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IMDbPro

Le messager de l'espoir

Original title: Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus
  • TV Movie
  • 1991
  • PG-13
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
Charles Bronson, Richard Thomas, and Katharine Isabelle in Le messager de l'espoir (1991)
Drama

Inspired by the famous 1897 editorial that has become a holiday staple, Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus tells the story of young Virginia O'Hanlan and the newspaper man who answered her... Read allInspired by the famous 1897 editorial that has become a holiday staple, Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus tells the story of young Virginia O'Hanlan and the newspaper man who answered her question.Inspired by the famous 1897 editorial that has become a holiday staple, Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus tells the story of young Virginia O'Hanlan and the newspaper man who answered her question.

  • Director
    • Charles Jarrott
  • Writers
    • Val De Crowl
    • Andrew J. Fenady
  • Stars
    • Richard Thomas
    • Edward Asner
    • Charles Bronson
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    1.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Charles Jarrott
    • Writers
      • Val De Crowl
      • Andrew J. Fenady
    • Stars
      • Richard Thomas
      • Edward Asner
      • Charles Bronson
    • 39User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos15

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    Top cast30

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    Richard Thomas
    Richard Thomas
    • James O'Hanlan
    Edward Asner
    Edward Asner
    • Edward P. Mitchell
    Charles Bronson
    Charles Bronson
    • Francis Church
    Massimo Bonetti
    • Donelli
    Tamsin Kelsey
    Tamsin Kelsey
    • Evie O'Hanlan
    Colleen Winton
    Colleen Winton
    • Andrea Borland
    John Novak
    John Novak
    • Cornelius Barrington
    Katharine Isabelle
    Katharine Isabelle
    • Virginia O'Hanlon
    • (as Katherine Isobel)
    Shawn Macdonald
    Shawn Macdonald
    • Teddy O'Hanlan
    • (as Shawn MacDonald)
    Garry Chalk
    Garry Chalk
    • Goss
    Lillian Carlson
    Lillian Carlson
    • Mrs. Goldstein
    Virginia Bagnato
    • Maria
    John Kirkconnell
    • Sean O'Hanlan
    Kerry Sandomirsky
    Kerry Sandomirsky
    • Celeste
    William Samples
    William Samples
    • Mr. Schuller
    Tom Heaton
    Tom Heaton
    • O'Hara
    Tom McBeath
    Tom McBeath
    • Sgt. Flynn
    Hagan Beggs
    Hagan Beggs
    • Bartender
    • Director
      • Charles Jarrott
    • Writers
      • Val De Crowl
      • Andrew J. Fenady
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews39

    7.21.1K
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    Featured reviews

    10fancykser

    Great film

    Very uplifting, Good Holiday Cheer! Everyone should see it if they can. Wish I could find a place to purchase this film for my collection. Great performances given by all cast members. Hope for humanity, and hope for our families. This film helps to lift my spirits and makes me remember just what is important in our lives. This movie is about a reporter who has lost his drive, now he could lose his job. A family struggles very hard to make it in the world (just like now for some). Watch Charles Bronson and Richard Thomas in there unforgettable roles as they give us a way to look at things all over again.(If your into Christmas Movies you should also try to see The Little Match Girl, Rudy from the Cosbys makes this film extra special)
    9SimonJack

    Wonderful film about a famous Christmas letter and editorial

    In 1897, the New York Sun newspaper ran a short article in its editorial section that has become famous. The heading read, "Is There a Santa Claus?" It was in response to a short letter written by eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon of New York City. The article printed the letter and then, with rhetorical questions and prose, answered it. "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus," penned Sun editorial writer Francis Church.

    This is a TV movie about that event. The essential details are true, and the main characters are real. But the story in this film is mostly fictional. Yet it works to make a fuller and more meaningful plot; and, therefore, a better Christmas movie.

    The film was shot in British Columbia, Canada. The scenes and settings seem to be authentic for 1890s New York or any North American city at the time. The cast has some big name actors and others - all of whom give very good performances. Katharine Isabelle is superb as Virginia O'Hanlon. Tamsin Kelsey is especially good as Evie O'Hanlon, wife of James. She plays an Irish immigrant woman who keeps a bright outlook for her small brood, in spite of the hard times.

    The portrayal of hard times for immigrants adds some meat and meaning to the story. Richard Thomas plays Virginia's father, James. He and his friend, Donelli, spend cold days looking for work after being fired as dockworkers. The story gives a light portrayal of the ethnic tensions of the time. During the immigration of many Irish, Anglo-Protestants resented their competition for jobs. And, neighbors in tenement apartments help one another, by sharing food. A Jewish landlady widow, Mrs. Goldstein (played by Lillian Carlson) cooks too much brisket for just herself, so she begs the O'Hanlon's to take it off her hands.

    Charles Bronson is very good in his role as Francis Church. But the character he plays was not the real Francis Church. Here, Church has been drinking heavily since losing his wife and daughter a year earlier. The film doesn't say, but it's implied it was a disease or epidemic. That's another nice touch in showing that aspect of history in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The real Frank Church was in his 50s and had covered the Civil War more than 30 years earlier.

    It's true that Church didn't want to write the editorial, and didn't want his name associated with it. Only many years later was his authorship of the article made known. Even then, one wonders, because Church was supposedly an atheist. Yet he wrote in that editorial, "No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever." That's hardly something an atheist would write, and it's not very likely that he would have had to write that.

    Edward Asner plays another real person well -- Edward P. Mitchell, the managing editor. Other reporters and people on the Sun staff are fictional. Yet Colleen Winton plays Andrea Borland very well, and Shawn Macdonald plays the copy boy, Teddy, very well.

    The biggest fictional aspect was Virginia's family and where they lived. They weren't likely to be living in tenement housing as in the film. Virginia's dad, James, was a doctor. At the time, he was a coroner's assistant in Manhattan.

    In the movie, the editorial in response to Virginia appeared in the sun around Christmas Eve. But the actual date it was printed was Sept. 21 - three months before Christmas. In later years, Virginia explained that around her birthday in July as a child she would begin to wonder what she would be getting for Christmas. So, she wrote her letter in July. And, the Sun editors didn't do anything with it for several weeks. And no one knows why they didn't wait until Christmas to publish it.

    Even then, the article wasn't considered anything special at the time. But readers remembered and asked about it in subsequent years. So, more than 10 years after its first publication, the Sun again printed the article just before Christmas.

    The story about the famous letter and Sun newspaper editorial is an endearing one. And the filmmaker's embellishment of the story helps make "Yes Virginia" a wonderful Christmas movie and look at history.

    Here are a couple favorite lines from this film.

    Andrea Borland, "Did you like my story on the Vanderbilt ball?" Edward Mitchell, "I printed it, didn't I?" Andrea Borland, "Well, half of it." Edward Mitchell: "That was the half I liked."

    Mrs. Goldstein, "As my dear dead Saul used to say, 'It isn't a silver lining what makes the coat. It's the person wearing it.'"
    8jdana

    outstanding performances in a beautiful story!

    It would be difficult to say at this point if it were Richard Thomas or Charles Bronson who carried this timeless beauty so successfully to it's moving conclusion, but all performances were top notch. This movie NEEDS to be released to all for the upcoming Christmas season as it would quickly become a classic. These are the Christmas lessons we all try to teach the young this time of year and movies like this one are needed to do it so nicely. I hope to see this one on the DVD new release list soon!
    10susaneliza-675-674753

    Best Holiday Show!

    I have been searching for this forever (years ago it didn't even show up at IMDb). I only wish I would have taped it when it aired and I cannot understand why such a beautiful movie is no longer aired, there is so much crap out there and this gem gets missed - it's mindboggling! Lifetime are you listening? AMC ? anyone? wake up!!!! I would really love to see this either out on DVD or aired this Christmas season! The story, performances and history all make this movie a standout. I again wonder WHY???? it isn't aired or accessible to viewers. I remember thinking Richard Thomas reprised his role as John Boy....Ed Asner and Charles Bronson, as always, were fantastic as were the rest of the cast.
    10pacekl

    A classic film, with a great message

    While this is a made for TV film with some of the production weaknesses that are typical of films made for television, nonetheless this is a classic Christmas movie in a class with "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th St.", primarily for it's ability to make the viewer cry with joy, even with repeated viewings.

    Like the movies above, not all the characters are happy due to the difficult circumstances of their lives. The primary characters are struggling with despair. Like "It's a Wonderful Life", the lead characters are brought back from the brink through belief in something larger than themselves: The spirit of Christmas and the Hope that it brings to all of us.

    I wish it would be released commercially at some point so that it could gain a larger audience. Contains great performances by Richard Thomas and Charles Bronson. Lou Asner is at his typical crusty best as the soft-hearted news boss.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      In this movie, Charles Bronson plays a man struggling with the death of his beloved wife. In real life, he himself was in mourning, having lost his wife, Jill Ireland, the year before in 1990.
    • Goofs
      The real Francis P. Church only married after the publication of the "Yes, Virginia" letter in 1897, and had no children.
    • Quotes

      Mrs. Goldstein: As my dear dead Saul used to say, "It isn't a silver lining what makes the coat. It's the person wearing it."

    • Connections
      Referenced in Tribunal de nuit: Party Girl: Part 1 (1992)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 8, 1991 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus
    • Filming locations
      • British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Fenady Associates
      • Quinta Communications
      • Paradigm Entertainment (II)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 35m(95 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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