Over the past 6 decades American television has given the world some fine programs, but nothing as superlative as "A Christmas Memory." It was originally filmed in 1966 but I'm guessing it was included in this "Trilogy" with two other Capote short story adaptations to round out the program. This was indeed TV's finest hour, or rather, TV's finest 50 minutes. It deserves to be seen not only at Christmas, but any time you need an emotional lift. It's a timeless, sentimental masterpiece.
Truman Capote's short story, "A Christmas Memory", based on his childhood in Alabama where he grew up in a household full of older women, is also the superlative short story. His elderly cousin Sook, portrayed in this adaptation by the absolutely perfect Geraldine Page, was his closest friend and confidante. Their yearly Christmas tradition (baking fruitcakes and sending them to acquaintances, as well as making each other Christmas gifts) encompasses nearly the whole of this wonderful teleplay. Capote's story comes through virtually intact, which makes all the difference; he also serves as narrator, giving the show the feel that it all actually happened in exactly this way. Donnie Melvin, who plays Capote as a child, has none of the sugary-sweet cuteness rampant in some child actors. His is a perfectly natural performance, unaffected and poignant.
The depiction of the South in the Depression is portrayed not as a detriment, but as an asset to the story. Despite the hardships, these two have genuine feeling for each other which transcends the bleakness of the rural economy. The family's market basket is an ornate baby carriage that was Capote's as a baby, kept under the porch of the ramshackle old house they live in, and is a potent sign of better times that have come and gone. Page doggedly pushes the carriage all over the countryside to gather the ingredients for the fruitcakes; stealing through barbed wire to gather a windfall pecan crop from a neighbor's forbidden orchard; hauling all the fruitcake ingredients home from the general store; and finally, making a trek to the notorious cafe whose owner, Ha-Ha Jones, sells bootleg whiskey. This is the final ingredient for the fruitcakes, and causes one of the funniest yet heartwarming scenes in the film.
In short, this is the best thing to come out of televisionland, and should not be missed. It's a classic that should be shown every Christmas.
The second short story is "Miriam." This was Capote's first published story and brought him instant success. It deals with a nasty little girl and her nanny.
The final story, "Among the Paths to Eden," won Maureen Stapleton the "Outstanding Single Performance By an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama" Emmy in 1967-68 for her role in this teleplay. This is the story of a single woman in New York who took care of her recently-deceased father. Now all alone and lonely, she has taken up talking to widowers in the local cemeteries, as they decorate their late wife's grave, hoping to meet the right man. Stapleton is great as always, but the story itself is a little strange and rather difficult to watch. As a story it works, but when played live it loses a great deal.
