A town in need of a doctor becomes thrilled when one of their own (Robert Hays, now a big city physician) comes back for the holidays, and they pester mayor and Jillian into trying to get him to take on the role of the town's doctor. It's only a community of 1,200 people but it's a popular tourist attraction apparently because of its Christmas themed name. Certainly, the town of Saint Nicholas does seem to be the perfect place to raise a child in, but the widowed Hayes has already accepted a promotion at his job and his teen daughter really doesn't seem interested in doing a small town girl. His pop, a very sedate Jack Palance, schemes with other members of the town to keep him there.
Sweet and sentimental, this is the third Christmas movie I know of May for TV to have the title of the popular 1940's Christmas carol. It's a nice romantic drama with comic touches, and Hays and Jillian are certainly very likable. There's something about the guilt that some of the townspeople try to put on Hays that becomes a bit annoying after a while, and it's certainly not a gossip free community. This is probably the calmest I've ever see Jack Palance be in a movie, playing a lovable old grandfather living by himself on the family farm, with a pregnant pig as his companion.
The script does go overboard a bit with the sentimentality, and for a town of this size, there certainly are a ton of people walking around the main square, something you don't see when driving through other small towns, let alone with snow on the ground. But I'm not going to be a Scrooge and call this movie a disappointment. It is enjoyable for what it is, but it's obvious how things are going to turn out. I did feel the spirit of the holidays, and it reminded me of some of the more festive moments when I lived in a equally small town of the same size. Just wait until you see the baby piggies just born. If that doesn't melt your heart, nothing will.
Sweet and sentimental, this is the third Christmas movie I know of May for TV to have the title of the popular 1940's Christmas carol. It's a nice romantic drama with comic touches, and Hays and Jillian are certainly very likable. There's something about the guilt that some of the townspeople try to put on Hays that becomes a bit annoying after a while, and it's certainly not a gossip free community. This is probably the calmest I've ever see Jack Palance be in a movie, playing a lovable old grandfather living by himself on the family farm, with a pregnant pig as his companion.
The script does go overboard a bit with the sentimentality, and for a town of this size, there certainly are a ton of people walking around the main square, something you don't see when driving through other small towns, let alone with snow on the ground. But I'm not going to be a Scrooge and call this movie a disappointment. It is enjoyable for what it is, but it's obvious how things are going to turn out. I did feel the spirit of the holidays, and it reminded me of some of the more festive moments when I lived in a equally small town of the same size. Just wait until you see the baby piggies just born. If that doesn't melt your heart, nothing will.