Santa Claus (Alberto
Rabagliati) is in a real pickle. Mr.
Prune (Rosanno Brazzi, who also directed), an unscrupulous millionaire, just
bought his property up at the North Pole and is going to evict him on Christmas
Eve if he can’t pay his rent. Santa
hires a lawyer named Sam Whipple (Paul Tripp) and together they try to find a
way to save his workshop from foreclosure.
You can probably
already guess it involves teaching Mr. Prune the true meaning of Christmas.
The Christmas That
Almost Wasn’t is an Italian Christmas movie that at least has one clever modern
conceit: Even Santa Claus’ hands are tied
when it comes to the courts. The idea of
Santa hiring a lawyer to help him retain the North Pole is a good one, but the
actual execution leaves something to be desired.
I guess the problem
is that Brazzi, who’s more known for his acting than directing (he only
directed two more movies after this), just can’t make it all work. The various musical numbers are flatly
handled and a lot of the humor is way too broad and not very funny. Brazzi himself mugs endlessly as the
villainous Mr. Prune and doesn’t get any laughs in the process.
Still, as far as
cheesy ‘60s Christmas movies go, you can do a heck of a lot worse.
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