A dying father pulls his torn family back together for a last Christmas.A dying father pulls his torn family back together for a last Christmas.A dying father pulls his torn family back together for a last Christmas.
- Won 1 Primetime Emmy
- 1 win & 4 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of a few live-action projects produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions.
- GoofsAt the last minute, Tom decides to switch presents between his father and his brother-in-law George. When Tom is handing his dad his Christmas present, in the background George is opening his. Dad opens his present, then the scene goes to George's wife handing him the present to open for the first time.
- Quotes
Adam Thornton: I accept most of your preamble about the rich, full life to which I've been blessed. The plain and unbiased truth is I need time.
Dr. John Hodges: I know.
Adam Thornton: Certain aspects of my life are not in order.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 30th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1978)
Featured review
This is what Christmas is all about.
I've always been a big fan of Christmas and Christmas movies, but this television offering has to be my all time favorite. I still try to watch it every year on either my (fading) VHS copy or, most recently, on the Hallmark channel. Ed Asner is absolutely perfect as the estranged husband and father hoping for a last minute Christmas reunion with his grown children before he succumbs to an un-named disease. Maureen Stapleton matches him scene for scene as his wife. The children are all excellent as well, particularly Lawrence Pressman as the stubborn eldest son and Gail Strickland (one of Hollywood's most underrated character actresses) as his eldest daughter. Bruce Davison is also very good as Asner's put-upon son-in-law. The sequel is inferior (with two unfortunate cast replacements for the children) and Asner's presence in the second film is sorely missed but worthy of a look if you are a fan of this one. Don't miss the Gathering. It'll make you long for an old-fashioned Christmas reunion--your own gathering, whether you're dying or not.
helpful•130
- Jarner
- Feb 13, 2002
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
![The Gathering (1977)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjM0NDEyNDI4MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjEzODk1MDE@._V1_QL75_UY133_CR2,0,90,133_.jpg)