The Miracle of Santa's White Reindeer (lost Christmas fantasy film; 1960): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 01:18, 13 March 2024

A poster for the film.

Status: Partially Found

The Secret of the White Reindeer, subsequently retitled as The Miracle of the White Reindeer before being retitled again as The Miracle of Santa's White Reindeer, was an independently produced low-budget feature-length Christmas film running approximately 60 minutes long. According to the AFI Catalog, the film was a mix of live-action and animation. The film was originally produced in 1957. However, it was withheld from release for some time, as one of the stars, veteran actor Charles Winninger, sued the producers, Fred Gerrior and Martin Nosseck, for $6000 in unpaid wages. In 1959, after Winninger won his suit, production appears to have passed into the hands of Nick Giovan.^[1]

According to some sources, such as IMDb, the story and screenplay were written by Lawrence Raimond. However, this is unconfirmed. Very little is known about the plot. A short 1957 news article briefly mentions that two little children visit the zoo to try to find a reindeer for Santa Claus. On a Tapatalk forum discussion, one member recounts seeing the film in 1963. This person claims that the children went to visit an elderly man who tells them a story from WWII about lost soldiers ending up at the North Pole and finding the titular white reindeer.^[2] Some of the remaining stills could support this, as they do show the children meeting an older gentleman. While the plot details are unclear, the film was intended for younger viewers, specifically catering to the "Kiddie Matinee" children's audience. The few remaining production materials support this, as they show a chimpanzee as one of the characters.

In addition to Charles Winninger, the film also featured 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.

There is some confusion as to when the film premiered. IMDB claims the film was released in 1960. However, AFI claims that the film did not premiere until Nov 2nd, 1963.^[1] The film is known to have had regional releases in Phoenix Arizona, Pasadena California, Oakland California, and Bridgeport Connecticut. However, it is unclear if it was ever released beyond that.

There are no known home releases of the film. It is also believed that the film was never played on television, which would mean there were likely no 16mm prints produced for that purpose. Even if the film had aired on television at the time, home recording systems were still largely unavailable in the 1960s, so it is unlikely to have been captured from there.

Archive prints of the film have survived, and though not commercially available, have prevented the film from becoming completely lost to the ages.

Gallery

Another poster for the movie.
A news article from 1958 with plot details.
A black-and-white still frame or lobby card.
Another black-and-white still frame or lobby card.
A black-and-white still frame or lobby card, showing the chimp.
A black-and-white still frame or lobby card, possibly showing Santa's castle.
A black-and-white still frame or lobby card, showing a chess match with the chimp.
A color still frame or lobby card, showing the chess match.
A color still frame or lobby card.
A color still frame or lobby card.
A showman's manual for the film.
A black-and-white still frame or lobby card
A black-and-white still frame or lobby card.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 AFI Catalog page for the film. Retrieved 04 Apr '21
↑ TapaTalk discussion on the film, including potential plot details Retrieved 04 Apr '21

External Link

IMDb page for the film.

[AFI-1] 1.0 ^1.1 AFI Catalog page for the film. Retrieved 04 Apr '21

[2] TapaTalk discussion on the film, including potential plot details Retrieved 04 Apr '21

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{InfoboxLost
-|title="The Miracle of the White Reindeer" AKA "The Miracle of Santa's White Reindeer"
+|title=<center>The Miracle of the White Reindeer</center>
-|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
+|image=Miracle of santas white reindeer.jpeg
+|imagecaption=A poster for the film.
+|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
 }}
-{{NeedingWork|lack of references}}
+'''''The Secret of the White Reindeer''''', subsequently retitled as '''''The Miracle of the White Reindeer''''' before being retitled again as '''''The Miracle of Santa's White Reindeer''''', was an independently produced low-budget feature-length Christmas film running approximately 60 minutes long. According to the AFI Catalog, the film was a mix of live-action and animation. The film was originally produced in 1957. However, it was withheld from release for some time, as one of the stars, veteran actor Charles Winninger, sued the producers, Fred Gerrior and Martin Nosseck, for $6000 in unpaid wages. In 1959, after Winninger won his suit, production appears to have passed into the hands of Nick Giovan.<ref name="AFI">[https://catalog.afi.com/Film/20936-THE-MIRACLEOFSANTASWHITEREINDEER?sid=fac1f3b7-53b2-4d92-b706-9da5201405cb&sr=4.8494244&cp=1&pos=0 AFI Catalog page for the film.] Retrieved 04 Apr '21</ref>
-"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.
+According to some sources, such as IMDb, the story and screenplay were written by Lawrence Raimond. However, this is unconfirmed. Very little is known about the plot. A short 1957 news article briefly mentions that two little children visit the zoo to try to find a reindeer for Santa Claus. On a Tapatalk forum discussion, one member recounts seeing the film in 1963. This person claims that the children went to visit an elderly man who tells them a story from WWII about lost soldiers ending up at the North Pole and finding the titular white reindeer.<ref>[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/monsterkidclassichorrorforum/lost-film-miracle-of-the-white-reindeer-aka-miracl-t73961.html TapaTalk discussion on the film, including potential plot details] Retrieved 04 Apr '21</ref> Some of the remaining stills could support this, as they do show the children meeting an older gentleman. While the plot details are unclear, the film was intended for younger viewers, specifically catering to the "Kiddie Matinee" children's audience. The few remaining production materials support this, as they show a chimpanzee as one of the characters.
-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.
+In addition to Charles Winninger, the film also featured 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).
+There is some confusion as to when the film premiered. IMDB claims the film was released in 1960. However, AFI claims that the film did not premiere until Nov 2nd, 1963.<ref name="AFI" /> The film is known to have had regional releases in Phoenix Arizona, Pasadena California, Oakland California, and Bridgeport Connecticut. However, it is unclear if it was ever released beyond that.
-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.
+There are no known home releases of the film. It is also believed that the film was never played on television, which would mean there were likely no 16mm prints produced for that purpose. Even if the film had aired on television at the time, home recording systems were still largely unavailable in the 1960s, so it is unlikely to have been captured from there.
-[[Category:Lost films]]
+Archive prints of the film have survived, and though not commercially available, have prevented the film from becoming completely lost to the ages.
+==Gallery==
+<gallery mode="packed" heights="300px">
+File:White_Reindeer_poster.png| Another poster for the movie.
+File:White_Reindeer_news_article.png| A news article from 1958 with plot details.
+File:Miracle_of_White_Reindeer_one.png| A black-and-white still frame or lobby card.
+File:Miracle_of_White_Reindeer_two.png| Another black-and-white still frame or lobby card.
+File:Miracle_of_White_Reindeer_three.png| A black-and-white still frame or lobby card, showing the chimp.
+File:Miracle_of_White_Reindeer_four.png| A black-and-white still frame or lobby card, possibly showing Santa's castle.
+File:Miracle_of_White_Reindeer_five.png| A black-and-white still frame or lobby card, showing a chess match with the chimp.
+File:Miracle_of_White_Reindeer_six.png| A color still frame or lobby card, showing the chess match.
+File:Miracle_of_White_Reindeer_seven.png| A color still frame or lobby card.
+File:Miracle_of_White_Reindeer_eight.png| A color still frame or lobby card.
+File:White_Reindeer_Showman_Manual.png| A showman's manual for the film.
+File:Miracle_of_White_Reindeer_nine.png| A black-and-white still frame or lobby card
+File:Miracle_of_White_Reindeer_ten.png| A black-and-white still frame or lobby card.
+</gallery>
+==References==
+{{reflist}}
+==External Link==
+*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491057/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt IMDb page for the film.]
+[[Category:Lost films|Miracle of Santa's White Reindeer]]
+[[Category:Partially found media|Miracle of Santa's White Reindeer]]