The Miracle of Santa's White Reindeer (lost Christmas fantasy film; 1960)
Status: Lost
This article has been tagged as Needing work due to its lack of references.
"The Miracle of the White Reindeer", subsequently re-titled "The Miracle of Santa's White Reindeer" upon larger release, was an independently produced feature length film running approximately 60 minutes long.
This film, the child of cinematographer Lawrence Raimond, was intended for the younger viewers specifically catering to the "Kiddie Matinee" children's audience. This undoubtedly accounts for a literal chimpanzee being a part of the cast as illustrated by surviving promotional material.
The cast was headlined by veteran actor Charles Winninger (in his last role), Fritz Field (known for his buffoonish, clownish like characterizations) , child stars Dennis Holmes (who would later work on the TV show Laramie) and Ruthie Robinson (whose limited credits reflect more television work) with Hal Smith (of "The Andy Griffith Show" fame) reportedly playing the role of Santa Claus.
The film, which seems to have had a national release, played on and off for years after its initial 1960 release with theater listings into the 1970's (a guess would be that as an independent feature, movie houses may have been able to rent copies of the film more cheaply then studio "A-List" holiday movies. This would account for it being rolled out of retirement in subsequent years).
The film was never released commercially- no known 16mm copies were found (suggesting it never played on television) and no easily accessible 35mm is known to exist.