The House Without a Christmas Tree
The House Without a Christmas Tree is a 1972 television movie, based on a children's book by Gail Rock, that centers on the relationship between Addie Mills (Lisa Lucas), a bright and energetic only child, and her melancholy father, James Mills (Jason Robards). James never recovered from the death of his wife (Addie's mother), and is bitterly against ever having a Christmas tree in the house. The videotaped production was seen regularly on CBS between 1972 and 1977.[1]
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[edit] Characters
- Addie Mills, the daughter (Lisa Lucas)
- James Mills, the father (Jason Robards)
- Addie's grandmother (Mildred Natwick)
[edit] Plot
The film takes place in fictional Clear River, Nebraska in 1946. Ten year old Addie lives in a very ordinary house with her widowed father James and her loving grandmother played by Mildred Natwick. Addie is a young lonely girl with large hornrimmed glasses. Her mother died shortly after she was born, and this builds resentment in her father as he wonders why his wife had to die, rather than the baby. His only interaction with Addie seems to be by way of correcting her which he does frequently. His refusal to allow a Christmas tree in the house does not go unchallenged, as Addie has asked him in the past. Finally, Addie wins a school contest using a guessing technique learned from her father and is awarded a Christmas tree which she brings home. This is not well received by James who orders that the tree be removed. James' mother reminds him that the house belongs to her whereupon he threatens to leave taking Addie with him. Getting up in the middle of the night, Addie gives away the Christmas tree to another girl in her class whose family is also without a tree. At last James' rethinks his position and comes home with a tree and several boxes of ornaments. However, the tree lacks a star. James goes into the attic and reappears with a star which had been made by her mother. The relationship between Addie and her father is much changed and we are led to believe, improved. The show ends with the voice of Addie speaking as a grown woman saying that her dear grandmother had died, she had moved to the big city, but returns each year for Christmas, and each year her father has a Christmas tree ready for her. [2]
[edit] Production
Originally shown on CBS on December 3, 1972, this movie was actually a very low budget film produced on videotape. It was repeated several times in the 1970s, on CBS, during the holiday season. In 1991, it was released on VHS, and then on DVD in 2007.[3]
[edit] Awards
Eleanor Perry won a prime time Emmy for "Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama - Adaptation," and Paul Bogart was nominated for a Director's Guild Award.
[edit] Legacy
The Christmas show was so successful,[1] it resulted in three other specials with the same cast:
- "The Thanksgiving Treasure" November 18, 1973 (VHS release retitled, "The Holiday Treasure")
- "The Easter Promise" March 26, 1975
- Valentine's Day special: "Addie and the King of Hearts", February 25, 1976
All but the last of were highly rated and have been released on VHS. However, only "The House Without a Christmas Tree" has been made available on DVD. The original Christmas special is often recommended on a variety of lists, both for holiday viewing, and other themes such as about single parents.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Shull, Richard K. (December 11, 1994). "Answerman". Tulsa World.
- ^ Franco, Ose (November 23, 2000). "Nothing on TV when you have the time to watch? Rent one of these holiday videos". Herald-Journal.,
- ^ Bobbin, Jay (March 6, 2009). "Pipeline". Allegheny Times.
- ^ Roberts, Jerry (January 16, 1987). "'Kramer' just 1 of many cassettes on single parents". Daily Breeze.
[edit] External links
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