It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

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.

This is the best Christmas movie I've ever seen. It's sweet, funny, and sad, and it really brings out the Christmas spirit in everyone. I haven't seen it in a really long time, but I look for it in the TV guide every year at Christmas. I hope they bring it back to Tv.

It's unfortunate that this movie is no longer played on TV or available for retail purchase. It can however be purchased (for a substantial wad of cash) from eBay or Half.com. I give it nine stars for being one of the best of its genre (Family Holiday Movie). It's wholesome without being too cloying. There are a few scenes of heaven and angels but it isn't dreadfully religious. The young child star in this movie, Scott Grimes, is a great actor. He is a nice, kind but not disgustingly cutesy kid (how I miss this sort of low-key child acting in movies today). Mickey Rooney and Scott Grimes have a believeable synergy in this movie. I really miss watching this movie on TV. I watched it repeatedly during the couple of years it was playing, which is something I don't usually do. It's as good as Miracle on 34th Street, so why did it disappear from our radar?

This movie offers a humorous look at the meaning of life and the holiday season. Mickey Rooney plays a retired NY City police detective who dies and is sent back from heaven to find a missing Christmas angel. While he and his grandson search for the angel, who was on a mission to spread Christmas cheer, they find that Christmas, and life, is what you make of it. Excellent for all ages.

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.