#Charles durning santa claus movie
#Charles durning santa claus tv

Claus ( Charles Durning - Spy Hard) is so busy sifting through every letter that he fails to pay her enough attention. 'Arris Goes to Paris) is feeling a little neglected as whilst she has organized the elves and the making of the toys Mr. Santa Claus.Īnother Christmas has arrived and Mrs.

#Charles durning santa claus movie

That's not to say the message being delivered isn't a noble one but it is certainly not what you expect from a movie starring Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Claus feeling neglected or a young woman called Sadie leading a suffragette movement. Santa Claus' features a storyline about women making a stand, be it Mrs. That but is the actual story because it left me gutted this is not some chirpy little wholesome Christmas movie but a movie about women's rights.

#Charles durning santa claus tv

And to be honest there is much which is great about this made for TV movie, it is a big production with great sets, great music and a great cast lead by Angela Lansbury. Santa Claus' I had high expectations, a Christmas musical featuring Angela Lansbury as Mrs. This would have tightened the story and made it a manageable length for youngsters and might find itself with a perennial broadcast.The first time I heard about 'Mrs. If anything, it should have been shortened from its 90-minute length to an easier to digest 60-minutes. It was an ambling story that tried to be too many things at one time, but never focused in on a compelling story for its titular character. Santa Claus sounded better on paper than it turned-out to be once it was executed. She returns home just in time for Christmas and joins Santa on his big night. She also does some matchmaking and involves herself in the women's suffrage movement, all to help us understand the time-period. While there, she gets a job in a toy factory where she takes on the issue of child labor (a somewhat Dickensian-lite subplot). Claus stays in a boarding house run by Jewish immigrants who treat her like one of the family. While waiting for her transportation to heal, Mrs.

Santa Claus sought to be a clever telling of how Santa's wife sets off to find her husband a more efficient Christmas Eve route, but ends up stranded in New York City when one of the reindeer is injured. December 8th marked the 20th anniversary of its airing and today I thought it would be fun to look back at this fondly remembered and mostly forgotten musical.Īiring on CBS and produced by (among others) Hallmark, Mrs. What some people don't know (or vaguely recall) is that Lansbury starred in one other Herman musical, the made-for-TV movie Mrs. One lady who excels at interpreting Herman characters is the great Angela Lansbury who starred in Mame and Dear World (winning Tonys for both). These are all sparkling examples of Herman's ability to create a pedestal for the great ladies of the musical stage to explode with verve and personality. It has always been what he has done best. We love Jerry Herman, especially his devotion to creating music and lyrics that make larger-than-life ladies shine: Hello, Dolly!, Mame, Dear World, La Cage aux Folles.