Cricket on the Hearth

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.

Cricket on the Hearth is a Christmas special produced by Rankin/Bass, and based on the story of the same title by Charles Dickens..

A talking cricket helps an impoverished toy maker and his daughter, who has been blinded after hearing her beloved is lost at sea. It is book-ended by live-action segments hosted by Danny Thomas.

Not a bad special but this 1967 Television special has too many songs and none of them are very good.

What does work is Television Icons Marlo Thomas and Danny Thomas bring life into an otherwise lifeless script.

Just watched this gem for the first time and understand why it's not aired every year with the likes of Rudolph, Frosty and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Very depressing and a bit disturbing too. This good luck cricket seems to have brought nothing but ill will to the father/daughter it finds. Sudden blindness. Banruptcy. Kidnapping and cold murder. Dirty old man with warts and no teeth. Not the things I really want to share with my kids. Ever. I suppose its OK because both Jesus and the Pope due make an appearance. However, my husband and I were laughing so hard by the end due to it's utter ridiculousness that I think it will be a holiday tradition in our household for years to come. From now on our motto is: cricket on the hearth, take that horseshoe off the door, with a cricket on the hearth, you can leave that lucky penny sitting on the floor. Deep.

The next time you see a cricket chirping around your house, LEAVE HIM BE! It is well known that cricket's bring good luck. And if you are lucky enough to have a cricket on your hearth, so much the better. In fact, if you are lucky enough to have seen "The Cricket on the Hearth" you're luckier than most.

This cell-animated special was released by Rankin/Bass right after their first big hit "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and, I think anyway, it's almost as good. It's a great shame that it's so hard to come by. Look for it on ABCFamily's "25 Days of Christmas."

Based on the Charles Dickens story (no, not THAT Dickens story) Roddy MacDowall plays the Cricket, who decides to grace the home of Caleb and his daughter, blinded after suffering tremendous grief. The highlight of this special is the wonderful vocal performance of Danny Thomas (joined by real life daughter, Marlo) and the wonderful song he sings.

I like this special, and if you aren't convinced, this entry didn't even EXIST on the database until I suggested it a few weeks ago. Merry Christmas one and all and may you be as lucky as a Cricket on the Hearth.

This is a type of TV show that was fairly common and generally liked by audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. A popular entertainer would host a special program that would include a number of performers. They might sing, dance, and act out short skits. Occasionally, someone would host a show with an animated story in which he or she and other performers would be the voices.

"Cricket on the Hearth" is such a film. What makes this somewhat special is that it is based on a children's fairy tale written by Charles Dickens. Dickens wrote "The Cricket on the Hearth" and it was first published Dec. 20, 1845. It was one of more than two-dozen Christmas stories he wrote.

The story is pleasant but not as engaging as are most Christmas tales. Danny Thomas hosts the show and produced it. He and daughter Margo are voices and sing a couple songs. Other characters are voiced by Hans Conreid, Ed Ames, and Roddy McDowell. The role of the cricket isn't very substantial except that he appears as the narrator within the animated story.

Young audiences of the 1960s generally enjoyed this and similar films and programs. Modern audiences decades later have much more variety at hand for entertainment, so even young ones might find this too slow or boring.

For those unaware, 'Pinocchio', by Carlo Collodi, was first published in 1883 while Charles Dickens' 'Cricket on the Hearth' was first published in 1845 - that's almost 40 years difference. Do not make the mistake in thinking this Rankin/Bass story is original and they ripped off Collodi's 'Pinocchio' - that is untrue.

This Dickens tale cannot hold a candle to his famous 'A Christmas Carol' but that doesn't mean 'Cricket on the Hearth' isn't worth watching. "Cricket" is worth watching but it doesn't have the same impact that "Carol" has story-wise.

"Cricket" is a rather nice tale of a young girl in-love with a man who goes away. She believes he's died and goes blind. Her father spends a lot of money to help his daughter and the father befriends a cricket along the way. The cricket does help out in the end.

6/10.