It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

I remember the first time I saw this movie... I loved it. Every year one of our local channels used to run a 55 hour marathon of Christmas movies,this was one of them. That was about 20 years ago and the marathon is no longer on the air this time of year. But every single Christmas season I look for this movie on TV... of course it's never on. I think it was only shown 2 or 3 years and I miss it!! Instead we get to watch The Christmas Story 24 hours in a row....how exciting! What ever happened to the old meaningful Christmas movies that used to be on? I'm sure if they come back people will watch them. So until then I will always have the memory of this special movie.

Mickey Rooney plays Mike Halligan, a retired cop from Manhattan living in California with his family who decides to show his grandson, who has never seen snow before, what a real white Christmas in New York is like. But he dies from a sudden heart attack in which Halligan makes a deal with the Archangel of Heaven to return to Earth for a week until Christmas and show his grandson the seasonal glories of New York City.

The film is so well made that you can overlook the flaws. The casting is spot on. There is never a dull moment.

The film works so well because it does make New York City a co-star. I also love the bound between Mickey and Scott.

The film is not available on DVD. You can get used VHS copies. Originally running 96 minutes I am afraid that if the film is shown on commercial television that they will cut about 12 minutes out! If you see a VHS buy it.

If you believe in Christmas and all good things this is a movie for you. Mickey Rooney goes back to New York to bring back the Christmas spirit. If you have any faith and believe this is a great movie for the whole family. Unfortunately people will never know as the networks once again have shelved a good family Christmas movie for the garbage they put on at Christmas or should I say the lack of Christmas movies. Over the years they have been showing fewer and fewer. I would love a chance to own this movie or at least see it on TV again.

Thanx Ian

I'll have to add my voice to the others asking why this movie hasn't been shown in years. It was one of the better made for TV Christmas movies. Put it out on DVD, please.

One thing I'll always remember about this movie is this: the last time I remember seeing it was in 1986 right after the birth of my daughter. She was about two days old. The scene of Mickey Rooney in heaven caught her eye and she couldn't take her eyes off the screen. We wondered if it was just the contrast of the stereotyped view of the overbearingly "white" of heaven or if perhaps she was seeing something comfortably familiar. Whatever the reason, she didn't pay any attention to the TV again for months and months.

I actually think this is one of the most underrated Christmas movies ever made. Maybe I'm a sucker for the Christmas tales I watched when I was younger (not that long ago), but I have a special place for this movie in my memory.

I just always thought this movie about a grandfather and his grandson, spending some special days in New York, made me smile during the holidays, and it always made me remember the song with the same title.

I think Mickey Rooney is at his best here, and it also showcases a young Scott Grimes as a likable, everyday kid. I also enjoyed him in "The Night They Saved Christmas", another good-time Christmas flick that came out the same year.

It may not be one of the most WELL-MADE movies of the era, nor is it without the schmaltz of every Christmas movie, but I like to think that the Holidays would not be complete without the token cheesy-storyline movie.