A Christmas Without Snow

TV Movie
1980
PG-13
1h 35m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

John Houseman and Michael Learned in A Christmas Without Snow (1980)

A divorced woman moves to a new city, trying to rebuild her life. She joins the choir of a local church and is inspired by the choirmaster, a curmudgeonly old gentleman who will accept nothi... Read allA divorced woman moves to a new city, trying to rebuild her life. She joins the choir of a local church and is inspired by the choirmaster, a curmudgeonly old gentleman who will accept nothing but perfection from his group. As Christmas approaches and the choir practices for a pe... Read allA divorced woman moves to a new city, trying to rebuild her life. She joins the choir of a local church and is inspired by the choirmaster, a curmudgeonly old gentleman who will accept nothing but perfection from his group. As Christmas approaches and the choir practices for a performance of Handel's "Messiah', issues of racism and ageism, accusations against a young ... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

420

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Quotes
Ephraim Adams: Mrs. Burns is right, of course; you are amateurs, unlike certain pseudo-professionals like myself who insist on slave wages. Your voluntary and steadfast attendance at these rehearsals fully qualifies you for any definition of the word "amateur". What Mrs. Burns and many others are wrong about is the meaning of the word, which has to do with motivation, not quality. Remember "amo, amat, amas", the Latin verb "to love". The meaning of "amateur" is "he or she who does a thing for the love of it". There is no higher reason for singing than the love of doing it. In that respect, you do qualify as amateurs. And I salute you for it.

Soundtracks
The Messiah
by George Frideric Handel (as Georg Friedrich Händel)

User reviews21

Review

Featured review

8/10

above average holiday flick

This seemingly forgotten telefilm is far and away better that the current crop of yuletide dreck being offered by the likes of the Hallmark Channel and various others. A Christmas Without Snow offers a great cast, intelligent writing, and characters we care about. As other reviews have stated, Michael Learned plays a divorcée starting over in San Francisco who, in an attempt to find some stability, joins a church choir which is about to attempt an ambitious mounting of Handel's Messiah. John Houseman is the no-nonsense director who demands perfection from his choir. As the choir progresses toward its performance of the musical masterpiece, we gain insight into the lives and personalities of various members. What other reviewers have missed is the sense of community among the diverse parishioners/choir members, something that reflects positively on the traditional Christian church. In almost vignette-type fashion, we get to know these people, their loves, hopes, hurts, and see them rally together to tackle the Messiah and also the various problems they encounter as a church and as individuals. There are no quick fixes, no tidy happy endings. Yet these people have each other and the satisfaction of working hard at their endeavors. There's support, there's love, and there's a lot that is healthy and thriving and growing. Intelligent and life-affirming without being syrupy. Recommended.