Customer Reviews

A Christmas Wish

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A Christmas Wish is a heartwarming holiday classic that truly captures the magic of Christmas. This well-written film combines a genial underdog (Durante) whom you can't help rooting for, an inspiring tale of young love, unforgettable comedy bits by Durante, and an irresistible guardian angel who saves Christmas.

The film has a touching love story between Terry Moore (Mighty Joe Young) and Tom Drake (Meet Me in St. Louis). Rupert the Squirrel (created using George Pal's Academy Award winning puppet animation technique) will charm young and old alike. Jimmy Durante shines when he sings Jingle Bells and other Christmas Carols.

Originally titled "The Great Rupert", this film has been restored perfectly and is being released in color for the first time. It looks absolutely beautiful. There also is an engaging special DVD commentary by star Terry Moore (secret wife of Howard Hughes). If you've already seen It's a Wonderful Life and are looking for something charming and new for Christmas, this is a great choice.

When a slightly miserly landlord takes to hiding his savings he inadverdently intrudes into a squirrel's nest--which wastes no time in shoving the money out of his nest and into the hands of the down-on-their-luck Amendola family, who rent an apartment below. Originally released under the title of THE GREAT RUPERT, in 1950 the film was primarily admired for its then-artful blend of live action and puppet animation to create Rupert, the squirrel; today, however, it is best regarded as a very mild mannered and entirely inoffensive little movie that just happens to offer the legendary Jimmy Durante one of his final film roles.

The script and story are as memorable as school cafeteria banana pudding, but the performances are reasonably engaging. As head of Amendola family, Durante is brash is only Durante could be, doing doubletakes and pounding out an occasional tune on the piano in his unique style. He is well supported by the likes of Terry Moore, Tom Drake, and such veteran character actors as Queenie Smith, Frank Orth, Sara Haden, and Jimmy Conlin. It's all in good fun.

The 20th Century Fox release consists of two versions of the film: the original black and white and a colorized version. There is nothing visually impressive about the film, so it is not hurt by colorization per se; as for the colorization, it is reasonably well done, at least so far as such effects go. Most astonishingly, the release includes a commentary track by Terry Moore and various people associated with the colorization and the DVD release.

The commentary track is not tremendously informative; Moore freely admits that she had seen the film only once before, and that some fifteen years earlier. Even so, Moore proves good company, offers the occasional insight into the cast, and now and then proves unwittingly amusing--with her comments on actor Tom Drake, who was both gay and deeply closeted, a case in point. On the whole, I'd say the commentary is actually more engaging than the film itself, but whatever the case Durante fans, Moore fans, and those in search of truly innocent family fare should find it pleasing.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

I often watched this movie on Christmas with my children and more recently with my young grandchildren because it touches the very essence of the Christmas season. I've always loved Terry Moore from her serious and not so serious movies (especially Mighty Joe Young) and of course Jimmy Durante is a clown that everyone loved and loves.

I personally feel The Great Rupert should have been produced originally in color and released as a Christmas movie. I'm so I'm so happy to learn it is now considered a Christmas classic and is available in color. Can't wait to see it in color and listen to Terry's commentary.

"A Christmas Wish" (AKA "The Great Rupert") is a sweet and gentle film with a quiet reminder about the true meaning of Christmas. I recently found this film by accident, and I am glad I did. Most, if not all, contemporary "holiday" films are only marketing devices used to sell useless junk to kids. Fortunately, "A Christmas Wish" pre-dates this era, having been made in the late 1940's-early 1950's when Hollywood made many, many great kid-friendly films that had real stories and demonstrated great imagination. I am thinking of the "Lassie" films, "My Friend Flicka", "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T", etc. "A Christmas Wish", in my opinion, belongs with this group. I especially love the optimism and humor of the character played by the great Jimmy Durante. Where, in a contemporary film, will you find a father who isn't a drug dealer, or pimp, or hit man, or a crook of some kind? Or where parents, and kids, are not portrayed as morons who exist only to consume? No, you have to go back to films like "A Christmas Wish" for portrayals of human beings who have positive things to offer. I am so glad this film has been restored. The dvd edition offers the film in two versions, B&W and colorized. The B&W version is crisp and clear. I have not watched the colorized version, as I do not subscribe to the concept.

I bought this movie (DVD) based on the reviews here at Amazon. I have four kids aged 14, down to five. My kids thought it was terrific. It was "old Hollywood" at its best: comic, romantic, fun and wholesome.

I love old movies, especially at Christmas time. We already had It's a Wonderful Life and White Christmas in our DVD collection but decided to try some other oldies but goodies. I wouldn't put this one on the same level as the other two I mentioned but the squirrel (Rupert) in this picture is too funny. The story line is just hilarious. The landlord hides his money in the wall where the squirrel's nest is. The squirrel throws the money out a hole in the other side of the wall and the down-on-their-luck tennants receive "money from heaven!" just as the mom is praying for new shoes for her daughter.

The town's people can't figure out how these newcomers are making so much money - maybe they're gangsters? The police AND the IRS show up at their door asking questions. There is a romance involved between the poor tennants' daughter and the wealthy landlord's son. It was a very entertaining movie overall!

This was such a fun movie. Our whole family loved it - even our 9 yr old who at first complained that we were watching a black & white movie.

If I could have, I would have given this movie 4-1/2 stars (an extra 1/2 for being able to see it colorized). This is a charming old-fashioned romantic comedy starring the wonderful Jimmy Durante who sings two songs in the picture. Also stars the perky Terry Moore, and handsome Tom Drake. It's just a sweet picture (made in 1950 origianally) and fun family viewing if yours is one to appreciate older films. I especially liked the theme of 'investing back in one's community' when one has the surplus finances to do so (another theme found in the other holiday movie, "It's a Wonderful Life").

Probably better known under the title, "The Great Rupert" (though I think "A Christmas Wish" would have been a better title), this is the sweet and simple story of a down-on-their-luck circus family who, just before Christmas, moves into a shoddy apartment attached to the home of a stingy family man (their new landlord) who has just come into some extra cash. Conveniently, stingy Mr. Dingle (Frank Orth) and his wife (Sara Haden) have a handsome and charming musician son, Peter (played by Tom Drake), who is a reasonable dating age for the impoverished family's only child, drop-dead-gorgeous daughter Rosalinda (played by the stunning Terry Moore of Mighty Joe Young). Even more conveniently, Rosalinda and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Amendola (played by the great Jimmy Durante and Queenie Smith), soon come into some money of their own when a trained squirrel left to live in the walls of the Dingle house begins tossing down Mr. Dingle's stashed cash from the ceiling after Mrs. Amendola prays for some divine financial help. The squirrel is the once title character of the film, "The Great Rupert", though this sometimes real, sometimes stop-motion-animated critter doesn't get as much screen time as the original title would imply. Truly, this film is about the romance between Rosalinda and Peter and what happens when a misunderstood holiday blessing takes place around them. And it's also a great showpiece for the talents of Jimmy Durante and (did I mention she was drop-dead-gorgeous?) Terry Moore.

Though public domain versions of this film abound, this 20th Century Fox release is the authentic version, colorized and retitled by Legend Films. Now, personally, I have no interest in colorized films. Thankfully, one of the two listed bonus features is the black and white version. The other bonus feature is an audio commentary with Terry Moore and family and some of the Legend Films folks. It's fascinating to be able to watch this film with Terry Moore's commentary, though it's a shame so much of the discussion is about praising the colorization. Frankly, I can barely stand to see it with those pastels and Christmas trees that are the wrong shade of green. Give me the black and white version any day. The film itself is a must have if you enjoy sweet, family friendly Christmas movies. Released in 1950, it feels more like a '40's film (well, I guess it WAS shot in the late '40's), which in my opinion is a good thing. Watch "A Christmas Wish" once, and it will likely become an instant holiday tradition for you and your family. Just try not to think about the fact that the stop-motion scenes of Rupert involved reanimating a dead squirrel, ha.

A Christmas Wish is the colorized re-branding of the often overlooked Jimmy Durante holiday classic, The Great Rupert, featuring a fun and family-oriented holiday story the sort of which we don't see much anymore. All the elements of a good holiday movie are here: bright colors, an animated cartoon animal, and a good story about perseverance, charity and hope. Combine all of this with a lighthearted atmosphere, and you have the perfect movie for both young and old. Durante, a late addition to the cast, is the film's highlight, due in large part to the enthusiasm he applies to his singing roles and the serious effort he applied to what would be his only leading role--plus, there never has there been a voice like Jimmy Durante!

The colorization of this film as opposed to some of the others done by Legend is much brighter and bolder. My suspicion is that this is the result of the original black and white film, which is also included on this DVD, having been shot in the `50s, by which cameras and film technology had improved dramatically (as compared to their other colorizations, like the `30s John Wayne films). The savvy viewer would bear in mind that oftentimes directors of black and white pictures would choose bold colors for props, sets and costumes, in order to make the resulting black and white image appear more diverse and dramatic (different shades of gray). Of course, this makes true-to-life colorizations appear a bit garish, but frankly bright colors are fitting for a holiday film and provide an interesting director-eye's view of postwar filmmaking.

Though this DVD sells the colorization effort as the highlight feature, I feel it's also worth noting that the process of re-mastering a film for the addition of color also inadvertently creates the best-quality black and white version you're likely to find, particularly for films in the public domain, meaning that even those interested in the aforementioned included black and white version are well-advised to purchase this particular DVD, color or not.

In addition to cleaning up the image and sound quality, the re-mastering process also entails the creation of special features that would've been previous unavailable to theatergoing audiences or the purchasers of VHS versions. This DVD of A Christmas Wish contains an audio commentary by star Terry Moore, who provides interesting insights into the creation of the movie, a feature that we often take for granted now, but is truly special when we get a rare glimpse into how things "used to be.'