The House Without a Christmas Tree

I first watched "A House Without A Christmas Tree" as a 15 year old when it originally aired in 1972. Years later, around the holidays I thought about this TV movie and wondered if it would ever be aired again. I had not seen it in over 35 years! I was happily surprised when I saw it on a late night broadcast. Jason Robards played the role beautifully, and Lisa Lucas plays his impetuous daughter. What ever happen to her? I have not recognized her in any other role. Anyway, this is a hidden gem of a movie. It moves at a steady pace, and has many moments that reminds me of my childhood in a small town.

I was only 10 years old when "The House Without a Christmas Tree" was shown for the first time on CBS on Christmas Day in 1972.

I have some rather vivid, but pleasant, memories of when I first saw this TV movie. That year, what Christmas presents I do remember receiving included a model car kit (which my father spent most of the day helping me build), three record albums, and a cassette tape recorder (which I wanted most of all). Later that evening, we all gathered around the TV and watched "The House Without a Christmas Tree;" needless to say, it was an excellent story (I also remember the librarian at our elementary school highly recommended this special, as well as encouraging us to also read the book). The following year, my family got their first color console TV (we had only a small 17-inch black-and-white set before that), so we were able to see "The House Without a Christmas Tree" again, in color - and that was the last I ever saw of the movie (which CBS recorded on videotape rather than film) until December 1987, when CBS reran "The House Without a Christmas Tree" for the very last time. Unfortunately, that final airing was the victim of a "hatchet job," as the network had to chop out about 10 minutes in order for the movie to fit the time slot.

After that last airing, I remember writing to CBS/Fox Video (which has since become 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) and asking them if they would ever release "The House Without a Christmas Tree," uncut, on VHS tape, to which they blithely (and somewhat smugly) replied, "At this time we do not own the rights to distribute it on videocassette." Mercifully, after five years elapsed, Fox finally came to their senses and released the movie on VHS tape; I bought a copy of the tape in December 1992, and now every time I visit my family up in Davison, Michigan for the holidays I've instituted a new tradition - my mother and I watch "The House Without a Christmas Tree" each year, on Christmas night, together. (Unfortunately, my father went to his final reward at the outset of 1992.)

On December 1, 2007, I was shopping at a local Kmart and was perusing through the holiday DVDs when what should I happen to see but a DVD copy of "The House Without a Christmas Tree," and it was the last copy on the shelf! I'm really glad I bought it (the disc having been on sale that week also helped); I wondered when Paramount, which now distributes all of CBS' DVD product, was ever going to release it on disc, and that videotape I had of the show was beginning to deteriorate after 16 years. "The House" looks and sounds as good as the first time I saw it in color in 1973, and now I won't have to worry - at least, for the next decade - about the DVD wearing out soon.

Now if only Paramount would consider putting "The Holiday Treasure" and "Addie and the King of Hearts" (the other two specials in the series) on DVD next, that would really be great!

As the writer of the original autobiographical material for "The House Without a Christmas Tree," I wanted to thank others for their kind remarks. The writer of the teleplay based on my book was the late Eleanor Perry who won an Emmy for her script. The show also won a Peabody Award. I'm told that it will soon be available on DVD. The book is still in print as a paperback at Scholastic Press. Lisa Lucas, (Addie) continued acting through her teenage years, doing guest appearances on TV and appearing in several features. She then studied at the Cordon Bleu in France and opened a French restaurant in New York City.

One must wonder why an outstanding production like House Without A Christmas Tree, is never shown during the Christmas holidays. It is one of televisions finest moments starring Jason Robards, Lisa Lucas as "Addie" and Mildred Natwick as Grandma. It takes place in a small town in Nebraska in 1946. Robards plays a father who, without his wife, can not seem to communicate with his daughter. We can only hope that this fine presentation of 1972 is brought back for all of us to enjoy again.

I first became acquainted with this special not through its television airing but through a novelization of story checked out of my school library when I was in the sixth grade. I loved the story and wished to see the tv special, but it seemed to be one of those holiday specials that aired infrequently(if at all)since its 1972 premiere. I finally caught it about 25 years after its first airing(and about fifteen year since I read the book)one Saturday morning during the Christmas season. The story of a precocious ten-year old girl's struggle to persuade her aloof father to give her a Christmas tree and their mutual growth towards understanding each other is quality entertainment that is seldom seen nowdays. Deserves to be a classic.