The Man Who Saved Christmas (TV Movie 2002)

The Man Who Saved Christmas: Directed by Sturla Gunnarsson. With Jason Alexander, Kelly Rowan, Ari Cohen, C. David Johnson. A.C. Gilbert figures out a way to keep Christmas alive after the war threatens to take it away in his name.

“In the early 1900u0026#39;s, A.C. Gilbert (Jason Alexander) is the son of a wealthy businessman, Charles (Ed Asner). Although the younger Mr. Gilbert went to medical school, he has never gone into practice. Instead, A.C. invented the Erector Set and is trying to get it onto the toy shelves of the country. Helping him is his younger brother, Frank (Ari Cohen) and offering strong support is his wife, Mary (Kelly Rowan). This is in opposition to Charlesu0026#39; views, for he thinks the venture is certain to fail. After celebrating the birth of his son, A.C. finds creative ways to market the toy and does become successful. Flash forward seven years. Now, A.C.u0026#39;s factory is humming along and he offers daycare to his workers, along with other benefits. But, alas, The Great War has broken out and the Gilberts placid life is about to change. First, Frank is drafted and the whole family prays for his return. Then, A.C. is startled to be summoned to the White House, where top officials ask him to convert the toy factory into a weapons manufacturing company for the duration of the war. u0026quot;Nou0026quot; is really not an option, for fear of being labeled unpatriotic so the switch is made. After another passage of time, the war is still raging and Frank is missing in action. Now, government officials ask A.C. to be their spokesman for a campaign to avoid u0026quot;toy givingu0026quot; for the coming holidays and buy war bonds instead. With a young son himself, who looks forward to Christmas like any other child, what will A.C. do this time? This is quite a lovely film for the family, although very young children would find it harder to appreciate. The story is a heart-grabbing, character-building winner, based on actual events and people. The cast is very fine, with Alexander doing a wonderful job in the primary role and Rowan, Asner, Cohen, and all of the others complimenting him nicely. Also, the sets, costumes, photography, script and direction are quite admirable as well. I bought his lovely film in a u0026quot;one dollaru0026quot; bargain bin and it included a musical CD of Christmas songs. So, yes, the price was right but this is a film to savor, worth much more than a buck. Lucky me and anyone who sits down for a view.”