A Different Kind of Christmas (1996)
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The bane of the existence of city attorney Elizabeth Gates (Shelley Long) is the jovial, widowed former barber (Bruce Kirby) who has chosen to be a year-round Santa Claus, transforming his house into a permanent "North Pole" village and giving away free presents to needy children. Unfortunately, "Santa" is operating out of a residential zone, and thus is technically running an illegal commercial business. Elizabeth's problem is to evict the would-be Kris Kringle without endangering her mayoral campaign -- and to hide from her impressionable son Tommy (Nathan Lawrence) the real reason behind her dislike for "Santa." Meanwhile, a cynical big-city reporter (Barry Bostwick) follows the case with interest (his interest is mainly in Elizabeth, of course), and a local land developer goes into "Scrooge" mode as he schemes to tear down a landmark train station. Based on an actual 1989 court case, A Different Kind of Christmas was made for cable, airing originally over the Lifetime network on December 9, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Complete Cast:
- Shelley Long - Elizabeth Gates
- Nathan Lawrence - Tommy Gates
- Michael E. Knight - Alan Schaefer
- Richard Olsen - Henry
- Keith Flippen - Michael
- Troy Simmons - Lester
- Ralph Wilcox - Dr. Nichols
- Margo Moorer - Madeline Parker
- Lydia Harris - Teenage Elizabeth
- Barry Bostwick - Frank Mallory
- Nancy McLoughlin - Susan
- Bruce Kirby - Santa
- Janell McLeod - Fran
- Rebecca Koon - Marguerite
- Wells Struble - Charlie
- Lorri Lindberg - Elaine
- Robert D. Raiford - Judge Whitman
- Shane McLoughlin - Danny
- Director(s):
- Tom McLoughlin
- Writer(s):
- Bart Baker
- Producer(s):
- Tom McLoughlin
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