I'm surprised that the rating is only 3.8. Okay, I admit this movie is bad, but it's not that bad. It's mostly because I actually do really like the ending of this film. The plot is that Santa has to raise enough money for a full year's worth of rent as his landlord bought the North Pole. Merry Christmas Month, by the way! So, he becomes a mall Santa to make ends meet. I actually do like the ending of this film. Santa is still short so he gets help from a kid and he gets help from all the kids who give him money to pay rent. I thought that was sweet.Still, a lot of it was pretty dumb. How can he make a year's worth of rent in a single work month? Trust me, I know how that works. The guy who originally owns the store doesn't seem to believe in Santa. This is a world where Santa doesn't hide his existence as he has to pay rent for crying out loud! It is kind of a nice looking film. It's still pretty dopey but at least it's not "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians" or "Santa Claus". **

I'm considering this Italian film as a "first viewing," but this may have been one of the very first movies I ever saw in a theater when I was 4, I can't recall exactly. I know I definitely remember as a child seeing a rather grim TV commercial for it where a sad and solemn Santa Claus says: "Christmas isn't coming this year", and it stuck with me ever since. I've been meaning to track it down for years and I finally did, better late than never.When I was a kid there was a fun TV show called "Birthday House", and its host was Paul Tripp. Well, Tripp wrote the screenplay for this film and stars in it as a good-spirited and kindly man who gets a visit from Santa Claus himself (Alberto Rabagliati) one year. Poor Santa's heartbroken because his mean landlord up at the North Pole (Rossano Brazzi - who also directed) is a tightwad who wants his back rent by Christmas Eve, otherwise Santa will get evicted and have to cancel Christmas. Since Santa doesn't have the money, he and Tripp get jobs to try and raise the cash (since Paul Tripp's profession in the film is a lawyer I don't understand that, but whatever). But it's also up to the kids to help Santa out for a change, as old St. Nick gets back some generosity himself this time.This movie's got a pretty unflattering reputation. First off, it plays a little strange (well, to U.S. audiences, I mean) because this is an Italian production with sometimes plastic-looking effects, and dubbed into English. There are also pot shots taken against the actors, but I thought the cast was pretty well chosen... Paul Tripp makes for a really likable leading do-gooder, and Rabagliati as Santa Claus looks the part. Yet it's director Brazzi who steals the show as a really villainous ogre who hates Christmas and despises all children (we eventually learn why, in an ending that's actually pretty touching). This isn't a good film, but I found it had enough holiday spirit to probably merit repeat viewings every year. It's also a musical, meaning there a quite a few songs, only a couple of which are somewhat memorable. **1/2 out of ****

I have wonderful memories of viewing this film. One of the staples of the Christmas season was the weekend matinées of "The Christmas That Almost Wasn't." I remember seeing it with my mother and brothers; I suspect I have the same nostalgia for it that Whittier expressed for his youth in "Snow-Bound." However, we have to be real: after a 35 year absence, I noticed the film in the TV listings and I practically forced my kids to watch it. It was only then I realized with some disappointment how...well...imperfect...the film was. Part of this was due to a rather awful print and the choppy way the station presented it (the startlingly touching finale involving Prune had been butchered out.) It is a part of our youth; it is probably best it remain there. I still love the film and my memories of the time in which it appeared and the big deal we made out of it; sadly, it just doesn't translate today.

This was a fantastic film. I wish to this day that I could have my own kids see it. I'm almost in my thirties and I found out that the movie is out of print. It is one of the few things that profoundly sticks out in my mind from my young childhood years. This is one of two films when I was growing up that my parents allowed my brother and I to stay up late on a school night to watch. (the other was The Wizard of Oz). If anyone ever has the chance to see this movie, I highly recommend it.