The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (1966)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.In this film Sam Whipple, a broke lawyer who is young at heart, meets Santa Claus and learns that he's upset because he has a new landlord named Phineas T. Prune, to whom Santa owes a lot of rent. Prune has threatened to confiscate Santa's toys and have him, Mrs. Claus and the elves evicted. In order to raise money, Sam and Santa get jobs at a department store. Santa is nervous at first, but when the children arrive they naturally gravitate to him and he becomes a big success.Prune schemes to thwart Sam and Santa's plans. He buys the department store, has his butler destroy several toys and takes the damages out of Santa and Sam's paychecks. He gloats that Santa will never be able to pay his rent on time. Children of the world then unite to save Santa. Now is the acting great "No" Could the story be better? "Yes". Is it family safe "Yes". Does this film tell the story well? "Kind of" There is worse movies out there with a Santa Theme story and there is of course much better films however this film is safe for small children and has a strange almost Tim Burton feeling built into the cinematography of the entire production.

For reasons that cannot be explained in their entirety, this film is the absolute standard in holiday entertainment in my household. The music *must* be played (I burned a CD) while we decorate the tree, and the film *must* be watched (my brother burned a DVD) before going to bed on Christmas Eve. Either of course is subject to being played again in the background the following morning while presents are unwrapped. Why? We don't know! It's just...it's *funny*, I guess. My brother and I always cheer (we're both around 30 years old now) whenever Prune gets thwarted, and we always boo when it looks like he's going to destroy Christmas (again!). There's just something about this film that *is* Christmas, at least to us. The characters are all very entertaining, and we enjoy the songs. Seriously, it just never gets old. Obviously I'm highly recommending this film, as silly, harmless entertainment for the whole family.

This was a fantastic film. I wish to this day that I could have my own kids see it. I'm almost in my thirties and I found out that the movie is out of print. It is one of the few things that profoundly sticks out in my mind from my young childhood years. This is one of two films when I was growing up that my parents allowed my brother and I to stay up late on a school night to watch. (the other was The Wizard of Oz). If anyone ever has the chance to see this movie, I highly recommend it.

I have been watching this movie since I was a little girl, It has become a family tradition in our home.My kids enjoy it as much now as I did then. This is definitly a family Christmas movie you shouldn't miss if you get a chance to see it. Shows the values of love, respect, and helping others,along with having some great music and lots of fun. And at the end you realy end up liking the bad guy. A must see...