ABC SATURDAY NIGHT MOVIE: YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television drama film, inspired by a famous 1897 newspaper editorial, follows a young girl's quest to find the spirit of Christmas in late 19th-century New York. The story begins as veteran journalist Frank Church sadly visits the graves of his recently deceased wife and infant daughter, while elsewhere Irish immigrant dockworker James O'Hanlon gets into a fight with a belligerent co-worker, Goss, and is fired for the altercation, as is his friend Dominic Donelli. At school, James' young daughter Virginia argues with a classmate who tells her that Santa Claus does not exist, and Frank wanders back to his office at The New York Sun, drinking heavily. His competitor, Cornelius Barrington, finds him later at a bar and cruelly mocks his disgraced state, and society columnist Andrea Borland barges into the men-only establishment in search of him. She tells Frank that their no-nonsense editor, Edward Mitchell, needs his latest piece, but a disinterested Frank makes it clear that he does not intend to finish it. James, unable to find another job, worries about his family's upcoming Christmas celebration, and Andrea delivers "Frank's" finished piece, having secretly written it herself.
Virginia is worried when her friend Maria Donelli describes her mother's serious illness, and Edward is pleased with the article, entitled "The Shame of Greatness." Frank confronts Andrea about her trick, but she assures him that he has helped her in the past and encouraged her to pursue the male-dominated field of journalism. Virginia finds a coin in the street and carefully ponders her purchase options, and James, spotting a kitten in an alley, suddenly finds himself chasing a thief when he sprints out of the local bar. The cops are momentarily confused about the identity of the thief, but they thank James for his intervention when the stolen money is discovered in the other man's pocket. Elsewhere, Cornelius tracks down Andrea and praises her writing, having deduced the truth about the "Shame" article, but she coldly rebuffs his offer to join his paper and write a humiliating "exposé" about Frank. James reads the article and strongly praises its message of brotherhood and its denunciation of heartless capitalism, and when Virginia questions him about the existence of Santa, he assures her that if she "sees it in The Sun, it's so." Inspired by this, she pens a letter to the editor and, using a stamp from a kindly mailman, sends it off to the paper.
Frank ends up punching Cornelius when he makes suggestive remarks about Andrea, and he leaves his prized gold pocketwatch in his desk for his young co-worker Teddy before heading home, apparently intending to end his life. Edward arrives at his door, however, and invites him to Christmas dinner, firmly reminding Frank that his long absences from home for his newspaper work did not cause his wife and child's deaths. He orders Frank to arrive at the office on the following day, hinting that he has an intriguing new assignment for him. Mrs. Donelli's illness worsens, though her husband soon finds work cleaning up at the bar, while James is hired elsewhere for a one-day assignment. Goss and his two nephews, who conveniently replaced James and Dominic at the dock, arrive at the bar and laugh at Dominic's lowly job, and James is forced to break up their fight. Edward gives Frank his "toughest assignment": penning a thoughtful response to Virginia's letter, though Frank is skeptical of his ability to provide a satisfactory answer. He wanders the city, observing small acts of kindness and happiness amongst his fellow New Yorkers, and finally sits down to write the piece.
The O'Hanlons' neighbor, Mrs. Goldstein, gifts the family with a brisket, claiming that she inadvertently made too much. Evie is touched by the gesture, but James grows embittered about his inability to provide for his family, admitting that he is "running out of faith." The cops then arrive with questions about the bar robbery, and James guesses that the true thief has framed him as an act of revenge. Everyone at the newspaper is impressed with Frank's "real humdinger" of a piece, and he gifts young Teddy with his watch and accepts Edward's dinner invitation, having developed a new outlook on life. Andrea tells him that he must "finish the story," while elsewhere a jubilant James arrives home with a small tree and presents – including the kitten – for the family. He happily explains that he received a reward for catching the thief, who was also wanted in Chicago, and that he and Donelli have both been invited to join the police league, having demonstrated ample "heroism." Virginia reveals that she used her precious coin to buy her father an up-to-date newspaper, aware that he is usually forced to look in the trash for outdated editions, and they are all stunned to see her letter printed on the front page. In his response, Frank assures her at length that there is indeed a Santa Claus, represented by everyday acts of "love and generosity and devotion" amongst friends and neighbors, and Andrea brings Frank to the O'Hanlons' door to observe the positive impact of his words. Satisfied with the answer, Virginia opens her presents, pleased to find that Santa has left her a new pair of boots. Includes commercials, promos and an "ABC News Brief."
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: December 25, 1993 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:55:54
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:31046
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Christmas; Newspaper publishing
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1993
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Mrs. Doubtfire" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - ACE Hardware stores
- TV - Commercials - AT&T telephone services
- TV - Commercials - Advil painkillers
- TV - Commercials - Alka-Seltzer Plus cold medicine
- TV - Commercials - Canon Sure Shot cameras
- TV - Commercials - Caruso hairsetters
- TV - Commercials - Clorox Fresh Scent bleach
- TV - Commercials - Johnson's No More Tears baby shampoo
- TV - Commercials - MCI telephone services
- TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Mentadent toothpaste
- TV - Commercials - Pizza Hut restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Salon Selectives hair care products
- TV - Commercials - Sears stores
- TV - Commercials - Selsun Blue dandruff shampoo
- TV - Commercials - Sprint telephone services
- TV - Commercials - Sudafed medicines
- TV - Commercials - Tampax tampons
- TV - Commercials - Tavist-D antihistamine medication
- TV - Commercials - Toyota automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Tylenol cold and flu medication
- TV - Commercials - Vibrance shampoos and conditioners
- TV - Commercials - Volvo automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Wrigley's chewing gum
- TV - Promos - "America's Funniest Home Videos"
- TV - Promos - "Coach"
- TV - Promos - "Full House"
- TV - Promos - "George"
- TV - Promos - "Grace Under Fire"
- TV - Promos - "Home Improvement"
- TV - Promos - "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman"
- TV - Promos - "One Life to Live"
- TV - Promos - "Roseanne"
- TV - Promos - "The Commish"
- TV - Promos - "The Rose Bowl"
- TV - Promos - "The Sting"
- TV - Promos - "The Sugar Bowl"
- TV - Promos - "The Tournament of Roses Parade"
- TV - Promos - "Thea"
- TV - Promos - "Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge" golf game
CREDITS
- Bob Banner … Executive Producer
- Gary L. Pudney … Executive Producer
- Silvio Muraglia … Executive Producer
- Andrew J. Fenady … Executive Producer, Writer
- Duke Fenady … Producer
- Nick Anderson … Co-Producer
- Charles Jarrott … Director
- Val DeCrowl … Writer
- Charles Bernstein … Music by
- Richard Thomas … Cast, James O'Hanlan
- Edward Asner … Cast, Edward P. Mitchell
- Charles Bronson … Cast, Frank P. Church
- Massimo Bonetti … Cast, Dominic Donelli
- Tamsin Kelsey … Cast, Evie O'Hanlan
- Colleen Winton … Cast, Andrea Borland
- John Novak … Cast, Cornelius Barrington
- Katherine Isobel (see also: Katherine Isabelle) … Cast, Virginia O'Hanlon
- Shawn MacDonald … Cast, Teddy O'Hanlan
- Garry Chalk … Cast, Goss
- Lillian Carlson … Cast, Mrs. Goldstein
- Virginia Bagnato … Cast, Maria Donelli
- John Kirkconnell … Cast, Sean
- Kerry Sandomirsky … Cast, Celeste
- William Samples … Cast, Mr. Schuller
- Tom Heaton … Cast, O'Hara
- Tom McBeath … Cast, Sgt. Flynn
- Hagan Beggs … Cast, Bartender
- Frank C. Turner … Cast, Produce Keeper
- Antony Holland … Cast, Misery
- Crystaleen Obray … Cast, Julie
- Sarah Perkins … Cast, Susan
- Dwight McFee … Cast, Officer 'B'
- Garry Davey … Cast, Officer 'A'
- Paul Batten … Cast, Otho
- Andrew J. Fenady … Cast, Reporter
- Peter Breck … Cast, Chambers
- For "ABC News Brief":
- Jack Smith … Anchor