Grog-9

I didn't like this movie at first. The production quality is that of a "B" movie and I let that get in the way of my objectivity. I was also not used to seeing Jesus portrayed as...well...human! This Jesus laughs and hugs and enjoys his friends. We are usually treated to a Jesus that is somewhat detached or "royal" in his bearing (think Jeffrey Hunter in "King of Kings"). This is not the case in this film. Once I got used to it (and IMHO this is a more accurate representation of Jesus) I really liked it!

I couldn't believe that this movie follows scripture line for line. The scripture verses are actually displayed (in the lower left corner as I recall) as they are being portrayed. I expected that approach would make the film disjointed or uninteresting. But it really works well.

This has become my favorite "religious movie", and I watch it with my family every Easter season.

This movie is an ancient gem. I taped it from television years ago and have never seen it aired since. The version I have is obviously edited and missing some scenes, even though it is rather long as Mr. Maltin points out in his incredibly abbreviated plot summary. The era in which it takes place is post WWII. Housing seems to be a problem in New York at this time, and one Mr. McKeever has come up with a novel solution. The movie is full of great dialogue: "Listen Mike, I love the good ol' U.S. of A. - and that ain't tin!". No one writes like that anymore... I consider it a Christmas film, although the span of time of the story crosses the new year. My family and I watch it every Christmas season. It's an enjoyable movie suited for the whole family. While I loathe the phrase "heart warming" I'm afraid that's what comes to mind. Hopefully some studio executive somewhere will decide that it's "worthy" of preservation and release it on DVD.