mark.waltz Quiet divorcée Michael Learned makes a new life for herself in San Francisco and finds a life she couldn't imagine from before. Lonely without her young son with her, she becomes an on-looker in the private lives of the troubled members of the choir and through her total unselfishness helps her fellow members look forward to a merry Christmas and a brighter future.Many familiar character actors have little bits of drama to express their inner turmoils with the highlights being a young black man facing hardships in his desperation to escape his struggling existence and an aging chorus member who must take a different role in the choir when her voice begins to fail her. John Houseman gloriously hams it up as the demanding but ultimately kind choir director while the sweet faced Beach Richards provides wisdom and guidance as the troubled Calvin Level's hardworking grandmother. James Cromwell is wise and funny as the church's minister. A lot of time is shown at the rehearsals and various performances, and a twist towards the end leads to near tragedy.Overall a decent T.V. movie that is honest and refreshing in the sense that it looks at real human beings. Learned, as always. is totally likable, but is more of the eyes rather than the mouth of the story. Great San Francisco location shots are nice as well.

dsp21953 I have to admit I wasn't expecting much from this 1980 TV movie. However, "A Christmas Without Snow" is a nice little film to put on in the mood for the Christmas holiday. It is about a church choir getting ready to sing Handle's "Messiah" for the Christmas concert at their church. There are some trials and tribulations along the way, but I'm not going to spoil the movie for others. I'll give you a hint, the hardships are overcome with the spirit of Christmas. There are two standouts in this movie. One is James Cromwell as Reverend Lohman. Mr. Cromwell makes one believe he truly is the pastor of this San Francisco church. The other standout is the late Ramon Bieri, he was typically cast in tough guy, villain, or corrupt official roles. In this film Mr. Bieri plays a "salt of the earth type of man." In fact, Mr. Bieri portrays a man one would like to have as his next door neighbor/friend. Clearly James Cromwell and Ramon Bieri stand out in this Christmas TV flick. Check it out and you will enjoy it.

Gary R. Peterson My family and I sat down to watch A Christmas WITHOUT SNOW expecting a heartwarming holiday movie. It wasn't that at all. The kids dropped off to sleep quickly in a way reminiscent of the opening credits to QUINCY. It is a drama that is only incidentally a Christmas movie. This film is filled first frame to last with very unlikable people. Michael Learned's character Zoe is self-centered and personifies the Me Generation of that era. She has left her husband and moved to San Francisco, leaving her young son in the care of her Mom. When her mother calls Zoe and questions the choices she's making in life, Zoe simply hangs up on her. When we do meet her son later in the movie (after he runs away and takes the bus to Frisco to be with his Mom), we see he's as undisciplined and self-willed an apple as the tree he fell from. And neither mother or son seem interested in calling Grandma back in Omaha, who was frantic with fear over the boy's fate.At this point I expected the mother and son relationship to take center stage, but the boy is almost immediately consigned to the film's periphery.It may be unfair, but Learned's character was even more difficult for me to warm up to because she is imprinted on my mind as Olivia Walton (especially playing this role only a year after THE WALTONS ended). I was frustrated that she rudely rebuffed the stable but square Henry (who admittedly got too frisky too fast), and scandalized that later she flirted with a choir member's brother who's swinging demeanor and delivery reminded me of a serious version of the sleazy Larry from THREE'S COMPANY.The supporting cast is excellent and features several familiar faces. Ramon Bieri as Henry especially stands out in a role very different from the tough guys he always seemed to play on shows like GUNSMOKE. James Cromwell is also outstanding as the long-suffering pastor of a struggling parish. Remembering him primarily from comedic roles around this time (especially his side-splitting Stretch Cunningham on ALL IN THE FAMILY) it was a treat to see him playing it straight and doing so well in a dramatic role well over a decade before BABE made him a household name.John Houseman's performance as the cranky choirmaster Ephraim Adams didn't greatly impress me (he seems always to play a grouch over-enunciating the last word of every sentence), but it did make me appreciate more the performance and character of Ed Bogas as Seth Reuben. Looking at Bogas' IMDb page I see this was his only acting appearance in a movie (he's best known as a composer of music for everything from the x-rated Fritz the Cat film to the Garfield cartoon series). Seth's surprisingly impassioned explosion when Ephraim is possibly dying in the hospital indicates that there is a paternal bond between these two characters. In what may be a flight of fancy, I suspect it is implied in their character names. In the Book of Genesis, Adam's third son is named Seth and it is his line that carries on the godly seed. Later in Genesis, Reuben tries to usurp his father Jacob's position by sleeping with one of his concubines. In the film, the protégé Reuben does take his master's position, but only reluctantly and with trepidation, until he sees Ephraim's approving eyes upon him.The choir is comprised of a grab-bag of neurotics and uphill battlers. Muriel, a woman with many problems that seem harmless until they're not. Wendell is an angry black college kid, but with good reasons: He's mocked by street thugs for singing in the choir; a fellow choir member turns him into the police without bothering to get any facts and his supposedly loving grandmother who is supporting him through college comes in and interrogates him about why he's up and what is he drinking (just a cup of coffee). Grandma is so disengaged from his life that she doesn't even know the denomination of the church he belongs to. When she asks an older fellow, he randily replies, "The Church of Beautiful Women," while he fondles his 72-year-old girlfriend he picked up at choir practice.Among the neurotic and dysfunctional characters one must include the church itself. It is a mainline Protestant church that functions more as a working class country club, existing primarily for social functions. Where is the firm foundation and moral compass it should provide its members? There is hysterics and loss of faith when death strikes, suspicion and unforgiveness and immorality among its people. When Cromwell's character comes back to the church from the hospital where he realizes all he has are clichés and empty words of comfort to offer a grieving widow, I was reminded of Gunnar Bjornstrand's pastor in Bergman's WINTER LIGHT. Does this pastor possess genuine faith in Christ and the Gospel, or is he just professing it since it is his life's work? Christmas WITHOUT SNOW really is a Christmas movie without joy and without much hope when the end credits roll. Whether it is realistic and whether that is a virtue is debatable. I did enjoy watching it once, but I probably won't seek it out again.I watched this movie as one of many Christmas programs included on a three-disc DVD from St. Clair called The Christmas Collection that I found for five dollars in the bargain bin. It's a rough print with some bad splices, but appears complete and is watchable. (And the set comes with a few Christmas episodes of THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES and the JACK BENNY SHOW to bring back the good cheer and happy holiday feelings that may have been dampened by A Christmas WITHOUT SNOW.)

thomandybish 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.