There are a handful of warm and nostalgic reviews for this episode here on IMDb. To be fair, it had the right sentiment for a Christmas story, but I thought the execution was somewhat lacking. At times it goes for slapstick with the phony Santas, and Sheriff Smyvie (Pat HIngle) is a bit too hyperbolic for a small town lawman. There's a minor goof in the story when at the police station, Santa (Douglas Seale) is asked to turn left for a profile photograph, and he turns right and wasn't corrected. That might have been simply overlooked to coincide with the tenor of the story. Fortunately, the 'real' Santa is rescued from jail by young Bobby (Gabriel Damon), who wouldn't give up on the idea of having one around for Christmas. Good thing too, I would have hated for Pat Hingle's character to turn into the kind of hanging judge he portrayed in the 1968 Clint Eastwood film, "Hang 'Em High".
11 Reviews
Like every tiresome and clichéd Christmas movie of the 80s and 90s rolled into one.
planktonrules23 June 2015
In this modern story about Christmas, Santa comes to a world full of unbelief and cynicism. When he arrives at one house, he sets off the burglar alarm and Santa is arrested by a cop who never got his weenie whistle (wait...this is "The Santa Clause"...but it's practically the same thing at times). Can Santa melt everyone's heart and make Christmas become real?
"Santa '85" is a stupid and tiresome episode of "Amazing Stories". Furthermore, it's anything but amazing!! This is because it just so badly written--filled with so many clichés and formulaic characters- -as if they searched through every bad Christmas movie and TV show and came up with this crappy concoction. It's a shame as it COULD have been good. Instead, just watch "The Santa Clause" (only the first--the others are pretty awful) and you'll have a much better viewing experience.
"Santa '85" is a stupid and tiresome episode of "Amazing Stories". Furthermore, it's anything but amazing!! This is because it just so badly written--filled with so many clichés and formulaic characters- -as if they searched through every bad Christmas movie and TV show and came up with this crappy concoction. It's a shame as it COULD have been good. Instead, just watch "The Santa Clause" (only the first--the others are pretty awful) and you'll have a much better viewing experience.
My hands-down favorite TV show - Christmas episode
trh31920 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I find it hard to believe that no one has chosen to comment on this terrific show up until today. It was first shown 21 years ago and for some reason its replays are very spotty. I saw it one August but the following Christmas it was nowhere to be found.
*** Somewhat of a Spoiler to follow *** Without going into too much detail, Santa sets off a home alarm and gets locked up in a small town jail by a Grinch-like sheriff only to be rescued by the small boy from that home. He turns Sheriff Smivey's attitude around in an honest to God tear jerker of an ending. You won't find a better cinema Santa than the late Douglas Seale. He wears that role like it's his own skin.
Do me a favor - look for this great show. Amazing Stories, season 1, Episode 11, I believe. Come back here and write a review.
You'll love it!!! After all, I've never lied to you before, have I?
*** Somewhat of a Spoiler to follow *** Without going into too much detail, Santa sets off a home alarm and gets locked up in a small town jail by a Grinch-like sheriff only to be rescued by the small boy from that home. He turns Sheriff Smivey's attitude around in an honest to God tear jerker of an ending. You won't find a better cinema Santa than the late Douglas Seale. He wears that role like it's his own skin.
Do me a favor - look for this great show. Amazing Stories, season 1, Episode 11, I believe. Come back here and write a review.
You'll love it!!! After all, I've never lied to you before, have I?
Sentimental junk
Leofwine_draca2 November 2016
SANTA '85 is a Christmas-themed episode of the AMAZING STORIES TV series and boy, is it a piece of sentimental junk. Like many American Christmas stories, it exudes sickly sentiment from every pore and had me feeling sick to my stomach in places.
The story is about the real Santa Claus who ends up getting arrested for house breaking and thrown into jail with a bunch of Santa imitators. The only person who has the power to rescue him is one of those annoying bratty kids that you only ever see on American TV or in American films. Everything places out exactly as you'd expect, with huge dollops of crushing sentimental at every corner. Ugh - pass the bucket.
The story is about the real Santa Claus who ends up getting arrested for house breaking and thrown into jail with a bunch of Santa imitators. The only person who has the power to rescue him is one of those annoying bratty kids that you only ever see on American TV or in American films. Everything places out exactly as you'd expect, with huge dollops of crushing sentimental at every corner. Ugh - pass the bucket.
A Charming Christimas Story
ccthemovieman-130 August 2007
This was a nice sentimental story, even if it was predictable in the end. It was a good Christmas story and ran, of course, in the middle of December in 1985. It would have been a great show to air on Christmas Eve.
Douglas Seale is excellent as Santa Claus, who winds up in jail on a "breaking and entering" charge! Pat Hingle plays the sheriff who arrests him and a man who desperately needs a little dose of Christmas spirit. The best character in here, to me, was "Deputy Weatherbey (Marvin McIntyre). He didn't have a big role but his role had the most warmth to it, outside of Mr. and Mrs. Clause, of course, and thus the most appropriate for the story.
On the whole, this story had a lot of charm to it, as well as humor.
Douglas Seale is excellent as Santa Claus, who winds up in jail on a "breaking and entering" charge! Pat Hingle plays the sheriff who arrests him and a man who desperately needs a little dose of Christmas spirit. The best character in here, to me, was "Deputy Weatherbey (Marvin McIntyre). He didn't have a big role but his role had the most warmth to it, outside of Mr. and Mrs. Clause, of course, and thus the most appropriate for the story.
On the whole, this story had a lot of charm to it, as well as humor.
Tiresome Christmas Offering
Hitchcoc22 May 2014
How many times have we seen this. Santa comes to a house after being warned by Mrs. Claus that the world is much more sophisticated. He sets off the alarm and is arrested and thrown in the hoosegow with a passel of other Santas. A nasty sheriff, played by Pat Hingle, hates Christmas because when he was growing up in an orphanage, he didn't get the one present he asked for: a ray gun. Well, fortunately, there is the obligatory little boy who believes in him and he sets things in motion. Jaded as I am, I wondered how the old guy could spend four or five hours on one person when he had five or six billion others to deal with. Perhaps quantum physics could explain this.. There isn't anything horribly wrong with it; it's just covering old ground.
A charming Christmas story
sonnyschlaegel13 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
It's Christmas Eve 1985 and Santa starts his tour. When he arrives at little Bobby's home, he can't get through the chimney because it has a grille at the top. He manages to get in through the window, but then he goes through a light barrier and trips the burglar alarm. He is arrested and put into jail by Sheriff Smyvie, who doesn't believe in Christmas. He is an orphan, so when he was a child, he had no family of his own to celebrate Christmas with. All the crime he sees, especially at Christmas time each year, has disillusioned him. And when Santa asks him if he has ever disappointed him, he answers that he had wanted so much to get a Buck Rogers toy ray gun when he was a child, back in 1933 - but he didn't get it. Santa has to admit that he makes mistakes from time to time. Now he has two problems: Will he be able to escape from jail to finish his tour? And will he be able to bring the spirit of Christmas to Sheriff Smyvie?
I liked this episode a lot; it's a charming Christmas story. It's well done and has the elements you need for a good Christmas story: a kid who still believes in Santa and some adults who don't; Sheriff Smyvie has the role of Scrooge, so to say. There are some jokes that I liked, and I really liked the actors who play the leading roles, Marvin J. McIntyre, Pat Hingle, Douglas Seale, and Gabriel Damon.
I don't think you can compare it with, for example, 'It's a Wonderful Life', so I haven't given it the full ten points, but in my opinion, it really deserves a high rating.
I liked this episode a lot; it's a charming Christmas story. It's well done and has the elements you need for a good Christmas story: a kid who still believes in Santa and some adults who don't; Sheriff Smyvie has the role of Scrooge, so to say. There are some jokes that I liked, and I really liked the actors who play the leading roles, Marvin J. McIntyre, Pat Hingle, Douglas Seale, and Gabriel Damon.
I don't think you can compare it with, for example, 'It's a Wonderful Life', so I haven't given it the full ten points, but in my opinion, it really deserves a high rating.
Outstanding TV
Dagurasu18 December 2015
I watch this episode every Christmas and it never fails to choke me up a little at the end. I've watched it with Japanese students who are studying English as well. Their reviews are all positive. The acting is great, especially the actor playing Smivey. There's magic in the story and even after watching it countless times I feel that it still captures a little of the magic that children of all ages(even those with a little gray at their temples)feel at Christmas time. The special effects are quite capable although they reflect their 1980's origin. However I feel that they were almost state-of-the-art at that time. This one reminds me of my father who maintains even at the age of 90 that he still believes in Santy Claus. These episodes must have been recorded on film because the video quality is outstanding.
Childhood Revisited
redryan6429 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
THERE MAY BE some resemblance between this and that TWILIGHT ZONE Episode with Art Carney, The Night of the Meek. No that there's any accusation of plagiarism or even copycat-ism, the general theme is the same in each case.
WHEREAS THE FORMER Art Carney story centers on him and his general disappointment with mankind, this AMAZING STORIES segment concentrates on the emotional scar left on the Sheriff (Pat Hingle) by a less than happy childhood. It would appear that we have two different points of view of what is essentially the same problem.
IT WAS MANY years ago that the now famous editorial page piece of "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" appeared. The same question continues to this day, being answered by each in their own way.
AFTER FIRST JAILING Santa and facing all sorts of complications, the Sheriff gets what he has wanted for years. It turns out to be a Buck Rogers Ray Gun.
HAPPY ENDINGS ARE the order of the day in both THE TWILIGHT ZONE story and the AMAZING STORIES episode. Separated by a quarter century, they displayed many similarities.
WHEREAS THE FORMER Art Carney story centers on him and his general disappointment with mankind, this AMAZING STORIES segment concentrates on the emotional scar left on the Sheriff (Pat Hingle) by a less than happy childhood. It would appear that we have two different points of view of what is essentially the same problem.
IT WAS MANY years ago that the now famous editorial page piece of "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" appeared. The same question continues to this day, being answered by each in their own way.
AFTER FIRST JAILING Santa and facing all sorts of complications, the Sheriff gets what he has wanted for years. It turns out to be a Buck Rogers Ray Gun.
HAPPY ENDINGS ARE the order of the day in both THE TWILIGHT ZONE story and the AMAZING STORIES episode. Separated by a quarter century, they displayed many similarities.
Sentimental and heart felt emotional tear up Christmas like episode!
blanbrn25 December 2020
This "Amazing Stories" episode from season one called "Santa '85" aired on Dec. 15, 1985 is one that's excellent with themes of Christmas and it's sentimental feel touches your emotions this episode is an annual watch around the holidays. It begins with the actual Santa leaving the north pole on Christmas Eve for his nightly deliver of gifts. Only he gets sidetracked when a burglar alarm goes off in a little boy's house. Now he's spending the night in the slammer with some other old make believe dressed up red suit Santa's. And the local no nonsense direct sheriff Horace Smyvie(Pat Hingle from "Batman and Batman Returns") is not in the Christmas spirit only the little boy from the house that the real Santa got arrested in has a plan for a night of fun! Really this turns out to be a night of magic really it will make you feel touched with emotion and sentimental feel and make you believe in Claus and Christmas excellent episode from the series!
The cast really makes this.
mattstorm-1220624 December 2022
Sure you may find the actual story in this episode as treading some familiar ground but it's the performances that really make this something that should be in your Christmas playlist.
The deputy was really good in all his scenes and played perfectly off the grumpy sherriff. I always love the scene when Santa turns and smiles at the boy whose home he was "robbing".
The icing on the cake is the ending, as said earlier you'll likely predict it but the look on the sherrifs face when he opens that present....you really do feel it.
Sadly, had to take a point off for tacking on the carolers right after, maybe the writers had runtime to fill but it was unnecessary and kinda kills the mood.
The deputy was really good in all his scenes and played perfectly off the grumpy sherriff. I always love the scene when Santa turns and smiles at the boy whose home he was "robbing".
The icing on the cake is the ending, as said earlier you'll likely predict it but the look on the sherrifs face when he opens that present....you really do feel it.
Sadly, had to take a point off for tacking on the carolers right after, maybe the writers had runtime to fill but it was unnecessary and kinda kills the mood.
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