''The Christmas That Almost Wasn't'' (original title, ''Il Natale che quasi non fu'') is a 1966 American-Italian film that stars

Rossano Brazzi Rossano Brazzi (18 September 1916 – 24 December 1994) was an Italian actor. Biography Brazzi was born in Bologna, Italy, the son of Maria Ghedini and Adelmo Brazzi, an employee of the Rizzoli shoe factory. He was named after Rossano Vene ...

and

Paul Tripp Paul Tripp (February 20, 1911 – August 29, 2002) was an American children's musician, author, songwriter, and television and film actor. He collaborated with a fellow composer, George Kleinsinger. Tripp was the creator of the 1945 " Tubby ...

, and was originally released by Childhood Productions Inc. On television, the movie had traditional December airings on

Home Box Office (HBO) Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is bas ...

during the 1970s and early 1980s.

Plot

Sam Whipple, a broke lawyer who is nevertheless young at heart, meets Santa Claus and learns that he is upset because he has a new landlord named Phineas T. Prune, to whom Santa owes a great deal 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 A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

, where working for two days will somehow earn enough money to pay all of the entire rent that is due. 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 of the 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. Now broke again, Sam and Santa fear Christmas will be canceled. A little boy passes them on the street and asks them what is the matter. When Sam explains, the little boy calls out to the city's children to help Santa. All of the children pour into the streets and give what money they can . . . more than enough to pay all of the rent that is due. Santa pays Prune his rent at the last minute. Then Santa, Mrs. Claus and Sam deliver the gifts together. They are surprised to discover that the very last gift is addressed to none other than Prune. They arrive at Prune's home and Santa offers him the gift. He opens it and is moved to find that it is the toy sailboat that he had wanted as a boy. A letter from Santa's head elf apologizes for the clerical error that resulted in Santa never visiting him as a child. Prune rediscovers his holiday spirit and runs into the street wishing everyone a merry Christmas, bewildering the townsfolk with his enthusiasm. As Santa and Mrs. Claus depart, he thanks Sam for all his help. Prune generously gives his sailboat to a little boy as the town's children look on with delight. He invites all of them to his mansion for a Christmas party.

Main cast

as Phineas T. Prune *

as Sam Whipple *

Alberto Rabagliati Alberto Rabagliati (27 June 1906 in Milan – 8 March 1974 in Rome) was an Italian singer. Early career Alberto Rabagliati was born in Milan in 1906 and was the son of piedmontese spouses: his father Leandro Valentino Rabagliati and his mothe ...

as Santa Claus * Lydia Brazzi as Mrs. Santa Claus *

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky (Михаил Семёнович Унковский; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russians, Russian-born American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in fi ...

as Jonathan, the elf foreman *

Sonny Fox Irwin "Sonny" Fox (June 17, 1925 – January 24, 2021) was an American television host and broadcaster who was the host of the children's television program, ''Wonderama''. Through his career, he had hosted other children's educational and ent ...

as Mr. Prim *

John Karlsen John Karlsen, sometimes credited as Charles John Karlsen or John Karlson (20 October 1919 – 5 July 2017), was an actor from New Zealand who was active in cinema between 1958 and 2003. He is best known for ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' ...

as Blossom

Production

The film was directed by and stars

. The actual story was based on the book written by

, who also adapted it for the screen and stars in the film. The musical score was written by

Bruno Nicolai Bruno Nicolai (20 May 1926 – 16 August 1991) was an Italian film music composer, orchestra director and musical editor most active in the 1960s through the 1980s. While studying piano and composition at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, ...

, which includes the title song sung by

Glenn Yarbrough Glenn Robertson Yarbrough (January 12, 1930 – August 11, 2016) was an American folk singer and guitarist. He was the lead singer (tenor) with the Limeliters from 1959 to 1963 and also had a prolific solo career. Yarbrough had a restlessne ...

. In the United States, the film is rated G and has a running time of 89 minutes.

Home media

DVD

The film was released on DVD on October 7, 2003, to Region 1. It is the unedited 93-minute version.

Streaming

''The Christmas That Almost Wasn't'' was made available for streaming through

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...

, and

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

.Amazon Video: ''Christmas That Almost Wasn't''
Retrieved December 10, 2013

References in other media

In ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' episode "

Skinner's Sense of Snow "Skinner's Sense of Snow" is the eighth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 17, 2000. In the episode, a snowstorm traps the ...

" (2000), Principal

Seymour Skinner Principal Seymour Skinner (born Armin Tamzarian) is a recurring fictional character in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'', who is voiced by Harry Shearer. He is the principal of Springfield Elementary School, which he struggles to control, an ...

shows a film called ''The Christmas That Almost Wasn't, But Then Was''. This film was riffed in the 11th season of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas That Almost Wasn't, The 1966 films 1966 comedy-drama films 1960s American films 1960s Italian films 1960s English-language films American Christmas comedy-drama films American children's fantasy films Italian Christmas comedy-drama films Italian children's films Italian fantasy films English-language Italian films Films scored by Bruno Nicolai Santa Claus in film