The Christmas Story

Episode aired Dec 20, 1959
TV-G
25m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

YOUR RATING

Sylvia Field and Joseph Kearns in Dennis the Menace (1959)

Comedy Family

It's Christmas time and Dennis is going around the house looking for his presents. Henry and Alice think they have the perfect place to hide them, The Wilson's house in Mr. Wilson's closet w... Read allIt's Christmas time and Dennis is going around the house looking for his presents. Henry and Alice think they have the perfect place to hide them, The Wilson's house in Mr. Wilson's closet which works for a while but eventually Dennis figures it out when he goes over to the Wilso... Read allIt's Christmas time and Dennis is going around the house looking for his presents. Henry and Alice think they have the perfect place to hide them, The Wilson's house in Mr. Wilson's closet which works for a while but eventually Dennis figures it out when he goes over to the Wilson's house and Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are over at his so Dennis opens the closet door and sees... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos16

+ 13

User reviews3

7.984

Featured reviews

9dpurpura5236

Best of the Christmas episodes

I don't care what time of the year this or the other two DTM Christmas episodes air, this particular episode is the best of the three Christmas-theme episodes overall and, IMO, among the best of the series overall. It's mid-September now and still feeling like summer where I live, but the 30 minutes of the episode bring back all the anticipation and excitement of Christmas Eve, then Christmas itself. Christmas Eve has long been the more anticipated day in my family because that's when the bulk of our activities take place, and in this episode you can feel the anticipation building for the holiday.

Doesn't matter how old or young you are with this episode. It's enjoyable and innocent for everyone.

2pmike-11312

Nope

All the DTM Christmas episodes are just rehashes of old stories (movies, books, etc. ) and just too syrupy. I like that they didn't ignore the holiday (like Leave It To Beaver did). But if they couldn't come up with anything better, they should have just left it alone. I generally switch the channel when these come on.

All the DTM Christmas episodes are just rehashes of old stories (movies, books, etc. ) and just too syrupy. I like that they didn't ignore the holiday (like Leave It To Beaver did). But if they couldn't come up with anything better, they should have just left it alone. I generally switch the channel when these come on.

10nlathy-839-300677

Christmas Cheer With The Mitchells and Wilsons

It's great to see episodes celebrating Christmas. And no show does it better than this series. One reviewer pointed out Leave It To Beaver never had a Christmas episode. I'm not aware of a Christmas episode from Season 4. Still even if there are only 3, they're all well done. And it's always great to hear Silent Night. The Hymn is a great reminder of what the Holiday is all about. It's enough to even bring tears to Mr. Wilson. It's good to know a tree isn't always necessary either. Tommy adds something to these stories, also. I wouldn't mind seeing a New Year's episode too. By the way, these word minimums are odd. Wonder if people try to repeat a paragraph to get the count right.

Trivia
Although this is the first season's Christmas episode, it likely would have been filmed in the summer of 1959 - in southern California, moreover, where the foliage would never look "Christmas-y" to most of the country. To try to disguise this, unlike almost every other episode of this season, all outdoor shots are filmed from the perspective of someone already in the Wilson's or Mitchell's front yard looking toward a window or the front door. In addition, the characters always don heavy coats and other winter attire when going "outside."