Studio One (TV Series) The Play of the Nativity of the Child Jesus (1952) User Reviews

Very Hard to Watch

[Christmas-Reviewer · 7/10 · 17 October 2017]

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES.

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I AM HONEST! I REVIEW Christmas MOVIES AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN!

From Westinghouse Studio One, this is the story of the courtship of Joseph and Mary, and of the events leading up to the first Christmas.

This title is in public domain. That is too bad. I would love to see a good print of this. The dialog was inspiring. The version I saw felt "Incomplete"

There is not a production they sank lots of money into. That's too bad. They might of had something!

A different perspective

[legion-of-angels · 5/10 · 24 March 2010]

Honestly I don't think I'll give anything away that anyone in the free world doesn't already know about this movie or this story, but the Nativity is about the story of Jesus Christ's birth.

So many movies that are made around the Bible focus on the ten commandments or Jesus' sermon's, or his crucifixion. However this is a rare perspective on his birth, those who came to honor him, the three wise men of course, and the governor that wanted him killed hearing that "the messiah" was born.

The movie I think holds some good drama, but it isn't overly attaching, meaning that you can't really dive into this or it doesn't keep you hooked. It's just an over dramatization of his birth. Which I'm not saying isn't a good thing by any means, but it's not the most exciting or interesting parts of the bible, and we all know that even though they try to kill him as a baby, he doesn't die because he goes on to help other people and live until he's 30 or 33 or so.

I don't know, in the end as I said, good dramatics, a decent script that tells the story well, to me personally it's just not that exciting of a story.

Poor lighting hinders the story!

[Sylviastel · 4/10 · 15 January 2014]

This episode is a tapes stage production of the nativity story in time for the holidays. I was able to view this on a Christmas compilation. To be honest, this episode is poorly lit which hinders the story. The nativity is often staged around the holidays by churches around the world. The episode is very dated by today's standards. Actually it is interested to Betty Furness promote Westinghouse products, a major sponsor of the show. This episode is worth viewing despite its poor quality. The nativity has been performed for centuries as popular entertainment. Unfortunately, it doesn't transfer well to the screen. I don't recognize any of the formers except Betty Furness who was somewhat the hostess and commercial spokeswoman.

This doesn't translate well to the 21st century

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 14 March 2013]

My summary above has NOTHING to do with the birth of Jesus--just how it was portrayed in this edition of "Studio One". While folks back in 1952 might have enjoyed this version, today it just seems VERY dated and tough to watch. This is because although the costumes and sets are very good for this show, the story itself is based on VERY stilted and old fashion language. It apparently was based on a medieval version of the passion play--and it sounds it. Because of this and an overall lack of energy, I would recommend you skip this one. I would have MUCH preferred the play been done in common language--thus making it much more approachable to wider audiences. A beautifully intentioned but dull effort.

Hard to Sit Through

[Rainey-Dawn · 2/10 · 22 November 2022]

Christians: Please find another version of this tale to watch. There are many other films out there on this story that is more pleasing to watch.

The film starts out with an archangel and Mary's immaculate conception. Joseph wants to know who's child is this and she tells him it's of God and it's yours. Then the film walks us through the nine months until Jesus is born - the first Christmas.

Well, this film is very dark (hard to see), slow and boring, hard to sit through, bad and good actors mixed in this drab version of the story.

I acquired this film in a Holiday Classics film pack and wanted to watch every film at least once - this movie is a just once.

2/10.