The Homecoming: A Christmas Story

This movie has Patricia Neal as Libby Walton of the famous Walton Family TV show popular inthe1970’s! It is Christmas and everyone is waiting for pa to get home on Christmas Eve. There is anticipation of whether their father will make it home due to the weather…excellent acting by the actors. Cute story with a loving, Gof- fearing family at Christmastime!!

A classic to me, just as "It's A Wonderful Life" Even though it was depression era, and there was little optimism, it's a very heart warming movie, when times were at a slower, quieter pace. No preoccupation with electonic gadgets of today, or social media.Family actually cared for each other, and worked with each other. Just a wonderful movie to watch every Christmas. Merry Christmas and God bless.

For years my wife and I have promised each other that we would find the "original Walton's movie" for Christmas. This year we finally did locate the DVD on Amazon and curled up with the children on the couch. The Homecoming: A Christmas Story is a memory worth reliving--a beloved TV classic from my childhood.The Waltons was more than a tv show to most of us who were glued to the tv nightly during the 1970's. The Waltons were part of the fabric of the decade itself. To this day, I'll bet families still call out "goodnight John Boy" occasionally, spoofing the corny close to each Walton's episode.Before the expansive Walton clan became household names there was The Homecoming: A Christmas Story. December 19, 1971 to be exact. That night Patricia Neal as Olivia Walton was at the helm of a tense, yet tender hour. Taking us to Christmas Eve in 1933, Neal and the Walton Children (most of whom made it to the weekly series cast) spent the afternoon and evening hours waiting and worrying that their Daddy might not come home. John Boy Walton (Richard Thomas) is sent out looking for his father. He takes us to a traditional African-American church service being conducted by Pastor Hawthorne Dooley (Cleavon Little), the home of the Baldwin sisters (the sweet old moonshiners) and over the river and through the woods in a one-horse open sleigh.The most memorable scenes of the film for me are that of a missionary giving away toys to any child who can recite a passage from the Bible. Mary Ellen feeds lines to the children. Mary Ellen's sister Elizabeth asks for a passage and is given, "Jesus wept." Upon hearing this once again, I realized that the depth of the Christmas season has shallowed since.Another is the tearful climax, when Olivia Walton (Neal) exclaims, "Flowers! Flowers in the dead of winter!" reflecting the true nature of Christmas.Lo, how a Rose e'er bloomingFrom tender stem hath sprung!Of Jese's lineage coming,As men of old have sung.It came a flow'ret bright,Amid the cold of winter,When half spent was the night.Patricia Neal won the Best Actress Golden Globe for The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, and was nominated for an Emmy. Edgar Bergen was delightful as Zeb Walton (Grandpa) and in the film is drawn to the radio to hear President Roosevelt and Fibber McGee and Molly (which didn't premier until 1935-two years later than the year in which the film is set!). Ironically, Bergen was a pillar of the radio era with his "Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show" debuting in 1937.Like a visit to the house I grew up in, or my old elementary school, a hauntingly familiar feel accompanies the watching of this classic TV special. Meanwhile a few new tidbits are noticed and enjoyed, making The Homecoming: A Christmas Story an absolute must-see for those who were lucky enough to grow up along with the family that lived on Walton's Mountain.Tim Brown

I grew up watching the Waltons as a kid, and have been watching this film either on VHS or DVD for many years now. It's become a tradition with our family to pop the DVD in multiple times at Christmas. Even my 6-year old daughter has started memorizing some of the lines. There are so many moments in this film that stand out, with fantastic character actors in every role, including Edgar Bergen (Grandpa Walton), Ellen Corby (Grandma Walton) and Cleavon Little (Hawthorne Dooley). Some of the lines are classic...I especially love the one from the (apparently well-off) Charlottesville missionary that brings toys to the children in exchange for a bible verse recitation. According to her reasoning, why go preaching to heathen overseas "when the Blue Ridge Mountains are full of them." I find that particularly amusing considering I have relatives that lived in the Blue Ridge.The film gives you a wonderful perspective on what it was like to live in a big family in the Shenandoah during the Depression. People today that talk about this country going into a Depression have no idea what a real Depression is like. Mom spending her last dollar buying some sugar to make a Christmas cake, or knitting a scarf for each of your kids and telling your eldest "that's all the Santa Claus there was going to be this year" would certainly open the eyes of our video-game obsessed children of today. The movie re-enforces what is truly important in life...family, friends and high moral values...also the theme of living off of cash, not credit -- what a concept in today's world.John Boy's Christmas Eve adventure searching for his snowstorm-stranded father is some of the most fun 30 minutes in film. From Ike's store where poor ol' Charlie Sneed has finally had his Robin Hood escapades terminated by the Sheriff, to Hawthorne Dooley's church where the kids put on a classic Christmas Eve Nativity performance, to the Baldwin ladies' house where John Boy and Hawthorne participate in a bit of "recipe" sampling in order to finagle some gasoline from the ladies, and eventually end up on a jingle bell ride in a one-horse open sleigh out in the snow...it's classic stuff.I dare you to not feel some kind of emotion at the end of this film...something you will not get from most modern Christmas productions. It's sad that films like this are not made any more...hopefully the day will return when they are. For now, thank goodness for DVD so we can relive high-quality family shows like this any time we want. Some day the networks and studios (including Disney) will realize that there is still a large untapped market for live-action productions such as this that celebrate families and good story-telling. We need them now more than ever.

Very nice

I've always watched this classic during Christmas time. Couldn't find it on TV so got quick shipping and we watched it that night