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.Read more ›

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.

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.Read more ›