A Time to Remember

It fun to see how bad films can get and this one is big Christmas Fruitcake. If you are looking for a great "Christmas Movie" to see then keep looking. In this film it has a hidden "homophobia content to it".

A boy wants to be a singer. He has the talent but his "Macho Dad" doesn't want him to be a singer.

This has Donald O'Connor in minor role and that was disapointing. He was the reason why I wanted to see this to begin with

This film accurately and very movingly brings to light the real and true meaning of Christmas!

My review was written in June 1990 after watching the film on Studio Entertainment video cassette.

Old-fashioned sentimentality is overdone in "A Time to Remember", reviewed here for the record after nominal release two years ago.

Pic was shot five years back as "Miracle In a Manger" in upstate New York. Its abbreviated running time indicates some problems along the way, but filmmaker Thomas Travers simply doesn't demonstrate the chops needed to single-handedly bring back a genre (associated with Bing Crosby) popular over four decades ago.

Donald O'Connor brings sincerity to his role as a priest who encourages young Ruben Gomez in his choral work. The kid wants to be the next Lanza or Causo and is encouraged by mamma Morgana King (excellent in a more ethnic approach than her "Godfather" role) but opposed vehemently by his daddy Raymond Serra.

Told awkwardly in a flashback structure from the vantage point of the hero's concert hall success as an adult, pic lumbers along with an unconvincing central motif of the kid losing his voice temporarily after a fight. Other attempts at pathos fall flat and cast's singing is mediocre.

Give Travers credit for good intentions, but his film falls wide of the mark.

There are at least 3 reasons to watch this drama, (1)if you like most Christmas shows, (2) are a fan of Donald O'Connor, or (3) Tommy Makem. Maybe most of the budget was spent on the stars as the production values and writing suffer. Yet the sentiments and songs win over in the end making this an hour worthwhile to watch. The child star almost steals the show from the vets. The plot has him wanting to sing, but it is a struggle uphill with multiple roadblocks. There are many opera tie-ins, mostly with Mario Lanza and the film, The Great Caruso. Donald O'Connor has a part that would have made Pat O'Brien jealous. O'Connor, a film legend, starting in movies way back in 1937, is best known for "Singin in the Rain" and the Francis the talking mule film series. He made a further connection with Christmas in 1992 with the album, Christmas with Donald and Debbie(Reynolds). It was popular enough to warrant a follow up. Tommy Makem, a well known recording artist with the Clancy Brothers[+ a semi-regular on The Danny Thomas Show] also made a Christmas album. Behind the scenes, some of the people connected with A Time to Remember had very few movie credits. Those that had more include, Editor Larry Marinelli, the sci-fi flick, Battle of the Stars. Make-up artist Bill Forsche also did Beetlejuice and the Exorcist III. Producer Randy Jurgensen is better know for his acting roles in such films as The French Connection and The Godfather. For the past few years, A Time to Remember has shown up on EWTN.

I loved all the songs wish I could find them on Apple Music... The dad did seem a bit abusive...