The Andy Williams Christmas Special of 1966

Back in 1962, the popular singer Andy Williams, released a special Christmas edition of his usual weekly series The Andy Williams Show. It was an hour-long production filled with wonderful Christmas songs and visits from Bette Davis, the New Christy Minstrels, Debbie Reynolds, and the Osbond brothers. The show was such a hit that many other Andy Williams Christmas Shows were filmed in the coming decade, but I think the 1966 special one stands out as something extra special. 

This one featured Andy singing Christmas tunes that would soon become famous for him: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year and We Need a Little Christmas. It also featured beautiful renditions of The Christmas Song, Love in a Home, and My Favorite Things (performed with his wife Claudine Longet). Andy's parents come to visit, he sings Christmas medleys with his brothers, and lastly the Osbond Brothers so a wonderful Peppermint factory dance routine to Whistle While You Work. Overall, it's just an entertaining way to spend an hour this Christmas....so check it out! The link is down below or you can view it above. 

The Andy Williams Christmas Show (1966)

Merry Christmas, dear readers! 

Holiday Television Specials on Tubi

There has been a bevy of classic Christmas movies playing on television this year so you probably had no shortage of films to watch, but if you wanted to watch some classic singers crooning Christmas tunes, you may have to hunt a little further away from the mainstream channels and turn on your Roku instead. There, on the Tubi app ( also available for viewing online at Tubitv.com ), you will find some delightful Christmas programs to watch, a few of which we have spotlighted below: 

The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour - Christmas Special ( 1970 ) - Country music legend Glen Campbell showed his audience a goodtime in this 1970 Christmas special that guest-starred Anne Murray and George Gobel. 

The King Family Color Christmas Celebration ( 1967 ) - The King Family aka "America's First Family of Song" gathered together for this colorful Christmas celebration that showcased the King sisters, the King cousins, Alvino Rey, and all the little Kings. 

Spend the Holidays with Liberace ( 1954 ) - If you want to enjoy some splendid piano music, then check out this special with the ivories-maestro Liberace, who is joined by his brother George Liberace in a celebration of holiday music. 

Andy Williams Best of Christmas ( 2001 ) - This fun feature first premiered on PBS nearly two decades ago and features clips from The Andy Williams Show over the years, all of which are introduced by Andy himself. 

Pat Boone & Family Christmas Special ( 1979 ) - If you want some laughs, check out this special, which has very little to do with Christmas. Pat Boone sent out invitations to 300 guests for a Christmas party and nobody wants to attend - except the Ropers!

The Bing Crosby Color Christmas Show ( 1965 ) - Bing Crosby made several Christmas specials over the years ( the 1970 show with Robert Goulet is a real treat ) but this show is actually an episode from The Hollywood Palace that Bing hosted. Guest stars include the cast of Hogan's Heroes and Dorothy Collins. 

Christmas with Lorne Greene ( 1966 ) - The star of one of television's most popular western series, Bonanza, Lorne Greene dons the beard of Santa and joins the UNICEF children's choir in this lost black-and-white classic from 1966. 

Check it Out! Mary Costa Performs The Ukrainian Carol

We have a special treat to share with you today: Mary Costa performing The Ukrainian Carol ( set to words ) on Bing Crosby's The Sounds of Christmas television special filmed in 1970. The lovely opera singer is best known for providing the voice of Aurora in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty ( 1959 ), but she had a long career on stage performing operas all over the world, including La Traviata and Candide. 

We were unable to find a clip of this beautiful performance so instead, this links to the entire The Sounds of Christmas special. Mary Costa performs at the 18:20 minute mark ( it should begin right away if you are watching via this link )....and be sure to check out Robert Goulet's fantastic version of "Do You Hear What I Hear?" while you are it. That begins at the 5:50 minute mark. 

Enjoy! 

The Age of Indiscretion ( 1935 )

Robert Lenhart's ( Paul Lukas ) book publishing business is suffering from a sales slump. He has to cut back on expenses at the office as well as at home to save enough money to pay his creditors, but his young ambitious wife ( Helen Vinson ) is aghast at the thought of wearing yesterday's clothes and leaves him to marry her wealthy lover Felix Shaw ( Ralph Forbes ), willingly leaving behind their son Bill ( David Holt ).

Robert is heartbroken but accepts the divorce. In the coming year, his loyal secretary, Ms. Bennett ( Madge Evans ), steps into his home life and acts as a surrogate mother to Bill. When Felix's mother ( May Robson ) starts yearning for a grandson she decides to use Ms. Bennett as a pawn to help her win custody of Robert's child. 

The Age of Indiscretion was one of many films MGM released in the early to mid-1930s that dealt with divorce, a common practice among society's rich. Lenore Coffee's story paralleled that of a popular news item of the time involving the Vanderbilt family trust. Instead of a grasping grandmother, it was an aunt who instigated the proceedings of a custody battle for young Gloria Vanderbilt and the four-million dollar trust. 

In this film, Mrs. Shaw witnesses an innocent pillow fight involving Ms. Bennett and Robert and uses it as grounds to obtain custody of Bill. May Robson portrays her usual crotchety character of a tough old dog whose bark is worse than her bite. Unfortunately, her scenes are brief and the reasons behind why she wants Bill are not adequately established. Much of the movie suffers from little incidents that are cut abruptly, leaving the audience to wonder what the motives behind certain actions were. This seems more like an editing error than the fault of director Edward Ludwig. 

Overall, The Age of Indiscretion is quite entertaining with the main draw being its winter setting (  Robert and his son rent a cabin in the mountains during the Christmas holiday ) and its principal cast. Paul Lukas gives a top-notch performance as the innocent publisher and Madge Evans is charming as the young secretary who is harboring a secret love for her employer. In one scene, Robert and she are enjoying an evening cocktail by the fireside on Christmas Eve. They discuss his recent divorce and her private life and, influenced by the scotch, she talks a little freer than usual....but never gives a hint of her true feelings. Nevertheless, Robert begins to see a side of her that he never realized she had. He saw her only as an efficient secretary and never imagined what she was like outside of that capacity. Little scenes like this give the film its sparkle. 

David Holt is also engaging as little Bill, even with his puzzling Southern accent. He was intended to be a male version of Shirley Temple but his career never reached such heights. Also in the cast are Shirley Ross, George Irving, and Minor Watson. 

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas to all our readers! 

We want to wish all of you a very jolly Christmas day and here's hoping 2022 will be a year filled with happiness, good health, and prosperity for you! 

Make sure you have a box of Lucky Strikes in your house because Joan Crawford just may stop by for Christmas dinner! 

Kathy O ( 1958 )

Child-actress Patty McCormack became a household name after the enormous success of The Bad Seed ( 1956 ) where she portrayed Rhoda Penmark, a little girl with an evil bent. She had a difficult time following up this film with another dramatic picture and never did find a role to equal The Bad Seed in popularity. Instead, McCormack did a number of television guest appearances and made two Christmas-themed movies - All Mine to Give ( 1957 ) and the delightful Kathy O ( 1958 ). 

This hard-to-find little gem features McCormick as Kathy O'Rourke, a popular child actress who is beloved by millions of children onscreen but is loathsome to the adults who have to work with her on the set. She's a Shirley Temple when the cameras are rolling and a Rhoda Penmark when the scene cuts. Dan Duryea stars as Harry Johnson, a publicity agent who works at the studio that employs the bratty star.

Ms. Celeste Saunders ( Jan Sterling ), a writer for a major New York magazine, is coming to Hollywood to do a feature on O'Rourke and personally requests Harry to help her with the interview. Celeste is Harry's ex-wife and she is shrewd when it comes to discerning human nature, so - in fear of losing his job - Harry tries his darnest to keep her from discovering the "truth" about Kathy. But, to his surprise, the two become endeared to one another. It turns out little Kathy just wants to be a normal child and longs for the love she is not receiving from her Aunt Harriet ( Mary Jane Croft ). However, Harry finds himself in a scrape when Kathy decides to run away to be with Celeste, and he is accused on a kidnapping charge!

Dan Duryea, a legend of film-noirs, tries his hand at comedy for the part of Harry and... surprise, surprise....he is wonderful! I never particularly enjoyed his work before but he is marvelous in Kathy O and displays a true knack for humor. It certainly helps that the film features a witty script from Sy Gomberg ( Summer Stock ) and Jack Sher ( My Favorite Spy, Four Girls in Town, Move Over Darling ), who also directed the picture. 

Kathy O' takes place during Christmastime and is set in the suburbs of North Hollywood, California where Harry lives with his second wife and two children in a mid-century modern ranch. The picture moves along briskly and is never tiresome. Quite the contrary. It's a truly entertaining family film. Jan Sterling never looked prettier and Mary Fickett ( All My Children ), who plays Harry's current wife, is lovely. 

Patty McCormack was an extremely talented little girl and she pulls off the duel-nature of this part with ease, making the audience's compassion for her character grow with each subsequent scene. 

Kathy O' has not yet been released on DVD but if you happen to catch it playing on television some night, it's well worth watching. 

British Pathé - Christmas is for All ( 1963 )

This interesting 8:17 minute British Pathé newsreel showcases the Christmas light displays throughout London and also gives us a glimpse of what the city folk did to celebrate during the season. 

A lovely rendition of "Away in a Manger" by the boy's choir of St. Michael's College in Worcestershire starts things off and then the cameraman moves to the shops of London where we see a gorgeous display of dolls and jewelry. Mike and the Merseymen are giving their youthful dancers a modern spin on some Christmas classics and then it is on to a most interesting location - a townhall where volunteers (?) are stuffing envelopes with money from the Bank of England. This is money belonging to members of a Christmas savings club. 

The cameraman then gives the audience a peek at Petticoat Lane and all the knick-knacks that could be purchased there before taking us behind-the-scenes at the Bertram Mills Circus. This large circus company used to put on a Christmas show at the Olympia in West London every year. This clip shows the troupe during one of their last performances ( the circus disbanded shortly thereafter ). 

The last stop is at St. Mary's hospital showing Santa delivering presents to children at a hospital. Some 15,000 presents were donated that year alone by The Variety Club and were given out to children at hospitals, schools, and the like. 

Ready to watch Christmas is for All? Simply click on the link below:

Christmas is for All ( 1963 )

Other similar British Pathé clips:

Christmas Pie ( 1952 )

Christmas Time's Good Time ( 1961 )

Christmas in New York ( 1964 )

The Christmas Carols of Alfred Burt

During the Christmas season we are often bombarded with Christmas tunes on the radio and television and they become so familiar to us that we overlook the story behind these songs. One such story is the tale of Alfred Burt, a young man who wrote and then sent out carols, in place of a Christmas card, to his friends and families. This tradition began with his father, Reverend Bates Gilbert Burt, who wrote both the music and lyrics to Christmas carols that he would send out to friends and parishioners throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

Alfred Burt helped set his father's lyrics to music during the WWII years and, after his discharge from the Army Air Force, he toured America, along with his wife, working as a trumpeter with an orchestra and writing many of the band's arrangements as well. In 1946, he surprised his father by presenting him with his very own Christmas carol. When Al's father suffered a fatal heart attack in 1948, Al and his wife decided to carry on Reverend Burt's Christmas carol tradition. 

Originally their list of Christmas carol recipients amounted 50, but after touring with the Alvino Rey Orchestra, they met so many new people that it quickly grew to 450 cards to mail out! 

In the early 1950s, Alvino Rey's orchestra kept them in the San Fernando Valley, and so they decided to settle there. Al became active in all phases of the Hollywood musical scene. In 1952, during a rehearsal with the Blue Reys ( Alvino Rey's singing group ), Al asked if they could sing his latest carol "Come, Dear Children" just so that he could check the harmonies on it.....but they liked the song so much they pleaded with him to use it during their annual King Family Christmas party performance. It was a great hit and in the coming year Al spent many hours working with Rey and the King singers for a television show they were putting together. He took a break from this work to set up the Horace Heidt orchestra for a road tour but, upon his return, he looked tired and worn. His wife insisted he see a doctor and his diagnosis hit them like a wave - Al had lung cancer with less than a year to live. 

The Burts were crushed with this news. They had a young daughter, and Al had not yet accomplished his dream of writing a musical, but since his fate was inevitable, he wanted each remaining day to be filled with happiness and humor. A friend of theirs, upon hearing the news, alerted James Conkling, president of Columbia Records, to record Al's carols as a final gift. Al was thrilled with the news, and managed to attend the recording which featured a volunteer chorus of some of Hollywood's finest singers. 

Alfred Burt wrote his final carol - "The Star Carol" - just a day before he passed away...at the age of 33. His wife and daughter sent out this Christmas carol, his most beautiful, in Christmas 1954, including a note telling of the end of the Burt carol tradition. 

In the years following the release of "The Christmas Mood", Columbia's first release of Burt's carols, his music was recorded by so many popular singers of the time, including Bing Crosby, the Fred Waring Orchestra, Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Anita Bryant, and Andy Williams. 

Today, Burt's songs have joined the ranks of being traditional Christmas carols, sung in many people's homes and performed around the world during the holiday season. Little did Al realize that the Christmas carols that he wrote just for friends would become so popular and become a part of so many people's lives.

Below we have a selection of Youtube videos featuring some of our favorite Burt carols. Enjoy.....and Merry Christmas! 

All on a Christmas Morning ( 1946 ) - This was one of the very first carols that Alfred Burt helped to write along with his father, Reverend Burt. This version is performed by the Dick Major Singers, which today is a little remembered singing group.

Sleep Baby Mine ( 1949 ) - This is a lullaby inspired by the birth of the Burt's daughter, Diane. It features lyrics written by Wihla Huston, who wrote most of the lyrics to Burt's carols.

Some Children See Him ( 1951 ) - Andy Williams performs the tender "Some Children See Him", which is probably Burt's most recognized work. Only Andy could sing it with such passion!

O Hearken Ye ( 1953 ) - Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians performed many of Burt's carols in the 1960s. This one is much more upbeat than Burt's usual carols.

The Star Carol ( 1954 ) - This was the last carol that Alfred Burt composed before he died, and it is certainly his most beautiful. The Lennon Sisters performed it many times on television and in live performances. This particular clip is from the 1966 Christmas special of The Lawrence Welk Show.

To read more about Alfred Burt, his music, and his daughter's work in continuing his legacy, check out this link. 

The Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie Game

Lately, we've been posting some screenshots that have been truly impossible to guess, but since this is the season to be generous, today we have posted a Not-So-Impossibly difficult screenshot! This one features a lovely winter landscape, and two backs of heads that look very familiar....don't you think? Be the first to guess the movie this shot is from, and you'll win a prize for Christmas! 

As always, if you are not familiar with the rules to the Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie game or the prize, click here!

GAME OVER. 

Congratulations to Vienna who correctly answered The Farmer's Daughter ( 1947 ). Those familiar looking backsides belong to Ethel Barrymore and Charles Bickford and those two figures running are none other than Joseph Cotten and Loretta Young. Katie Holstrom ( Young ) believes that running keeps her in shape for skating, while skating keeps her in shape for running. Only a Swede would be brave enough to go jogging in the snow!

In Theaters Christmas 2014: Two Classic Films!

Hot marshmallows! Just when we were giving up hope of seeing any good classics on the big-screen this December, Fanthom Events released this drool-worthy bit of news : TCM is bringing A Christmas Carol ( 1938 ) and Christmas in Connecticut ( 1945 ) to the big screen in select theaters nationwide. It's a double feature! 

"Double the pleasure, double the fun, it's the statement of a great film...."

Of course, most of our readers probably heard this already so you're thinking it is old news, but we're spreading the word for those anti-cable folks like ourselves who live in the dark ages when it comes to hearing the classic film set scoop. There's no time to debate about attending which showing because the films are playing one day only, and that one day is this Sunday. You can catch the films at 2pm or 7pm. 

To make things extra gooey-gumbo delicious : White Christmas ( 1954 ) will also be showing in select theaters on December 14th and 15th in a new digital transfer to celebrate the 60th anniversary of this holiday classic. Oh boy, it really is a wonderful life!

Buy Tickets for White Christmas 
Buy Tickets for A Christmas Carol 

A Tribute to Oma Rozalia

Oma in Serbia in 1942

The Christmas season is a mixture of happiness and bittersweet moments for many, because it is a season filled with nostalgia. The happy moments we create anew each Christmas are intertwined with the traditions and memories of years gone past. Familiar melodies, cherished moments, and childhood experiences with dear loved ones are all woven together to create a unique tapestry of memories that warm us all through the winter. 

Some of my fondest winter memories took place on the days leading up to Christmas, those cold December days when my family and I were home bound due to the snowy weather. This was the season that our grandmother - "Oma" as we called her ( we're German ) - loved the best. I rather fancy it was because her own fondest memories were from the winter months she spent as a child in Serbia. 

We were very close to our Oma, and even though she passed on two years ago, she still remains with us in our hearts. Since we feel her presence the most during the Christmas season we decided to make our December issue a tribute to all of the films our Oma loved the best, because - yes indeedee - she was a film fanatic. 

Before we highlight the upcoming features please let us indulge in a little bragging about our beloved Oma....

Rozalia Amstadt was born in Serbia in 1925 and as a teenager worked as an usherette at a movie theatre near the Hungarian border. This is where her love of film was born. She often claimed that she saw more movies than anyone in the world and quite frankly, we don't doubt that. How many Serbian and Polish films do you think Robert Osborne saw?

She use to bring the old movie posters home from work and paste them on her bedroom wall and in the bathrooms of her childhood home. Not only were they interesting bathroom reading material but they kept the room warm too....heat was costly and paper not easy to come by you know. 

Oma with her beloved Rolls Royce, once owned by a general

Oma met my grandfather in the "Lager" ( a refugee camp ) in Innsbruck during WWII when she lived and worked there as a chef. Shortly after they moved to France while they waited for the Catholic church to approve and pay for their passage to America. In France, Oma was not able to watch many movies since the town my grandparents lived in had no movie theatre, but once they arrived in Cleveland in 1956 the first piece of furniture my grandfather ( Opa ) purchased was a black and white television. They couldn't speak a word of English but they - and their three boys - sat enthralled watching Arsenic and Old Lace on television that night. If a good movie was playing on tv their neighbor would reach across the yard with a broomstick and thump on their window holding up a sign with the channel number and airing time on it. How sweet! 

Oma quickly learned the language ( she already spoke four languages so what was one more? ) and despite the fact that she told us everyday " Never forget that you are European " and often criticized "dis kontry", she fell in love with America and its history. Her favorite period of time was the Roaring 20s and always wished she was a saxophone player for a swing band during that era. She would have loved the 1920s...bootleggers and all.

As Oma got older her knowledge of movies grew larger and larger. Aside from cooking and crocheting, her favorite hobby was watching classics. If a classic film wasn't to be found on cable tv then she would enjoy any good thriller. Action flicks were not her cup of tea but suspense films and mysteries she adored....just so long as they didn't have "too much talk". She must have seen every Hitchcock film twenty times over.

We often referred to Oma as "Countess Rozalia" because she loved the good life - fancy cars, sparkling jewelry, mink coats, dapper men in suits, world travel and loads and loads of money. Since she didn't have this herself she enjoyed reading and hearing stories about the wealthy - aristocrats, royalty, and.....movie stars! We always wished we could have seen Beverly Hills with Oma. 

If she had to pick a favorite film to take on a desert isle I'm sure she would have grabbed Some Like It Hot. That film captured all the wonderful things that Oma loved - the millionaire life, hot jazz music, train travel, jewelry, and gangsters. Our grandma loved everything about gangsters. I believe she rather wished that the Roaring Twenties would return and then she would be a "Ma Barker" herself. The last film she watched before she died was Some Like It Hot. 

Rest in peace Oma, I know you are enjoying "the good life"!

Here is a overview of what you can expect to read about this month :

Scrooge ( 1970 ) : our grandmother's favorite Christmas film. We watch it every December a week before Christmas, usually on a Friday morning. While our father and uncle snuck off to the auto auction in the freezing cold weather we stayed at home and watched this lovely film. Oma simply adored the first hour, especially the December the 25th dance number, but once it got to the grim reaper scene she usually headed to the kitchen to get a head start on making soup. 

How To Steal a Million ( 1966 ) : of all the genres of films that were made, "heist" films and musicals were the themes Oma preferred, and so we're going to feature a behind-the-scenes look at one of her all-time favorite films - How to Steal a Million - and our Nugget Reviews will be a look at some other classic heist flicks of the 1960s. Anyone ever hear of That Man From Rio? 

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous ( 1984 ) : this show was Oma's bread and butter for many years. When it finally went off the air in 1995 she consoled herself by watching the three episodes we had taped off of television. Eventually The Price is Right became her favorite television show. It was a toss-up for us whether to right about that classic game show or Lifestyles but ultimately we choose the rich one because there isn't much written about it. 

Zsa Zsa Gabor : Dahling, dis was Oma's alter ego, what more could we say?

The Ghost of Jayne Mansfield : Jayne Mansfield was one of those iconic buxom babes that seem to crop up every other generation. Jean Harlow was the Mansfield of the 1930s, Loni Anderson of the 1980s, Anna Nicole Smith the Mansfield of the 1990s. We spent our childhood hearing every tale of gossip from Hollywood that Oma could remember. Most of the time she mixed all the tales together and gave them a good shuffle ( which only made them more juicy ) but there was one she liked to repeat over and over which never changed - the ghostly image Engelbert Humperdinck saw in Jayne Mansfield's home. 

And last but not least....an Impossibly Difficult Movie Scene from an impossibly good film. 

Enjoy!