, this movie doesn't take itself too seriously at all.

And that may be precisely why this 1992 production has had such... [Read More]

By Jeff Westover



If only all prayers were answered so.

The story unfolds as an angel is sent in answer to a Bishop's prayer. The Bishop was praying for help in funding a new cathedral a task that so overwhelmed his life that he was beginning to neglect his wife and family. Naturally, the angel helps in ways unanticipated and unappreciated -- by the forlorn Bishop. What unfolds is a delightful tale of love, chivalry and holiday cheer.

The black and white film, crafted in 1947... [Read More]

By Jeff Westover



In a 1980 production of a low budget and not-so widely distributed film directed by Academy Award winning director Keith Merrill, Jimmy Stewart gives the holiday performance of a lifetime. Unlike that other Christmas movie starring Stewart nearly forty years previously, this one features neither the predictable sub-plots of good versus evil or the triumph over Christmas disasters.

Stewart plays Willie Krueger, a lonely old man enduring a Christmas alone in... [Read More]

By Jeff Westover



Susan Walker is a little girl. Or, at least she looks like one.

Susan is the only child of a single working mother and lives in a high-rise apartment smack in the middle of New York City. She lives and interacts in a world of adults. Her demeanor is very mature, her questions always direct and, like her mother, her views are very practical.

Doris Walker is Susan's mother. For reasons we never really learn, her husband has abandoned the family and Doris is fo... [Read More]

By Jimmy Stewart (1977)



A friend told me recently that seeing a movie I made in 1946 is a holiday tradition in his family, "like putting up the Christmas tree". That movie is It's a Wonderful Life, and out of all the 80 films I've made, it's my favorite. But it has an odd history.

When the war was over in 1945, I came back home to California from three years' service in the Air Force. I had been away from the film business, my MGM contract had run out, and frankly, not... [Read More]