Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

calvinnme ...and by that I mean this film premiered on December 9, 1980, the day after John Lennon was murdered. Thus I really remember seeing it, because I badly needed some cheering up, and this sweet little movie fit the bill. Plus John Houseman's speech on the meaning of the word "amateur" has stuck with me all of these years.This is a very simple quiet holiday movie about a diverse group of people, many of them extremely lonely, who come together as a choir to learn and sing Handel's Messiah for a church Christmas performance. Micheal Learned plays Zoe Henson, the central character. John Houseman plays the choir director, Ephraim Adams, and as other reviewers have mentioned, he is basically doing his Professor Kingsfield act from the Paper Chase - extreme discipline and brutal honesty tempered with compassion.The thing that has me scratching my head now that didn't 36 years ago - Why did Zoe insist on coming to a big city like San Francisco where she knew nobody, a thousand miles from her home in Nebraska? Why did she not inquire about the availability of teaching jobs before she ever left Nebraska? Because, you see, there are no available teaching jobs, so the best she can do is office temp work, leaving her with no money to go back to Nebraska where she has left her pre-teen son in the care of her own mother. Zoe is newly divorced, and the only thing I could figure out is that she wanted to prove to herself that she could do things on her own with no help from anybody. When I first saw it I was 22 and had a backpack mentality. You got a job in Idaho? Give me five minutes to get packed and I'll be there in three days.At any rate, to socialize, Zoe joins this choir that involves a multitude of diverse characters. There is a desperately single woman of about 40 who does not want to be single who goes around shoplifting napkins for her trousseau, a teenage African American guy whose 70 year old grandma is supporting him while he finishes school - he wants to go to night school and work during the day so grandma can take a break - she'll have none of it. There is a lonely 40ish fellow about Zoe's age, and then there is Ruth Nelson as Zoe's older downstairs neighbor who suggested she join the choir in the first place. There are other subplots, but I'll let you watch and discover them.Some things I noticed on the second viewing? Zoe has to improve her typing skills on a machine that was extinct 20 years ago - the typewriter. That Zoe at about 42 was having men throw themselves at her when I could not get a wisp of attention at 22. That phones were plugged into the wall and you had to go to them - wherever they were in the house - to talk on them. They were not coming to you. That electronic diversions of every kind were not ubiquitous and so people had to actually meet face to face if they wanted company, even the teenagers. And one really sobering thought - this was the city that was about to have huge portions of its population wiped out by the AIDS epidemic, and this is the calm before the storm.I'd recommend it as a film filled with the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of helping others be just a little less lonely, the spirit of empathy. And always realize everybody is lonely is some way or another.For those of you looking for copies - this film is out of copyright, which is weird for a film made less than 40 years ago. All of the public domain copies for sale via DVD are pretty atrocious, but there are a couple of good copies on youtube if you want to take a look.

MartinHafer Michael Learned stars as a newly divorced woman who has left her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco. Her son, oddly, was left behind with her mother and the plan is to eventually have him move in with his mother....eventually. In the meantime, she gets involved with a local church choir and their performance of Handel's Messiah. While there are a few subplots here and there, for the most part the film shows the choir practicing with their somewhat intimidating choir director (John Houseman--playing pretty much his Professor Kingsfield character from "The Paper Chase"). The film has some very nice acting and offers a slice of life. However, none of it is terribly interesting or compelling and if you don't like hearing chorale music, the film might be a big tough to take--especially since the focus seems to be more on the performance than on connecting with the characters. Overall, I found it to be mildly diverting and assume that the average person would find this all a bit boring. Additionally, the ending is a bit vague, and I am sure this won't satisfy many viewers.

Syl An all star cast with a mediocre script allows this film to sparkle around the holiday season. Michael Learned plays a divorced mother who relocates to San Francisco, California from Omaha, Nebraska where she chooses to start over. She is a qualified teacher but can't get a teaching job. She finds happiness and fulfillment as a choir member at a local church. The new choir master is wonderfully played by John Houseman. The minister is finely played by James Cromwell. This television movie has a feel good feeling overall despite the quality. I love the San Francisco shots in the background. Overall, it's not a bad film even with an uneven script. I don't know why Zoe (Llearned's character) moved to the city while leaving her son behind in Omaha.

Sebastian (sts-26) I saw this movie when it first premiered, and missed it ever since. I only recently found it on a DVD, packaged with a collection of other Xmas specials. It was wonderful seeing it again, despite the fact that no attempt was made to restore the now seriously degraded film before digital transfer.I remember two great TV Christmas films from my childhood and youth. One was The Gathering, which starred Ed Asner. The other was A Christmas without Snow. Both movies captured the spirit of Christmas from a time when the season was about faith, community and family, and reflection, rather than shopping, decorating and gluttony.A Christmas without Snow is a charming film about the true meaning of Christmas, and the fact that keeping that meaning is rarely easy, but always rewarding. And the reward is, or should be, a sense of quiet satisfaction and contentment.