Christmas Movie 21: “Ernest Saves Christmas”

Christmas Movie 21: “Ernest Saves Christmas”

by MichelleMcHatton

If you’re into silly 80’s Christmas movies, look no further than “Ernest Saves Christmas”.

This movie released in 1988 stars Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell, the simple-minded character whose heart is always in the right place but who always seems to end up in the wrong place. A jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none in all his movies, this film portrays Ernest as an Orlando, Florida taxi driver who picks up a passenger at the airport (Douglas Seale). Ernest comments to the man that he looks a lot like Santa Claus to which the passenger replies that he is Santa Claus.

As it turns out, Santa is getting ready to retire and he’s seeking out his successor, a former children’s show host named Joe Carruthers (played by Oliver Clark). Santa knows he’s at the Orlando Children’s Museum and tells Ernest he must get there right away.

On their way to the museum, they pick up a runaway teenage girl named Harmony Starr (Noelle Parker) . Ernest soon realizes Santa has no real money so Santa rides for free and because of this, he ends up losing his job. On top of that, Ernest discovers that when he dropped him off at the museum, Santa left his magic sack in Ernest’s cab. So now Ernest, and Harmony, who somehow has just latched on to Ernest, have to track down Santa.

Back at the museum Santa tries to convince Joe that he must take over as Santa but is dismayed by Joe’s agent. Then Santa discovers his sack is missing and he tries explaining his predicament and how Joe needs to become Santa but the agent isn’t having it and Santa gets arrested.

Ernest and Harmony manage to get Santa out of jail and once again take Santa to see Joe, who is now in a role for a horror film called Christmas Slay, which he clearly wants no part of. The role also offends Santa and he ends up punching the director of the movie.

In a final push, Santa tracks Joe down at his home and somewhat convinces him to become the new Santa. Ernest helps this along when he and Santa’s helpers meet Santa’s elves at the airport, get the reindeer and sleigh and fly to the children’s museum. When Joe witnesses the flying reindeer, he’s finally convinced.

Throughout the film we also witness the hijinks of Chuck and Bobby, two storage agents at the airport who have a large package that Chuck believes says “hold for helper elms” but Bobby keeps telling him it’s a “V”. Which of course they later discover it’s Santa’s sleigh and reindeer, when suddenly antlers pop through the box and the reindeer suddenly fly up to the ceiling.

An interesting tidbit about this film: (per Wikipedia: This was the first major feature production filmed almost entirely in Orlando, Florida, at the then-unfinished Disney-MGM Studios. Exterior scenes set at the house of Ernest’s friend Vern were filmed at a house located on Residential Street at the park, and which was part of the Studio Backlot Tour until it was demolished in 2002.)

Christmas Movie 22: “The Lemon Drop Kid”

Christmas Movie 22: “The Lemon Drop Kid”

by MichelleMcHatton

What can be said about Bob Hope that hasn’t already been said? The man was an iconic entertainer for decades and one Christmas classic he left us with is “The Lemon Drop Kid”. It’s a comedy film made in 1951 featuring Hope and Marilyn Maxwell.

Hope plays a loveable con artist known as The Kid (real name is Sidney Milburn) whose shtick is sucking on lemon drops and of course conning people out of their money at the racetrack. When he swindles the wrong person at the racetrack right before Christmas, he finds himself in a precarious situation. Because the wrong person he has wronged is a gangster named Moose Moran (played by Fred Clark). Moose is out $10,000 and Kid has until Christmas to pay him back.

Kid encounters his old friend Nellie Thursday back in New York and learns that she has had her application for a retirement home denied. This comes into play later in the story. Kid then visits his on-again-off-again girlfriend Brainey Baxter (Maxwell) and swindles her out of ten bucks and takes off. Then he tries to get the ten grand from Oxford Charlie, a crime boss he’s had past dealings with. With no luck from Charlie, Kid gets tossed out. As he’s walking down the street he encounters a Santa ringing a bell and declaring “help the needy”. Santa says to Kid “put something in the pot?” and Kid replies “at least you’ve got one”. But Santa gives Kid an idea and in the next scene we see Kid dressed as a street corner Santa ringing a bell. He is soon recognized by a police officer and is charged with panhandling. He calls Brainey for help and initially she refuses but she ends up bailing him out.

Kid then comes up with a scheme to not only save himself but help Nellie out as well. Along with his swindling friends such as Brainey and Gloomy (played by William Frawley), Kid converts an abandoned casino (ironically belonging to Moose Moran) into the “Nellie Thursday Home For Old Dolls”. Now that they have a license, Kid and his cronies stage themselves as Santas around the city to collect money for their “legitimate” charity. However, the others are unaware of Kid’s plans to keep the money for himself to pay off Moose.

Once Charlie gets word of the charity all hell breaks loose and the inhabitants at the home are kidnapped while Kid is away. The story ends with a twist, putting Moose and Charlie in jeopardy and making Kid a hero, at least to his allies.

One comical scene in the movie shows Frawley’s character dressed as Santa and singing an off-key mixed up version of “Silver Bells”. Kid and Brainey come along and Kid berates him for his poor singing. Then Kid and Brainey break into the well-known and first-aired rendition of the popular Christmas song.

Although I have only seen “Lemon Drop Kid” once, I found it very entertaining and intend to add it to my yearly Christmas watch list.


Christmas Movie 23: “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”

Christmas Movie 23: “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”

by MichelleMcHatton

For me Mickey Rooney has always been synonymous with classic movies. After all, he is a movie icon. One of my favorite Rooney Christmas movies, going back to my teen years, is “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”. This one is from 1984.

The movie stars Rooney as Mike Halligan, a retired New York City cop now living with his daughter and her family in California. It’s quite clear he misses Christmas in NYC when the family goes to pick out a tree and he complains about the trees being all different colors and there is no snow. We learn of his plan to take his grandson Robbie (played by Scott Grimes) to NYC for Christmas. A few days before Christmas Halligan is putting up Christmas lights and suffers a fatal heart attack. In a fantasy twist to the movie, while waiting to check in at Heaven’s gates, Halligan makes a deal with the archangel (George Gaynes) to return to Earth to fulfill his NYC Christmas trip with Robbie. The archangel makes a deal with Halligan: he can return to Earth temporarily, but he must seek out a wayward angel in NYC named Wiley Boggs (William Griffis) who was sent to NYC to restore the Christmas spirit. But has now just been running amok.

Much to his daughter’s protest (after all, he just died and came back to life and now wants to take off to NYC with her son), Halligan and Robbie leave for NYC because a deal is a deal. His daughter and the rest of her family tag along because, hey, you just died but now you’re alive and what the hell is going on?

Long story short, Halligan and Robbie track Wiley throughout the city and finally catch up with him where he reveals that he has given up on spreading the Christmas spirit and that Halligan can tell the archangel that he found him but he didn’t succeed in doing what he was supposed to do.

Robbie comes up with the idea that if Wiley couldn’t spread the Christmas cheer, maybe he and Halligan should do it. They take to the streets singing Christmas carols. Then with the help of a reporter (Annie Potts), who has been desperately trying to find stories about the Christmas spirit to report for her broadcast, they are able to spread their message to the whole city.

I won’t reveal the entire ending but Rooney’s last line in the movie kind of hits you: “Life is what you make of it”.

Christmas movie 24: “Christmas Comes To Willow Creek”

Christmas movie 24: “Christmas Comes To Willow Creek”

by MichelleMcHatton

Who would have ever thought that John Schneider and Tom Wopat would trade in their General Lee for an 18-wheeler? Well in this 1987 made-for-TV Christmas movie that’s exactly what they do. For a good cause, of course.

As it turns out, Al (played by Hoyt Axton) used to live in Willow Creek, Alaska, a town that has fallen on hard times since the cannery closed down. Most of the townspeople worked there and now have no jobs. Just as Al is ready to leave California for Willow Creek to deliver a truck full of needed goodies, he has a heart attack. Enter his pals Pete (Wopat) and Ray (Schneider), two truck-driving brothers who have been feuding over a woman (Ray’s pregnant wife Jessie–played by Kim Delaney). Apparently she used to have a relationship with Pete before she married Ray. To add to the complications, we have Pete’s ornery teen son Michael (played by Zachary Ansley) who is angry at his father for being on the road so much. Ray, Pete and Michael take off from California for Willow Creek . Along the way they pick up Jessie as well.

So now you have two feuding brothers, a bratty teen and a very pregnant lady in an 18-wheeler on its way to Alaska. Then a blizzard hits. And Jessie gives birth. Ray and Pete make up and all is well when they arrive in Willow Creek.

This movie was a favorite of mine as a teen. I’ve seen it many times and even own the DVD. I won’t give away the ending because if you haven’t seen this film, you really should. But I will tell you it is a happy ending for everyone. And it has to do with Ray and chili.

Christmas Movie 25: “The Christmas Tree”

Christmas Movie 25: “The Christmas Tree”

by MichelleMcHatton

“The Christmas Tree” is a movie I discovered on YouTube several years ago. I was mainly attracted to it because (1) it is a Christmas movie and (2) it stars Andrew McCarthy.

The movie also stars Julie Harris and Trini Alvarado and it’s directed by Sally Field. That alone should make you want to watch it.

It was a made-for-TV movie released on December 22, 1996. It’s about Rockefeller Center’s head gardener Richard Reilly (McCarthy) who befriends an elderly nun Sister Anthony (Harris)–mainly because he wants her tree as the star of the show at Rockefeller Center.

The film is very touching and emotional at times, reflecting upon Sister Anthony’s past and how she came to arrive at the convent and her love of the tree that Richard so dearly wants for Rockefeller Center. It also mixes in Richard’s relationship problems and job issues (such as having a tree lined up and it falling through and the continuous trying to convince Sister Anthony to let go of her tree).

The movie is interesting for anyone who may have wondered about what goes into choosing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. It doesn’t show/tell you everything, but you can get the idea.

I won’t spoil the ending, in case you wish to see it. It’s still on YouTube. In fact, I have recently started re-watching it and once again, enjoying it so much.