Hallmark Hall of Fame and Christmas

Today the phrase "Hallmark movie" carries a negative connotation. It brings to mind poorly made romances aired on the Hallmark Channel, largely written according to a formula. This was not always the case. In fact, for much of its history Hallmark was known for the highest quality in television. Hallmark Hall of Fame is the longest running anthology series in the history of American television. Over the years it has won several awards, including Emmys, DGA Awards, Humanitas Awards, Peabodys, and WGA Awards. It was 70 years ago today that the very first Hallmark Hall of Fame episode (or "presentation," as Hallmark likes to call them) aired. It was the first of many Christmas presentations that would air on Hallmark Hall of Fame.

Hallmark Cards was hardly new to broadcasting when Hallmark Hall of Fame debuted. On radio Hallmark Cards had sponsored Radio Reader's Digest and later Hallmark Playhouse. It was with the radio show Hallmark Playhouse that Hallmark established their reputation for quality programming. It was in 1951 that NBC commissioned the first opera written specifically for television, Amahl and the Night Visitors. To sponsor the opera, NBC approached Hallmark Cards. Today it must seem incredulous that NBC would have approached the greeting card company about sponsoring Amahl and the Night Visitors. After all, it was set to air on Christmas Eve, after most people have bought their Christmas cards for the season. J. C. Hall, the head of Hallmark Cards, ultimately decided to go ahead with the special as a "thank you" for everyone who had bought Hallmark cards that Christmas season. Amahl and the Night Visitors aired to great acclaim. Even viewers were pleased with the opera, sending both letters and telegrams to Hallmark thanking them for it.

Amahl and the Night Visitors centred on Amahl, a young disabled boy known for telling tall tales. He encounters the Three Kings on their way to visit the baby Jesus, and his mother invites them into rest form their long journey. The success of Amahl and the Night Visitors would result in it being restaged several times over the years on Hallmark Hall of Fame. The December 19 1954 version of Amahl and the Night Visitors would be the first to air in colour.

Amahl and the Night Visitors was the first episode of what was then called Hallmark Television Playhouse. It was in 1953 that it was renamed "Hallmark Hall of Fame." Amahl and the Night Visitors was also the first many Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations with a Christmas theme. On December 21 1952, Hallmark Television Playhouse aired The Small One, a Christmas story narrated by Kate Smith about an unwanted donkey. On December 15 1957 Hallmark Hall of Fame aired a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

While Hallmark Hall of Fame aired several Christmas themed episodes in the Fifties (a good number of which were new versions of Amahl and the Night Visitors), Christmas themed presentations became rarer in the Sixties. Much of this may have been due to when the series aired. For much of its history, Hallmark Hall of Fame aired only a few times each year, so that there were times it did not air in December. The first Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of the Sixties with a Christmas theme would be A Cry of Angels, which aired on December 15 1963. It was about the writing of Handel's The Messiah.

In the years following A Cry of Angels, Hallmark Hall of Fame once more aired Amahl and the Night Visitors. It was on December 6 1969 that one of the anthology show's best known productions was aired. The Littlest Angel was based on  Charles Tazewell's children's book of the same name. It centred on a young boy who dies and goes to Heaven, only to have difficulty adjusting to life there. It is when the birth of Jesus was announced that the angels prepare their best gifts for him, including the young boy. The Littlest Angel proved to be very popular, and it as repeated in 1970 and 1971.

In 1972 Hallmark Hall of Fame aired a production of The Man Who Came to Dinner. In 1977 Hallmark Hall of Fame aired Have I Got a Christmas for You. The movie centred on a Jewish community who take the place of Christians at their jobs so the Christians can enjoy Christmas. The following year Hallmark Hall of Fame's Christmas presentation was Stubby Pringle's Christmas. Set in the Old West, Stubby Pringle's Christmas centred on a lonely cowboy who spends Christmas with a homesteader, her ailing husband, and their children.

The Eighties saw Hallmark Hall of Fame air no presentations with a Christmas theme. Much of this was probably do with the fact that by the Eighties Hallmark Hall of Fame could have as few as two episodes per season to as many as four. There were times when it did not air in the month of December. It would not be until December 4 1994 that Hallmark Hall of Fame aired an episode that even touched upon Christmas. That night Hallmark's adaption of The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy aired. Like the novel, the Hallmark adaptation of The Return of the Native takes place over a year and a day. Part of its plot then deals with the Christmas season.

It was the following season, on December 10 1995, that Hallmark Hall of Fame aired its first presentation with a Christmas theme in years. Season of Hope centred on a family who experiences a crisis at the holiday season after their lemon grove has become diseased. Hallmark Hall of Fame would not have another Christmas themed episode until A Season of Miracles aired on December 12 1999. A Season of Miracles centred on a woman who has to take custody of her niece and nephew after their mother overdoses on drugs and the state threatens to put them in a foster home. She arrives in the small town of Bethlehem, Rhode Island at Christmas.

It would be three years before Hallmark Hall of Fame aired its next Christmas themed presentation. Fallen Angel centred on a successful lawyer who returns to Maine at Christmastime to settle his father' estate. First airing on November 26 2003, it was repeated on December 19 2004. In 2005 Hallmark Hall of Fame aired Silver Bells, which centred on a family that raises Christmas trees. When they go to New York City to sell them, the son runs away to pursue his passion in life, photography.

It would be another three years before Hallmark Hall of Fame's next Christmas presentation, A Dog Named Christmas. The film centred on a young boy with a learning disability who bonds with a dog in the two weeks before Christmas. November Christmas, which aired in 2010, dealt with a young girl with a terminal disease whose family celebrates holidays early so she can experience them one last time.

Hallmark Hall of Fame spent its first few decades on NBC. The series would then move to CBS and then briefly to PBS before airing on ABC. It was in 2014 that it was announced that Hallmark Hall of Fame would air exclusively on the Hallmark Channel. Regardless in the Teens Hallmark Hall of Fame continued to air Christmas themed episodes, including Christmas with Holly (2012), Christmas in Conway (2013), One Christmas Eve (2014), Just in Time for Christmas (2015), A Heavenly Christmas (2016), The Christmas Train (2017), Christmas Everlasting (2018), and A Christmas Love Story (2019). Sadly, many of these movies differed very little from the Hallmark Channel's movies, so that there was very little to set them apart as Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations.

Fortunately, many of Hallmark Hall of Fame's older Christmas presentations are available on DVD, and some even air on the Hallmark Channel some holiday seasons. Both A Season of Miracles and A Dog Named Christmas have popped upon the channel from time to time. And while the episodes of Hallmark Hall of Fame would eventually deteriorate, for decades it was known for the high quality of its presentations. While Hallmark may be best known for poorly made Christmas romance movies today, there was a time it was known for Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Littlest Angel, and The Return of the Native.