Charles Sharp Collection

Big Downtown Christmas, The

Transcript (Download)

It was just a week before Christmas.

There was some snow outside my house, but now the sun was shining.

And my mother and father were taking me downtown to see all the wonderful Christmas things.

All the people, everywhere, on the streets and in the stores, looking, shopping, talking, laughing and hurrying.

I could easily have gotten lost.

And then I was lost, though I didn't know it yet.

Lost among the sights and smells and sounds of Christmas downtown.

I hardly knew it was getting dark.

The lights were everywhere, like a million birds, like little pieces of fire.

I was downtown at Christmas.

And I could see the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and the lights and Marvelous things were everywhere surprises around every corner and wherever I went everybody was looking and looking and looking And, and, and, and the Christmas windows went.

The.

The.

The.

The.

The.

The.

The.

The.

The.

The.

The The Then it seemed that the Christmas animals were going to sleep.

All of a sudden, I felt alone.

There must be more to Christmas than this.

That was when I heard the church bells.

When I looked along the street, I saw the Holy Family.

And it was then that I found my parents.

I didn't understand all that had happened to me, but the birth of the Christ child, I now knew, was the real reason for all the wonderful Christmas things.

Identifier
F.2009-07-0001
Date Of Production
1960
Abstract
A charming story of a boy who gets lost in the lights and smells of downtown Chicago at Christmas time. He is taken in by the famous holiday windows at Marshall Fields and various other downtown department stores on State Street and Michigan Avenue. In a split-second conclusion, the boy discovers the meaning of the season as he finds his parents in the holiday crowds.
Run Time
0:10:25
Format
16mm
Extent
375 feet
Color
Color
Sound
Optical
Reel/Tape Number
1/1
Has Been Digitized?
Yes
Language Of Materials
English
Element
Answer Print
Genre
Family
Form
Short
Subject
Holidays
Religions
City and town life
Christmas
Related Collections
Charles Sharp Collection

Related Places
North America ➜ United States ➜ Illinois ➜ Chicago

Main Credits
Sharp, Charles Dee (is filmmaker)

Additional Credits
Kaufman, Jay (sound)

Participants And Performers
Bettelheim, Eric (is actor)
Moore, Burton (is narrator)

 
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