The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow

"The First Christmas" redirects here. For the Doug Stone album, see The First Christmas (album).
The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow
Written by Julian P. Gardner
Directed by Jules Bass
Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Narrated by Angela Lansbury
Music by Maury Laws
Country of origin United States
Japan
Original language(s) English
Production
Producer(s) Jules Bass
Arthur Rankin, Jr.
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Rankin/Bass Productions
Release
Original network NBC
Original release December 19, 1975

The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow is a 1975 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions which originally premiered on NBC on December 19, 1975. It is narrated by Angela Lansbury and co-stars Cyril Ritchard.

Plot

A young shepherd, Lucas, is blinded by lightning, and some nuns at a nearby abbey take him to a stable. Sister Theresa describes snow to Lucas, who has never seen it. Lucas gets chosen to play an angel in the stable's Christmas pageant, and the Christmas snow that falls during the pageant works a small miracle. The film contains a performance of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas".

Cast

Additional cast

Songs

Crew

Notes

The film's title actually refers to the Christmas pageant the orphan children presented on Christmas Eve, though the title could also refer to the first time Lucas actually experiences snow after his sight returns.

It originally premiered on December 19, 1975 on NBC. In later years, it aired on CBS, usually as the last Rankin/Bass special aired for the season. Freeform airs the special each year during its "25 Days of Christmas" programming block. A VHS version is also available from ABC Video Enterprises in 1987, and Warner Home Video on October 3, 1990 in the Holiday Treasures line.[1]

It was also released on DVD on October 2, 2012. Warner Home Video repackaged the DVD release of the special along with three of other Rankin/Bass Christmas DVDs in the 4 Kid Favorites: Merry Masterpieces box set, released on October 13, 2015.

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.