Christmas on Division Street

Young prep school kid Fred Savage late of The Wonder Years is a preppy kid who has to write a book report on the how the other half lives. So this would be Jacob Riis goes to Philadelphia's skid row for some live derelicts. He finds one in Hume Cronyn.

The two bond in some interesting ways and the scenes between Cronyn and Savage make this holiday film something special. No sugarcoating here in describing what goes on with the daily lives of the homeless. as portrayed by Cronyn and his companion Badja Djola who is a saxophone player who has seen some better days.

Old age is tough enough and I'm now old enough to experience it first hand and for me it's with a state pension and social security and an apartment I can afford at this point. For Cronyn he had a tragedy that scarred him permanently and now he is a derelict in the sense he has no real direction.

The young and old have a memorable Christmas together in this wonderful and surprisingly not that sentimental holiday tale.

If you are not moved to tears at the end of this film, then you are as cold as a Philadelphia Winter.

First, you will experience tears of sadness as you see the plight of the homeless in America; then you will experience tears of joy as you see, at least in the movie, when some are moved to respond.

Fred Savage ("The Wonder Years") and Hume Cronyn (The Seventh Cross, To Dance with the White Dog, Broadway Bound) were simply outstanding in this tale of friendship between a new boy moving to Philly and a homeless resident. Tremendous support by Badja Djola and Virginia Bagnato made this a most enjoyable film for the holidays.

I haven't seen such an emotional and warm-hearted film for a long time. This is a GOOD movie.

The Atwood family has just moved to Philadelphia, but Trevor Atwood (Fred Savage), a high school student, is not very happy about it. One day, while Trevor is searching for books in a library for his school assignment on American History, he meets a homeless old man, Cleve (Hume Cronyn). Cleve has a detailed knowledge of history and a good sense of humor. However, Trevor doesn't like Cleve at first. When Cleve tries to talk to Trevor, Trevor says "Mister, haven't people told you not to talk to strangers?" Cleve replies "If you never talk to strangers, how can you ever get to know anybody?"

Cleve helps Trevor collect information for Trevor's report and gradually they become good friends. Looking at Cleve reminds Trevor of his late grandfather. And to Cleve, being with Trevor is comfort, too.

On Christmas Eve there comes a storm, it snows so hard and there are no electricity and no heating downtown. It is difficult for people on the streets to get through the night. Trevor takes a blanket and goes out looking for Cleve, trying to help him...

Eventually Trevor makes his parents see those homeless people differently, in a more sympathetic way.

Watching this film is an enlightening experience. "Christmas on Division Street" is a story about love, friendship and compassion. The actors' performances are marvelous. I hope this movie will be aired on TV again and again so more people can have the opportunity to see this wonderful film.

The comments from viewers on this site says it all. Sob! This is a touching and endearing movie that will leave a lump in your throat. Fred Savage plays a role not very different from Wonder Years, but it is the performance of Hume Cronyn as the homeless man with a big heart that deserves grand applause. This movie makes you remember that there are others out there who's got it worse -- whether they deserve it or not. Give them a thought when you are nestled in your warm home everytime you celebrate Christmas.

An excellent well directed TV movie that tugs at all heart strings, no matter who you are.

Hello, my name is Virginia Bagnato. I had the privillege to work as an actrees in the film Christmas on Division Street and I am incredibly honored by the great reviews its gotten. I want to comment that being in the film made me change my perspective on life by experiencing situations that I would of otherwise not of experienced in real life. I got to play the role of Lupe ( a poor little girl struggling with poverty). It took me some time to really understand what Lupe felt, what she faced day after day, her work, her family situation, what the birth of a new baby meant to her family (the joy of a new born yet the worries it brought considering her family's situation). Yet it wasn't until many years after being part of the film, that I got to see first hand what people in extreme poverty conditions face. At the age of 18 I got a chance to visit my home country (Uruguay, South America) for the first time. Uruguay is a small but beautifull country with everything you could ask from nature (great coast, lands, sites, etc). Yet inside all this natural beauty lies a country with a divided economy of high,low and a vanishing middle class. For the first time I got to meet, talk with, and see hundreds of "Lupe's". Little girls and boys living in extreme poverty situations. I got to re-live my role through the eyes of these kids, through their experiences, through their situations and family life. Since then it has been a personal goal to one day be able to give something back to my people, a doorway of hope, a channel-way for their talents which are rich yet unexplored. I want to reach out just like Fred Savage did in the movie, to these people, and touch their lives in a positive way. It's the message the movie tries to portray and it's a philosophy 12 years later, I still try to live by.