Mr. Krueger's Christmas (1980)
Willy Krueger, a lonely and aging widower, lives in a basement apartment with only his cat George for company. Finishing his work for the day as the custodian for the building, he ventures out on Christmas Eve to buy a tree and on the way, he imagines he is a well-dressed gentleman while peering at some fine tailoring in a shop window along the snowy street. Returning home, he falls asleep listening to an LP by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, dreaming that he is conducting them in carols of the season. Awakening to find some carollers outside his window, he beckons them to visit him offering hot chocolate, but they leave after only one song. In trimming the tree, he places upon it the mittens left behind by Clarissa, the youngest of the carolling group. Handling figures of the small nativity beneath his tree, Willy finds himself in the manger for the very first Christmas.
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Waste of time
Fantastic!
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Beautiful and touching Christmas story about Mr. Krueger (James Stewart), who loves Christmas but has no one to share it with. The moments of Krueger reaching out to strangers, looking for anything from a simple "Merry Christmas" returned to someone to drink hot chocolate with him, were very sad. I really felt bad for this guy. Throughout the story, he drifts off into daydreams. These are all wonderfully done segments. Particularly the final one, where he finds himself at the manger with baby Jesus. This is the most powerful scene, with Stewart delivering his lines with such authentic emotion, I couldn't help but get weepy. Jimmy Stewart really was a one-of-a-kind actor and a very special man, as well. After this, he would only do a couple of more projects and some voicework. So this really was his last great performance in a career full of them. It's a true holiday classic and I would encourage everyone to see it.
I am pleased to report that "Mr. Krueger's Christmas" can be purchased at any LDS Distribution Center (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) in DVD for under $5.00 without any tax charge. You can also purchase "The Last Leaf" in DVD with Art Carney at the LDS Distribution Center and I believe it is at the same price. It is in stock as when I purchased "The Last Leaf" on January 29, 2009 there were several copies of both at that time. Why do you have to have at least ten lines? What more can I say? I am an author myself and published "I'll Die Before You're Born" It is a time travel love story and historical book. You can check it out on my website at Koalaroopub.com It is hard bound with dust cover jacket for $19.95. It is without smut and I am writing the screenplay of it now. I published 3000 books and have sold over 600 books. It won't be in bookstores until the second printing. It is published by Koalaroo Publications in Salt Lake City. Call them at 801-910-0714 or write to them at 3359 South Main Street #284 Salt Lake City, Utah 84115. All of them are signed and numbered by me. They are sent to you postage free anywhere in the USA.
Unlike so many stars James Stewart was careful and choosy with the material he did when he became a senior citizen. No slasher flicks, no self caricatures capitalizing on his image for Mr. Stewart. This film that Stewart did for the Church of Latter Day Saints is a perfect example of his good taste.Jimmy Stewart is Willie Krueger, senior citizen and widower, who works as an apartment building janitor and lives alone except for his cat named George. With his wife dead and children scattered if any, Christmas is a lonely time for the elderly and particular this elderly. But he's a man content with the life he's led, it was a good if obscure one.He still would like some human company though and in his imaginings he finds himself directing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in their Christmas holiday show and then in the presence of the baby Jesus in a nativity scene. Viewers will find that a most moving scene as he thanks the Babe for his life and the faith that he had to sustain him.Stewart's performance reminded me very much of Tyrone Power in The Long Gray Line. In that one Power aged almost fifty years and the scenes in that basement apartment reminded a lot of Power as an old man after the death of Maureen O'Hara. Of course Stewart did not need any aging makeup at this point in his career. I really believe that the folks at the LDS church who produced Mr. Krueger's Christmas were influenced by that John Ford classic.Mr. Krueger's Christmas has become a minor holiday classic in the tradition of that most famous of Jimmy Stewart films, It's A Wonderful Life. It's a simple and profound story and a great tribute to that most beloved of American players.
I watch this every year after I decorate my tree. It is a little tradition. It is one of the warmest moments of the Holidays for me. Jimmy Stewart was never more "real". The video is available from the "Mormons". I had recorded it off the TV and one of my former students who was a Mormon gave me a fresh copy one Christmas. Get it. It is touching and will help you to remember what Christmas is all about.