''I'll Be Home for Christmas'' is a 1988 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed and produced by Marvin J. Chomsky. The film, which stars

Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called '' Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...

and

Eva Marie Saint Eva Marie Saint (born July 4, 1924) is an American actress of film, theatre and television. In a career spanning over 70 years, she has won an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Brit ...

, deals with the lives and relationships of a Massachusetts family during the final

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Plot

Set in 1944 Rockport, Massachusetts during the final moments of

, ''I'll Be Home for Christmas'' focuses on the Bundy family. Head of the family Joseph (

) and his wife Martha (

) await the return of their grown children, who include Mike (

Whip Hubley Grant Shelby Hubley Jr., known as Whip Hubley, is an American actor. Early life and education Hubley was born in New York City, the son of Julia Kaul (née Paine) and Grant Shelby Hubley, an entrepreneur, oil investor, and writer. He attended th ...

), who has completed all of his combat missions in England and is due to come home for good. His pregnant wife Nora (

Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', which aired from 1994 ...

) has been living with the Bundys since his departure, and is now awaiting her husband's return while preparing to give birth to their first child, hoping it won't be born until Mike arrives. She eventually gives birth to a baby boy. Mike's younger brother Terrel (Jason Oliver) is currently in between boot camp and an overseas assignment, and has been at odds with his father his entire life. Meanwhile, the family's only daughter Leah (

Nancy Travis Nancy Ann Travis (born September 21, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on Off-Broadway theater, before her first leading screen role in the ABC television miniseries ''Harem'' opposite Omar Sharif. Her breakthrough came in 198 ...

) is on a bus home to Rockport, shortly after the violent death of her fiance, when she meets soldier Aaron Copler (

Peter Gallagher Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series '' The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, recu ...

), who has nowhere else to go for the holidays. They feel attracted to each other, which leads to an invite for Aaron to spend Christmas with the Bundy clan. Completing the family portrait is 13-year-old Davey (

David Moscow David Raphael Moscow (born November 14, 1974) is an American actor, producer and activist. He is best known for his role as the young Josh Baskin in the 1988 film '' Big'' and as David in the 1992 musical film ''Newsies.'' Career In 1988, Mosco ...

), the youngest son who hopes for the war to last for years until he is old enough to experience the action. Another character dominant in the story is Isaiah Cawley (Charles Tyner), a man of the

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...

who delivers telegrams informing people of their loved ones lost overseas. In a sub-plot regarding Joseph and Martha, the couple stretch their savings and ration stamps to obtain the best trimmings for Christmas dinner, only to be informed by Isaiah of the death of Mike because of a plane crash on Christmas Eve.

Cast

as Joseph Bundy *

as Martha Bundy *

as Leah Bundy *

as Aaron Copler *Jason Oliver as Terrel Bundy *

as Davey Bundy *

as Nora Bundy *Charles Tyner as Isaiah Cawley *

as Mike Bundy

Production

The film went in production as ''A Rockport Christmas'', and by April 1988,

and

were among the official cast members.''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', April 10, 1988. Saint was appealed to her role by recognizing "the bit of selfless America I hope people don't lose sight of" in the Bundys, along with the film's emphasis on family."Hal Holbrook and Eva Marie Saint Star in 'I'll Be Home for Christmas' by Joan Hanauer. ''

Schenectady Gazette ''The Daily Gazette'' is an independent, family-owned daily newspaper published in Schenectady, New York. ''The Daily Gazette'' also owns and operates ''The Amsterdam Recorder'', ''The Gloversville Leader-Herald'' and ''Your Niskayuna''. Hist ...

'', December 12, 1988. With Rockport rebuilt to a 1940s-looking village, Saint claimed that the townspeople were amazed with the sets. The film's premiere took place in Rockport, Massachusetts, and was attended by Saint, in the weekend before its first television airing."'I'll Be Home' more TV Christmas nostalgia" by Patricia Brennan of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. ''

The Telegraph-Herald The ''Telegraph Herald'', locally referred to as the ''TH'', is a daily newspaper published in Dubuque, Iowa, for the population of Dubuque and surrounding areas in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The newspaper is the result of a 1901 merger of th ...

'', December 11, 1988. Describing the premiere, Saint expressed her content in an interview: "It was beautiful, like the Winslow Homer woodcuts of Gloucester. They had a dinner at the high school and the showing in the gym. Girls in the sophomore class served dinner and the president of the class presented me with flowers. You had the feeling the school was a hub of life, as it was when I was growing up."

Reception

''I'll Be Home for Christmas'' received mixed to negative reviews. A reviewer for ''

'' praised the early 1940s touches, though calling the story "sentimental and a bit predictable". More negative was reviewer Faye Zuckerman, who wrote: "The much-anticipated NBC movie is a holiday special to delete from your must-see list. Early on the movie becomes sentimental and heavy-handed, rivaling the most overdone moments on primetime's slushy-sudsers ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' and '' Knots Landing''."'Home for Christmas' movie is heavy-handed" by Faye Zuckerman. ''

Times Daily The ''TimesDaily'' is the daily newspaper for Florence, Alabama. ''The TimesDaily'' covers a four-county region in Alabama including Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, and Lawrence counties, as well as portions of southern Tennessee and northeast ...

'', December 10, 1988. She furthermore criticized

's "overdone emoting", which is "contrasted by Holbrook and Saint's lackluster performances here. Both usually give credibility and strength to movies with such weak scripts. In this case they barely manage to muster enough energy to appear interested in their roles."

References

External links