''Christmas Comes to Willow Creek'' is a 1987 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 ...

directed by Richard Lang and produced by Billie André and Blue André, with the screenplay written by

Michael Norell Michael Alden Norell (born October 4, 1937 in Wallace, Idaho) is an American screenwriter, actor, and executive producer who starred as Captain Henry "Hank" Stanley in the Jack Webb-produced television series ''Emergency!'' from 1972 to 1978. ...

and Andy Siegel. The film stars John Schneider and

Tom Wopat Thomas Steven Wopat (born September 9, 1951) is an American actor and singer. He first achieved fame as Lucas K. "Luke" Duke on the long-running television action/comedy series ''The Dukes of Hazzard''. Since then, Wopat has worked regularly, ...

(reunited from ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...

'', and one of the few projects in which the pair didn't play the Duke cousins), with

Kim Delaney Kim Delaney (born November 29, 1961) is an American actress known for her starring role as Detective Diane Russell on the ABC drama television series ''NYPD Blue'', for which she won an Emmy Award. Early in her career, she played the role of Jenn ...

Zachary Ansley Zachary Jason Ansley (born 21 January 1972) is a Canadian actor and lawyer. He has been acting professionally since he was eleven years old. He was the winner of the first YTV Acting Award (1989). A graduate of Circle in the Square Acting Scho ...

Joy Coghill Joy Dorothy Coghill-Thorne, CM, (May 13, 1926 – January 20, 2017) was a Canadian actress, director, and writer. Her obituary in ''The Vancouver Sun'' described her as having had "a seven-decade run at the top of the Vancouver theatre world." ...

and

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

. Music for the film includes songs written and recorded by Billy Milo. Scenes set in Willow Creek were filmed in

Dawson City, Yukon Dawson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Dawson (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Dawson (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places Antarctica ...

, with the Palace Grand Theatre's exterior representing the general store.

Plot

Willow Creek, Alaska is going through problems because the town's main business, a

cannery Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although un ...

, has closed and many residents no longer have jobs. Ray and Pete are brothers; although they share the same profession (

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

s), they are different as day and night. Pete (played by

) is trying to figure out what to do with his rebellious son Michael (played by

), who is angry that his father is always on the road trucking; meantime, he also has to deal with Ray (played by John Schneider), a troublesome recluse who has problems of his own, including a pregnant spouse, who had left Pete for Ray in the first place. Ray and Pete are hired by an old friend, Al Bensinger (played by

), to bring Christmas presents and a very big surprise from California all the way up to his home town of Willow Creek, Alaska. The brothers do not realize that they will have to rely on one another and along the way, the brothers and Pete's son argue and get stuck in a blizzard; meanwhile Ray's wife goes into labor. As she gives birth, they finally reconcile with each other, and arrive at their destination greeted by a crowd of happy townspeople. Earlier in the movie, it is discovered that Ray was a champion chili cooker, and the surprise is that Al has loaded the truck with enough supplies to reopen the cannery and manufacture chili. Ray and his spouse like the small town and decide to stay and help the cannery get working again. Pete informs his son that Al has made him a partner in their company, so he won't have to drive a truck anymore and they can be closer together from here on out.

Cast

* John Schneider - Ray *

- Pete *

- Jessie *

- Michael *

- Charlotte *

- Al Bensinger * Brian MacDonald - Dwayne * Dwight Koss - Mayor Newman * Barbara Russell - Edna Mae * Ted Stidder - Doc * Robert Forsythe - Chief Cobb * Charissa Reeves - Sabrina * Geordie Needham - Thurgood * Robin Mossley - Cecil

References

External links

* * 1987 television films 1987 films 1980s Christmas drama films American Christmas drama films CBS network films Christmas television films Films scored by Charles Fox Films set in Alaska Films shot in Vancouver Films shot in Yukon Films directed by Richard Lang (director) American drama television films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{Christmas-tv-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links