Uncle "I" and the Christmas Tree (1953)

This is one of those stories which I manage to work in every Christmas season. It speaks of tolerance and the only person I have ever known who loved me without condition. This day also has special significance, as it was always December 15^th when we put up the Christmas tree each year. There was never any variation to this rule. The tree arrived on the 15^th and was down before New Year’s.

I have always had a Christmas tree. My parents were a "mixed" marriage- my Dad was Irish Catholic and my Mom was Russian Jewish. I was raised in a home that had both a Christmas tree and Chanukah candles. Each year we would light the candles and place our spare change in a dish before it. On the eighth day we would count it up and write a check to the WOR Children’s Christmas Fund. This didn't seem strange to us- money from a Jewish holiday going to the Christmas Fund. Actually it made a lot of sense. It exemplified what the season is all about.

We also exchanged gifts on Christmas Day. And in our house there was no bigger fan of Christmas than my Uncle Irving.

Each year he took my brother and I to Radio City Music Hall to see the Christmas Show. If you have never seen it you have been cheated. It is completely religious in its scope with the Three Wise Men crossing the stage following a star to Bethlehem, including real Camels and Donkeys on the stage! And the Manger- bathed in blue light-was always sure to make my Uncle cry. It was that beautiful. But it wasn't always like that with him.

My parents were married in 1950. They lived with my Grandma Marcus and her brother Irving, my Uncle I, in an apartment on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn until 1952. That’s when they got their first apartment together. It was in the same building on the 4th floor.

My Dad had always had a Christmas tree except for the last 2 years while living with my Mom and Grandma. This was going to be my Mom's first Christmas tree. Naturally, she was very excited and went downstairs to Apartment 3-B to invite Grandma, Uncle Irving and their maid, Mary, up to apartment 4-A to see it.

Irving wouldn’t go. He wouldn’t even budge. One flight up was one too many for him to stand before that “symbol of goyim idolatry.”

The following year saw the birth of my brother Mark. This was going to be his first Christmas and the excitement my parents felt was enormous. And; it turns out contagious.

As Christmas Eve approached Uncle Irving had still not come up to see the tree. That night Grandma and Mary went up to my parents to exchange gifts. Uncle Irving went reluctantly and at the insistence of my Grandmother.

The door opened and there stood the tree. There it was- the “goyim symbol” in all of its splendor. With big outdoor lights and a star at the top, dripping with tinsel and beckoning with its beauty, it mesmerized him. He drew near and felt the warmth and love of my parents coming from that tree. He saw the joy on my brother’s infant face. He turned away and walked out!

An hour or so later he came back, arms laden with toys for my brother and gifts for everyone. After that year- and for every year after until the end of his life- he was the first to ask, “When are we putting up the tree?”

"For Greater Glory" with Andy Garcia and Peter O'Toole (2012)

In 1917, as the United States went to war with Germany, Mexico had a Revolution. The new President, Plutarco Calles, had promised all kinds of land reforms, but by 1926 he was instituting some of the most draconian laws ever imposed on the citizens of Mexico. He outlawed the Catholic Church, making it a crime to worship in public and even in the privacy of one’s own home. To ensure that his edict was enforced he sent out troops to pillage the churches and hang the Priests.

Economic boycotts were used at first to bring down the regime, but this action only inflamed President Calles further, sparking even more killings.

Peter O’Toole plays the Priest who is executed for continuing to hold mass, and his death sparks a nascent movement, turning it into a full blown conflict between the Mexican people and their government. That conflict would echo around the world, moving officials at the Vatican to implore President Calvin Coolidge to undertake some sort of diplomatic role in the conflict just south of our border.

The League for Religious Liberty (LNDR) sprang into life, with soldiers and citizens working clandestinely to arm the citizens and take back their churches. With the aid of a sympathetic General Gorostieta, who is played by Andy Garcia, the group becomes powerful and threatening to the established government. The General is not religious, but is married to a very devout Catholic, played by Eva Longoria, who does not believe in violence and is torn by the actions of her husband, who believes in the freedom of worship.

Expertly written by Michael Love, this movie is as pertinent today as it was when the actual events took place almost 100 years ago. Able acting by all, including Eva Longoria, the film raises timeless questions about freedom and morality, as well as the responsibility of governments to protect their people, and not exploit them.

Based upon the true life events of the movement which became known as the “Cristiada”; which restored religious freedom to the people of Mexico; the movie calls to mind a question which still baffles us today. When is it right to fight against religion; and is it ever right to fight for it? 

"Dean Spanley" with Peter O'Toole, Sam Neill and Bryan Brown (2008)

Peter O'Toole may have outdone even himself in this richly textured tale set in the early days of 20th Century England. Fisk, Sr. has lost his son in the Boer War and has never grieved that loss. His wife has died of a broken heart and he lives alone with the widowed housekeeper. He is a reticent and stern sort of man, strictly adhering to a schedule. His reaction to those who lament his loss is usually along the lines of, "My loss? I haven't lost anything. It was my son that died. I'm still here."

His younger son, Fisk, Jr., played by Jeremy Northham, visits punctually and regularly, but there is clearly no love lost between the two. They simply do not understand one another. When Fisk, Jr. takes his father to a lecture on the Transmigration of Souls, his father declares it all to be "poppycock." It is at this lecture that the elder Mr. Fisk, along with his son, meets Reverend Spanley, played with great sensitivity by Sam Neill, who is studying the subject of reincarnation. He seems to be in earnest to learn all he can about the subject, which only serves to pique the younger Mr. Fisks curiosity.

When leaving the lecture, Fisk, Jr. encounters Wrather, played by Bryan Brown, a man known to be a conveyer, that is, someone who can get things which are hard to come by. In this case, the younger Mr. Fisk wants a bottle of Hungarian Tokay, a wine formerly reserved for Kings. With this bottle he begins to befriend the Reverend, unlocking the secrets of his past life.

At subsequent Thursday night meetings, always with a rare bottle of Tokay, the Reverend begins to open up and reveals that he was a dog in a past life. When the younger Mr. Fisk reveals this to the conveyor, the man is transfixed and manages to become a part of these Thursday night meetings. Eventually, the elder Mr. Fisk joins them, just in time for the Reverend to reveal his entire story, which has a great effect upon the elder Mr. Fisk.

Retreating from the dinner table he is found weeping in the hallway by the housekeeper. The Reverend's experiences have somehow made it possible for him to feel once again.

This movie is almost impossible to review with any kind of justice. It is remarkably filmed, scripted, directed and performed. I will need to return to this film again in order to fully understand the meaning of the story as it concerns each character, since they, like we ourselves, are all connected in some way. In this first viewing I have remained focused on Peter O'Toole's character.

Mr. O'Toole has made many a film, some of them have been brilliant, and some have been disappointing. But none have called forth the depth of acting required of the role he plays here.

With a fascinating story by Lord Dunsany, written for the screen by Alan Sharp, and brilliantly directed by Toa Fraser, this film was a wonderful surprise with a meaningful message.

"My Favorite Year" with Peter O'Toole, Mark-Linn Baker, Jessica Harper and Joseph Bologna

This is one of my all time favorite movies. It takes place in the year and city in which I was born - 1954, New York. In it, Peter O'Toole proves the old adage that "Dying is easy, comedy is hard." Briefly, the movie concerns Alan Swann, played by Peter O'Toole, in what may be his best movie role ever, as a washed up and boozed out actor from the 1930's who is set to appear on the "King Kaiser Show", which is based on the old Sid Caeser show "Your Show of Shows". Joseph Bologna plays the part of the TV host who has severe reservations about having Alan Swann on his show. The man is too unreliable. He is, in short, a "has been".

A young writer on the show, Benji Stone, played by Mark Linn-Baker, really believes in Alan Swann's abilities, and so he takes on the responsibility of making sure that the aging movie idol appears sober, and on time, for the show. If he is unable to accomplish this seemingly easy task, he will be fired.

When Benji meets Swann, he is apalled at the condition of his idol. He is also equally determined to meet his obligation to the show. The complications which arise, such as taking Alan Swann to his mother's apartment in Brooklyn, ring so true that I can smell the cooking in the hallways.

While rehearsing for the show Alan Swann is confronted by his old demons, and Benji has his hands full with caring for the aging actor. When his idol comes to the realization that his TV appearance will be live before 20 million people, he is panic stricken and quickly attempts to run away from the set. Confronted by Benji the following exchange takes place, with Peter O'Toole delivering some of his best lines ever;

Swann: Stone... I'm afraid. I'm afraid. That's why I couldn't get out of the car to see my Tess, my child.

Benjy: Alan Swann, afraid? The Defender of the Crown? Captain from Tortuga? The Last Knight of the Round Table?

Swann: Those are movies, damn you! Look at me! I'm flesh and blood, life-size, no larger! I'm not that silly goddamned hero! I never was!

Benjy: To me you were! Whoever you were in those movies, those silly goddamn heroes meant a lot to me! What does it matter if it was an illusion? It worked! So don't tell me this is you life-size. I can't use you life-size. I need Alan Swanns as big as I can get them! And let me tell you something: you couldn't have convinced me the way you did unless somewhere in you you had that courage! Nobody's that good an actor! You are that silly goddamn hero! (To view this exchange in the trailer above, go to 1 minute and 43 seconds.)

One of the many things which makes this film so remarkable, is that Peter O'Toole's own life, at the time of this filming in 1982, so closely resembled that of his character's, Alan Swann. Art imitating life comes to mind...

Directed by Richard Benjamin, and with a talented cast, including Jessica Harper as Benji's love interest "K.C.", and Bill Macy as one of the show's writers, this is a highly unusual film that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.