A Smoky Mountain Christmas
A 1986 TV musical fantasy starring Dolly Parton and Lee Majors.
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A Smoky Mountain Christmas is a 1986 American television musical fantasy film. It stars Dolly Parton and Lee Majors, with Henry Winkler directing. ABC first broadcast it on December 14, 1986.
The story follows Lorna Davis (Parton), a country music superstar overwhelmed by her career and loneliness. She leaves Los Angeles for a friend’s cabin in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains to recuperate over Christmas. Upon arrival, she finds seven orphans hiding there from the local orphanage; they discover her asleep in a bed, and the youngest calls her an angel. Both have reasons to stay hidden—the children from the orphanage, Lorna from anyone in L.A.—so they agree to keep each other’s presence secret. Lorna quickly bonds with them, though the eldest, Jake, is initially cautious.
Unbeknownst to her, sleazy paparazzo Harry (Dan Hedaya) has followed her, hoping to expose her location. She also faces Jezebel (Anita Morris), a mountain “witch woman” who wants to kill Lorna for attracting the attention of her lover, Sheriff John Jensen (Bo Hopkins). Lorna is saved from Jezebel’s first attack by Mountain Dan (Majors), a wandering mountain man.
Harry reveals Lorna’s identity to John, leading to her arrest and the children’s return to the orphanage. Jezebel, disguised as an old woman, delivers a poisoned pie to Lorna in jail, but Lorna tricks her into eating it, putting Jezebel into an endless sleep. Jake, Dan, and Harry free Lorna, and they plan to rescue the children. Dressed as Santa and an elf, Dan and Lorna sneak into the orphanage but are stopped by Sheriff John during their escape. They appear before a disinterested Judge Harold Benton (John Ritter), who dismisses all charges and grants Lorna temporary custody of the children.
The film includes seven songs, all written by Parton except “(I’d Like to Spend) Christmas with Santa,” by her uncle Bill Owens. No soundtrack album was released, but in 2022, Parton included three of the songs on the Ultimate Deluxe Edition of *A Holly Dolly Christmas*. The film was released on VHS on October 8, 1992.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Fantasy / Music
- Writer
- William Bleich / Dolly Parton
- Director
- Henry Winkler
- Starring
- Dolly Parton / Lee Majors
- Theme Music Composer
- Dana Kaproff
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Executive Producer
- Sandy Gallin
- Producer
- Robert Lovenheim
- Editor
- Michael A. Stevenson
- Cinematography
- Reynaldo Villalobos
- Runtime
- 94 minutes
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The plot centers on Lorna Davis (Dolly Parton), a country music superstar overwhelmed by her career and loneliness. She travels to a friend's cabin in the Smoky Mountains to recuperate during Christmas, but finds it occupied by seven orphans hiding from the local orphanage. The children discover her sleeping, and the youngest proclaims, 'I know who she is. She's the Angel.' They agree to keep each other's presence secret. Lorna builds friendships with the children, though it takes time to win over the eldest, Jake. She is followed by Harry (Dan Hedaya), a sleazy paparazzo, and faces Jezebel (Anita Morris), a mountain 'witch woman' who wants to kill her for attracting the eye of Sheriff John Jensen (Bo Hopkins). Lorna is saved from Jezebel's first attempt by Mountain Dan (Lee Majors), a wandering mountain man. After Harry reveals Lorna's identity, she is arrested and the children are returned to the orphanage. Jezebel, disguised as an old woman, delivers a poisoned pie to Lorna in prison but is tricked into eating it herself and falls into an endless sleep. Lorna is freed by Jake, Dan, and Harry, and they formulate a plan to free the children. Dressed as Santa Claus and an elf, Dan and Lorna enter the orphanage and free the children, but are stopped by Sheriff John. They are brought before Judge Harold Benton (John Ritter), who dismisses all charges and grants temporary custody of the children to Lorna.
Reader's Guide
A Smoky Mountain Christmas is notable as a made-for-television musical fantasy that blends Christmas themes with elements of fairy tale and mountain folklore. The film features seven songs written by Dolly Parton, except '(I'd Like to Spend) Christmas with Santa' written by her uncle Bill Owens. No soundtrack album was released, but in 2022 Parton included three songs from the film on the Ultimate Deluxe Edition of her album A Holly Dolly Christmas. The cast includes John Ritter as Judge Harold Benton, Rance Howard as Dr. Jennings, and René Auberjonois as Ned. Its significance lies in its unique combination of Parton's star power, a fantasy narrative with orphan children and a witch, and its holiday setting, making it a cult seasonal television movie.
Did You Know?
- The film was directed by Henry Winkler.
- The youngest orphan proclaims Lorna is 'the Angel' upon finding her sleeping, an allusion to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- Jezebel, the mountain witch woman, disguises herself as an old woman to deliver a poisoned pie to Lorna in prison.
- The film was originally broadcast on ABC on December 14, 1986.
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