A very old-school Christmas, everyone!
This is Truman Capote's Christmas Memory, based on a Short Story by...well, you can read. It was first made for TV in 1967 as part of ABC Playhouse. It was later released with two other Short Films/Segments as Truman Capote's Trilogy in 1969.
I bought it on VHS last year and, well, let's get something out of that tape I spent 99 cents on!
Hopefully enough people my age or younger know who Truman Capote was.
He had TWO Biopics in the span of one year.
He was also parodied a year later on American Dad.
He wrote the Story that would become the Film Breakfast at Tiffany's.
If you need it, here's the short version.
He got famous for writing about a true crime- In Cold Blood- and then became famous for, well, being famous. He became a socialite- think of an effete Kim Kardashian- and, well, enjoyed the booze. He was openly Gay in the 1960s, which I'm sure was fun for him.
He's also the only Writer I can think of to be nominated for a Golden Globe for Acting (William Peter Blatty has one for Writing)!
Well, with that out of the way, let's find out what Mr. Capote's childhood was like via his 1956 Short Story...
Young Truman lives a life of meager means, but great happiness with his Aunt (his Parents are nowhere to be seen).
To say that she's 'a bit eccentric' would be like saying that 'Texas is a fairly big place.'
Were you expecting a political joke there?
They meet a scary 'Indian,' but then he's friendly. How enlightened.
They make a whole damn lot of pies, which they send to randomly people. Their list includes family, neighbors and... FDR?
As they prep for Christmas, Auntie gives a little bit of booze to young Truman. The pair- caught drinking and dancing- are scolded by the other Aunts.
They say that the kid will 'get hooked on the stuff.'
The real Truman died in 1984 from liver disease.
Merry Christmas!
They get really sad at points as they make gifts for each other.
Auntie wants to get him a bike, but makes him a kite instead.
He makes her one too.
I'm not crying- you're crying!
They sneak away from their nagging relatives to enjoy the true spirit of Christmas.
How sweet.
They go out and play with the kites.
Truman- who was popping up infrequently to narrate- takes over at the end.
He explains that this was their last Christmas together before he got sent to Military School and he never saw her again. She eventually forgot him due to dementia and he says that he would later look to the skies to see if their two kites were flying about.
Right int the feels.
A really sweet, well-made Film. The actual Story itself is pretty schmaltzy (a word that Auto Correct ignored- go figure!) and sweet.
Thankfully, the whole thing is elevated by its Star- Geraldine Page. She makes it all feel very real. You get enough info on her via the Narration and Film to make her feel alive.
She, and the Special itself, absolutely earned those Emmys- no question.
Without her, it could be seen as so saccharine that it would make your teeth fall out!
Some people like that stuff.
This is a TV Special, so they didn't exactly spend millions on this. If you don't find the random tape like I did last year, this one is on YouTube. It came out over 50 years ago and has no DVD release that I can find, so who's going to make a Copyright Claim at this point?
The Story itself has been adapted for Stage and Screen since (it was last done in 1997 on TV). It was even an Opera?!?
If you're in the mood for a nice, home spun story of small towns, big personalities and Christmas, it is worth a look, no matter how you may find it.
Back to the normal stuff after Christmas. I can hopefully squeeze in that last bit of John Carpenter in 2023.
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