HALLMARK HALL OF FAME: A SEASON FOR MIRACLES (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramatic specials presented by Hallmark. In this movie, a young woman and her niece and nephew take refuge from social workers who wish to separate them in an auspiciously abandoned house in Bethlehem, a Rockwellian small town where the Christmas season is full of small miracles. Emilie brings her niece and nephew, Alanna and J. T., to visit their mother in the prison ward of a hospital. While there, a social worker arrives to place the children -- who have been neglected by their drug-addict mother -- into foster care. Emilie and the children hit the road in a desperate attempt to stay together and out of the foster care system. Hours later, tired and hungry, they pull into a diner in the town of Bethlehem. While there, a waitress tells them about a house in town, left vacant when its owner died and left it to a niece who has yet to claim it, where they might stay for the night. Desperate for a place to sleep, Emilie and the children decide to stay at the house for one night. When they are mistaken the next day by neighbors for the niece and her children and Emilie's car breaks down, she, Alanna and J. T. must keep up the pretense of being the old woman's heirs until they can afford to repair the car and leave Bethlehem. With the help of a handsome policeman, two elderly sisters across the street and -- unbeknownst to them all -- a guardian angel, Emilie and the children settle into a stable and happy life. Unfortunately, the imminent arrival of the true heir's lawyer means Emilie and the kids must leave town before Christmas. Though a blizzard strands the lawyer away from Bethlehem, allowing the kids to enjoy their first Christmas tree and visit from Santa, a faxed wanted poster found at the police department's open house exposes Emilie's true identity -- and the lies she and the kids have been telling to the town of Bethlehem, the neighbors who cared for them, and the policeman with whom she has fallen in love. On Christmas Eve, the fate of the children and their aunt, charged with kidnapping, is decided in a courtroom hearing. This program is closed-captioned.
("Hallmark Hall of Fame" aired on NBC from 1952 to 1978; network affiliation varies after 1978.)
(Beginning with the live telecast of the opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" on December 24, 1951, Hallmark has sponsored a series of dramatic specials which since 1952 have been titled "Hallmark Hall of Fame." From 1952 to 1955 Hallmark also presented "Hallmark Hall of Fame," a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology series hosted by Sarah Churchill. The first program, "Dr. Serocold," was televised in January 1952 under the title "Hallmark Television Theatre." This series also ran under the title "Hallmark Summer Theatre" in July and August 1952.)
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: December 12, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:56:34
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:59617
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1999
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "A Season for Miracles" (home video)
- TV - Commercials - Hallmark flowers
- TV - Commercials - Hallmark greeting cards
- TV - Promos - "Becker"
- TV - Promos - "Everybody Loves Raymond"
- TV - Promos - "Family Law"
- TV - Promos - "Hallmark Hall of Fame: Missing Pieces"
- TV - Promos - "JAG"
- TV - Promos - "Judging Amy"
- TV - Promos - "King of Queens"
- TV - Promos - "Miracle on the 17th Green"
CREDITS
- Brent Shields … Executive Producer
- Richard Welsh … Executive Producer
- Timothy Bourne … Producer
- Michael Pressman … Director
- Mary Nation … Writer
- Craig Safan … Music by
- Kathy Baker … Cast, Ruth Doyle
- Patricia Childress … Cast, Maeve
- Paul Collins … Cast, Gerald Thomas
- David Conrad … Cast, Nathan Bishop
- Laura Dern … Cast, Berry
- Kurt Deutch … Cast, Alexander Thomas
- Patty Duke … Cast, Angel
- Mary Fogarty … Cast, Agatha
- Gail Grate … Cast, Holly McBride
- Carl Gugino … Cast, Emilie
- Jill Parker-Jones … Cast, Librarian
- Faith Prince … Cast, Sadie
- Lynn Redgrave … Cast, Judge Nancy Jakes
- Evan Sabara … Cast, J.T.
- Scott Sowers … Cast, Howie
- Mae Whitman … Cast, Alanna
- Mary Louise Wilson … Cast, Corinna