''The Christmas Gift'' is a 1986 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

starring

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

. It was produced by

Norman Rosemont Norman Rosemont (December 12, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York – April 22, 2018 in Scottsdale, Arizona) was an Emmy-winning American producer of films, television, and theatre. He worked as a press agent before moving into theatre. He worked as a ge ...

, and was Denver's first acting role since '' Oh, God!'' (1977). Denver said he took the role "because it was the perfect opportunity to ease back into acting; it is a light, warm tale of human relationships. I waited for something that I felt really good about and turned down a lot of scripts over the years. I've been very picky about acting projects and, in retrospect, I made a big mistake a few years ago when I turned down the Zack Mayo role (played by Richard Gere) in ''

An Officer and a Gentleman Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (or conduct unbecoming for short) is an offense that is subject to court martial in the armed forces of some nations. Use in the United Kingdom The phrase was used as a charge in courts martial of t ...

''. It was mostly due to my naivete - I couldn't envision the final product from the initial script."

Plot

According to both IMDB and Amazon the authorized plot is as follows, "A widowed New York City architect and his young daughter take a Christmas vacation and end up in a small mystical town in Colorado where everyone believes in Santa Claus."

Home release

According to Amazon the DVD release of ''The Christmas Gift'' was on November 4, 2014 with English subtitles through

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

. Also according to Amazon the runtime for the movie on DVD is 1 hour and 34 minutes. ''The Christmas Gift'' was released on VHS by Good Times Home Video with a runtime as listed only being 96 minutes.

Cast

- George Billings *

Jane Kaczmarek Jane Frances Kaczmarek (; born December 21, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Malcolm's mother Lois on the Fox television sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned her three Golden Globe nomination ...

- Susan MacMillen * Gennie James - Alexandra "Alex" Billings * Edward Winter - Thomas A. Renfield *

Pat Corley Pat Corley (June 1, 1930 – September 11, 2006) was an American actor. He was known for his role as bar owner Phil on the CBS sitcom '' Murphy Brown'' from 1988 to 1996. He also had a recurring role as Chief Coroner Wally Nydorf on the tel ...

- Bud Sawyer *

Mary Wickes Mary Wickes (born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser; June 13, 1910 – October 22, 1995) was an American actress. She often played supporting roles as prim, professional women, secretaries, nurses, nuns, therapists, teachers and housekeepers, who made ...

- Henrietta "Aunt Henny" Sawyer *

Kurtwood Smith Kurtwood Larson Smith (born July 3, 1943) is an American television and film actor. He is known for playing Clarence Boddicker in ''RoboCop'' (1987), Robert Griggs in ''Rambo III'' (1988), and Red Forman in ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), as ...

- Jake Richards *

James T. Callahan James Callahan may refer to: Sports * James Callahan (ice hockey), founder of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925 *Nixey Callahan (1874–1934), also known as Jimmy Callahan, baseball pitcher and manager * Jim Callahan (baseball) (1881–1968), basebal ...

- Robert "Bob" Truesdale *

Anne Haney Anne Ryan Haney ( Thomas; March 4, 1934 – May 26, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress. She was best known for her roles in ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' and ''Liar Liar'', as well as Alberta Meechum on the sitcom ''Mama's Family''. Early yea ...

- Clara Huckle * Harvey Vernon - Hank Huckle

References

External links

*
''The Christmas Gift''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

1986 television films 1986 films 1980s Christmas drama films American Christmas drama films Christmas television films CBS network films Films directed by Michael Pressman 1980s American films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub

Plot

Home release

Cast

See also

References

External links