Christmas for a Dollar

A Christmas Dollar conveys a much needed message in today's society. Truly a significantly poignant point on moral importance. Not sure why everyone is criticizing the cast, they all did a wonderful job telling a story that every school should show their students before the holiday break. Loved Brian Krauss from Charmed. Always a great performance by Nancy Stafford. I've loved all of the roles she's been cast in through the years. Danielle C. Ryan and Heather Beers were lovely! And yes, Jacob Buster & Ruby Jones stood out with their performances. This movie brought all the feels of hope, love and blessings, which is Christmas is supposed to be about.

Way better than I was expecting. At first, I was thinking "these are some pretty modern hairstyles for a bunch of people living in the depression", and "look at all these well kept homes that these look more like This is the Place state park than the dust bowl". But it didn't take long for the story to suck me in and even bring me close to tears a couple of times, and I'm a stoic dude. I knew it wasn't just me when my 9-year old had to leave the room because he couldn't bear to watch the developing conflict in the story line. Obviously, this isn't a high budget production, but if you can suspend your disbelief for a bit, you and your family will be entertained while learning some valuable lessons in the process.

The acting wasn't that great and the homes as everyone else keeps mentioning are well kept for poor people during the depression. The home that the Kamps lived in was very nice and large for a poor family with 5 kids. However, the story line was the true meaning of Christmas. I am one that doesn't look for perfection in movies. I look at the meaning. I am very sappy.

My son is a literary agent and every since he went to Film School, I have learned more about what goes into rating films than I ever wanted to know. He would have not liked the poor quality or the acting of the film. I liked the film because of the substance. I look at all the Christmas movies on Hallmark and UP every year (over and over) and all the others I can catch on other channels and I like them because I am a sappy person. I gave it an 8 because of it's substance. Had the quality been better it would have rated a 10. That is just my sappy take on it.

This movie will probably never get two thumbs up or great reviews from critics. It has no big name stars, no eye dazzling special effects, no twisted, convoluted plot and no violence or nudity, What it does have is a story of a family that works together under bad circumstances to have a Christmas of love and caring for each other. Yes the plot is a little predictable and much can be guessed ahead of time but don't let that stop you from enjoying this unsung gem. If you want to sit the family down for a couple of hours of popcorn and hot chocolate with everyone from 4 to 94 having a good time without being insulted by foul language or risqué scenes then by all means watch Christmas For A Dollar. it will be worth the time you take and will boost your holiday spirit!

"Christmas for a Dollar" is a good family Christmas film set during the Great Depression. It was filmed in Utah. The IMDb film page with writers credits lists Gale Sears and Bon Sowards, as based on their book. The DVD case has it a little different, saying the film is "Inspired by a true story."

Gale Sears wrote the 2009 novel of the same title, and Ben Sowards illustrated it. It's a story about the Kamp family that lived in Bakersfield, California. It takes place in 1931, the year after William Kamp's wife died at age 37. In the film, William has five children. The oldest daughter and son, Verna and Warren, help with the chores, the cooking and raising the three younger children. But, Norman, who has polio, and Ruthie with their pet dog, have the biggest roles.

It's a good family film for the Christmas holidays. As some others have noted, it has a little touch of the Waltons in the 1971 TV Film, "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story." The film setting is much more rural than the Bakersfield of 1930 that had a population over 26,000. Here the Kamp children are all in the same one-room schoolhouse.

The movie has a very noticeable continuity gap at the end. Mrs. Rathbone has brought her horse over for Norman to ride, and says she will see them all later in church. The family is outside their home as Verna leads the horse around the yard with Norman riding it. There's no sign of snow on the ground or buildings all around. The next scene opens with trees, a wooden fence, the ground and the church in the background all covered with a couple inches of snow.

This is a slower moving film, but one about a family enduring hard times, caring for others and sharing, and getting along.