The Night Before Christmas (1905)

Writer:

Clement Moore (poem)

Release Date:

16 December 1905 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Fantasy | Family

Plot:

Santa's Christmas Eve travels are animated by the use of miniatures.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Toy | Santa Claus | Pillow Fight | Workshop

Runtime:

9 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Edison Manufacturing Company

Trivia:

Worldview Entertainment and the Killiam Collection has released a set of nine early movies about Christmas collectively called "A Christmas Past," with an original score by Al Kryszak. This movie is the ninth one, and has a running time of 9 minutes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special (2008) (TV)

Edison Christmas

Night Before Christmas, The (1905)

*** (out of 4)

I believe this was the first version of the famous poem and wouldn't you know it would come from Edison Studios and the forgotten Edwin S. Porter. The movie pretty much shows a group of kids getting ready for bed as Santa gets his reindeers ready for the night's work. While the special effects are obviously fake you can't help but fall victim to the film's charm, which is shining very brightly from start to finish. The movie does a wonderful job of coming off like a fairy tale and this is especially true during all the scenes with Santa. The highlight of the film is a sequence where Santa takes off with his deers and rides over various mountains before going through the air. Again, it's obvious how this scene was shot but that doesn't take away from any of its charm or magic. I don't think the film has lost any of its magic but you can't help but wonder how great this thing would have been in 1905.