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Changes: Cricket on the Hearth (1967)

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|image=cricketonthehearth.jpg
  
|image=cricketonthehearth.jpg
 
|director=[[Arthur Rankin, Jr.]]<br>[[Jules Bass]]
  
|director=[[Arthur Rankin, Jr.]]<br>[[Jules Bass]]
−
|writer={{w|Charles Dickens}} {{s|(suggested by the story of Christmas)}}<br>[[Romeo Muller]]<br>[[Arthur Rankin, Jr.]]
 +
|writer=[[Charles Dickens]] {{s|(story)}}<br>[[Romeo Muller]]<br>[[Arthur Rankin, Jr.]]
 
|release=December 18, 1967
  
|release=December 18, 1967
 
|runtime=49 minutes
  
|runtime=49 minutes
 
|available=VHS<br>DVD<br>Blu-ray
  
|available=VHS<br>DVD<br>Blu-ray
−
|rating = TV-G}}
 +
|rating=TV-G}}
−
{{Quote|I suppose I had never seen a happy room. And in there, in the corner, was the nicest little hearth you could ever think of.|Cricket Crocket looking at a room inside of the toy shop.}}
 +
{{Quote|I suppose, I had never seen a happy room. And in there, in the corner, was the nicest little hearth you could ever hope for.|[[Cricket Crocket]] looking at a room inside of the toy shop.}}
 
'''''Cricket on the Hearth''''' is a [[Christmas]] special produced by [[Rankin/Bass]], and it is suggested by the original story of the same name by [[Charles Dickens]]. It premiered on {{w|NBC}} on December 18, 1967, as an installment of ''The Danny Thomas Hour''.<ref>''The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass'', by Rick Goldschmidt. 1997, Miser Bros. Press.</ref>
  
'''''Cricket on the Hearth''''' is a [[Christmas]] special produced by [[Rankin/Bass]], and it is suggested by the original story of the same name by [[Charles Dickens]]. It premiered on {{w|NBC}} on December 18, 1967, as an installment of ''The Danny Thomas Hour''.<ref>''The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass'', by Rick Goldschmidt. 1997, Miser Bros. Press.</ref>
   
 
==Synopsis==
  
==Synopsis==
−
The special begins in England where the chorus sing Cricket on the Hearth. After the song ends, the cricket goes inside to warm up. He looks at us and hops to the fireplace. He then tells us how he became part of a family.
 +
The special begins in England where the chorus sings the title song. Our main character, Cricket Crocket, goes inside to warm up and tells us how he became a part of his human family.
 
[[File:Vlcsnap-2019-02-09-16h26m11s194.png|thumb|250px|Caleb offering the cricket to stay with him and Bertha.]]
  
[[File:Vlcsnap-2019-02-09-16h26m11s194.png|thumb|250px|Caleb offering the cricket to stay with him and Bertha.]]
−
It was spring time and he was looking for a proper family to adopt. Just then, he spots a toy shop and Caleb was about to leave bringing the toys. The cricket walks there, but suddenly, he thought that Caleb was about to step on him. He grabs him and suggests him if he could stay with him and his family for a little while. He accepts it, and meets Caleb.
+
It was springtime and he was looking for a proper family to "adopt". Just then, he spots a toy shop and meets its owner, Caleb Plummer. Caleb suggests to him if he could stay with him and his family for a little while, and Cricket accepts his hospitality.
   
−
Later inside, he looks at a room full of toys and a fireplace as well. He sits down to look at it, but just then, he sees Caleb's daughter, Bertha weeping while her hugging Edward. During their discussion, he starts tearing up. Later, Caleb and Bertha, with help from the cricket build some toys. Bertha starts singing [[Smiles Go With Tears]], and after she was done singing, Jeremiah Bleak drops in, and was looking for Bertha, which made her blind. Caleb starts crying over Bertha being blind as soon as Jeremiah leaves which it made the cricket feel sad.
 +
Cricket enters and sees Caleb's daughter, Bertha weeping as she hugs her fiance, Edward. Edward is a sailor in the Royal Navy and must leave for a voyage lasting several years. The two share a tearful farewell and Bertha promises to always be faithful to him ("Don't Give Your Love Away"). Later, Caleb and Bertha, with some help from Cricket, build some toys. Bertha sings "[[Smiles Go With Tears]]". Once she's done, Jeremiah Bleak drops in to inform the family that Edward has died at sea. The shocking news makes Bertha suddenly and inexplicably go blind. Caleb does all he can to make Bertha feel better, but nothing works. He hires doctors to try to cure her blindness but they cannot. Caleb loses his passion for work and takes out loan after loan. When he's unable to pay the mortgage, he has no choice but to pack up and leave.
   
  +
Caleb, with Cricket and Bertha, try to find a bit of work. As he's about to give up, Cricket spies a toy shop in need of employment ("Through My Eyes"). Caleb meets the greedy toyshop owner Tackleton and his pet crow Uriah and urges him for a job. Tackleton signs on Caleb and tells him that he can sleep on the premises and eat leftovers but won't be paid. Caleb also learns he's the only toymaker working for Tackleton and must do quadruple the usual workload on his own. In their new home, Caleb pretends they're living with other workers and that their situation isn't quite so grim so as to not worry Bertha.
−
Caleb, still feeling bad for Bertha, tries to make her better, but nothing works. Caleb had no choice but to pack up and leave.
 
   
  +
[[File:Cricket meeting Uriah.png|thumb|250px|The cricket meeting Uriah, Tackleton's caw.]]
−
Few days later, Caleb (with the cricket, and Bertha) tries to find a bit of work. However, one day, he gives up. The cricket tries to cheer them up as he spies a toy shop with his eyes. Later inside the office, Caleb tells Tackleton and Uriah that he wanted to know where the other toymakers were, but Tackleton said that there weren't any toymakers. Later in the new house, Caleb tells Bertha that he will see everything for her.
  
  +
Later that night, as Caleb and Bertha are sleeping, Uriah appears to chase Cricket around and tries to eat him, until Tackleton calls him back to his cage. The next day is the week before Christmas. Caleb starts to work night and day to keep up with the demands of the season and Tackleton's penny-pinching orders. Two days before Christmas, Caleb bumps into an old man who is really Edward in disguise. Caleb invites him to come home with them, and Bertha is surprised when this supposed stranger knows her name. Caleb declares that they are all one family, and that Christmas is a time for mankind to come together ("The First Christmas").
   
−
[[File:Cricket_meeting_Uriah.png|thumb|250px|The cricket meeting Uriah, Tackleton's caw.]]
 +
[[File:Tacklton gives Caleb and Bertha a Christmas Bonus.png|thumb|250px|Tackleton giving Caleb and Bertha a Christmas bonus.]]
  +
On Christmas Eve, the trio builds toys until Tackleton and Uriah stop by to give them a Christmas bonus of a few shillings. What Tackleton really wants, however, is to make Bertha his wife. He gives her an hour to think it over. Bertha, unaware of Tackleton's true nature and age, is honored, though Caleb initially refuses since he still sees her as just a child. She tells Caleb that he must accept the fact that she is grown-up now ("That Was Yesterday"). Edward arrives intending to finally tell Bertha the truth about him, but Bertha happily tells him that she's decided to marry Tackleton. Edward leaves in heartbreak.
−
Later, that night, Caleb, the cricket, and Bertha all started to go to sleep, but just then, Uriah drops by and tells him that they didn't have any place for bugs around here. Then the cricket starts to stand up on him, by telling him that he was an insect, so they decided to have a chase, until Tackleton calls on him to come back to his cage. The next day, the week before Christmas, Caleb starts to work night and day to keep up with the demonds of the season. Just then, Tackleton arrives to tell him that he was using too much paint on the doll's faces. All he cared about was the shillings and pennies they bring. But Caleb could not see them go out into the world like that, so every night, he and the cricket would sneak him and fix him up proper.
 
   
  +
Cricket is determined that Bertha doesn't yes to Tackleton's proposal, so he calls on his friends to sabotage her meeting with him. After it ends with Tackleton running out sneezing (as Cricket put black pepper in his tea), Tackleton orders Uriah to get rid of the cricket by any means necessary. Uriah goes to an animal bar down by the docks and meets his associates, a dog and monkey named Strangler and Slink. They listen to a cat named Moll sing "[[Fish and Chips]]".
−
Two days before Christmas, he bumps into Edward. Edward tries to pick the presents up, but however, his back were aching. Caleb tells him that Edward would come home with him. Back at home, Edward sits down looking at Bertha's sad blind eyes. Bertha suddenly gets surprised to hear that Edward said her name. Caleb then tells him that they are all one family, and that it was almost Christmas. He had been stretching the truth for a long time to keep his daughter happy. When it came to fibbing about Christmas, he wasn't quite up to it.
  
   
  +
After the song, they go over plans to eliminate Cricket. Slink proposes an alternate solution to killing him: they can capture him and sell him to a sea captain who's keen on capturing and selling crickets for their luck. Uriah, Strangler, and Slink kidnap Cricket and bring him to the captain's ship in a cage. The captain, however, shoots them and sets sail to China, intending to sell Cricket Crocket there for a pretty price.[[File:The sea captain talks to the cricket.png|thumb|250px|"You'll fetch a pretty price, you will."]]
−
[[File:Tacklton_gives_Caleb_and_Bertha_a_Christmas_Bonus.png|thumb|250px|Tackleton giving Caleb and Bertha a Christmas bonus.]]
  
  +
Eager to return home to his family, Cricket plays dead and successfully tricks the captain into throwing him out of the boat. He makes his way back to land with the help of a whale, a pelican, and various helpful fish.
−
On Christmas Eve, the trio start to build toys until Tackleton and Uriah stop by. He decides to give Bertha and Caleb some shillings. All Tackleton wanted was a wife. He gives Bertha and hour and fifteen minutes to think it over. She was very honored, but Caleb tells her that she was just a child. She tells that she hasn't been a child for a long time. Caleb had to accept the fact that Bertha was a big grown up girl now. Suddenly, Edward arrives. Bertha had some news for him that she was going to be Tackleton's wife. Later, Edward starts to leave. The cricket wanted Caleb to think of Bertha. Caleb decides to break his daughter's wife at last. Luckily, Bertha makes up her mind that she would tell Tackleton that she accepts his proposal.
 
   
  +
When Cricket finally makes it back to the toyshop, it's midnight. The toys start to come alive, which they can only do on Christmas Eve when there are no people present (they inform Cricket Crocket that crickets don't count). Cricket asks for their help in preventing Bertha's marriage to Tackleton, which they agree to since Bertha and her father have looked after them so well. They take Cricket to Edward, who is sleeping outside, and remove his disguise. The toy elephant explains that Edward didn't drown when his ship went down. He built himself a raft, sailed to an uncharted island, and lived there for two years before a whaler found him and brought him back to England.
−
Later, the cricket was determined that Bertha would never get a chance to say yes so he decides to call one of his mates. Tackleton starts to come over to have tea with Bertha. The rat starts to give Tackleton two nuts. Then, the cricket starts to add some pepper on Tackleton's cup. He starts to sneeze since he was allergic to pepper. Back in his office, Tackleton starts to to give Uriah a job to get rid of the cricket, with no slip-ups.
 
   
  +
Edward wakes up and Cricket demands to know why he never told Bertha and Caleb who he was. Edward says he came directly to Bertha once he returned home, but blamed himself for her sudden blindness. He felt guilty stepping back into her life after what he feels he did to her, so he adopted the disguise so he could still Bertha with her without anyone knowing. He finally gathered up the courage to tell her the truth, only to see how happy she was when Tackleton proposed to her and decided not to take that happiness away from her. He came back tonight to have one last look at Bertha before she is married. Cricket insists that Bertha will be happy that he's alive and wakes her. Just as Cricket said, she is thrilled to find Edward again and the two are married right away.
−
During Uriah's mission to get the cricket, he goes to the bar. The dog starts to tell everyone that Moll was about sing [[Fish and Chips]]. After the song, he announces to Strangler and Slink that he had an proper evil proposition put to them that he was going to eliminate the cricket. Slink had a better idea which they had to capture him. Back at the house, when the cricket was relaxing, Uriah, Strangler, and Slink capture and elimate him, by tangling him and putting him in a cage. In the ship, the captain had their pay off. The cricket was set sailing to China on Christmas Eve, leaving poor Bertha and the handsome Tackleton.
  
   
−
[[File:The_sea_captain_talks_to_the_cricket.png|thumb|250px|"You'll fetch a pretty price, you will."]]
 +
[[File:Caleb tells the cricket that he was the luckiest thing.png|thumb|250px|Caleb tells the cricket that he was the luckiest thing.]]
  +
On Christmas morning, Tackleton is shocked to see Bertha has already been wed to Edward. He cries over how nobody loves him, but Bertha tells him that there will always be a place in her heart for him. Tackleton is suddenly moved by Bertha's kindness and happily changes his ways. Caleb tells Cricket that he was the luckiest thing that ever happened to anyone.
−
Now that the cricket was captured, the sea captain tells him that he would fetch a pretty price. He starts to play dead which makes the captain throw him out of the boat. The cricket overlooked one thing: crickets cannot swim, but he forgets that crickets float. He starts to get back to land, which the whale, the pelican, the needlefish, and the four seahorses helped him.
 
   
  ⚫
==Songs==
−
Now that the cricket finally got back to land, he went back home, where it was midnight on Christmas Eve, and the toys start to come alive. They have been observed. The cricket starts to tell the toys that he was a cricket. The toy elephant says that cricket never count. The cricket starts to tell them that he was happy that they were on his side to help stop Bertha from marrying Tackleton. The tin soldier tells him that they would do anything for Caleb and Bertha. The cricket was now happy so they started to get into action. The toys start to help the cricket to get to Edward. He notices that Edward wasn't an old man. The toy elephant starts to explain to the cricket that Edward didn't drown when his ship went down. He built himself a raft, and sailed himself to a beautiful unchartered island. And he was there two years before a whaler found him and brought him back to England. The cricket wanted to know why, until the toys' time was up. Edward wakes up and the cricket was onto him to speak up the whole story. He came directly to Bertha, then he saw her blind. And he realized that it was his fault. He couldn't just step back into her life, after what he did to her. And he adopted the disguise. This way, he could be with Bertha without anyone knowing. Yesterday, Edward made up his mind. He came in to tell Bertha, only to see her reading face because Tackleton asked her to be his wife. Those were her very words. Edward wished he could believe the cricket. He came back tonight to have one last look at Bertha.
 
  +
{| class="wikitable"
  +
! Title !! Performed by
  +
|-
  ⚫
| "[[Cricket on the Hearth (song)|Cricket on the Hearth]]" || Danny Thomas<br>The Norman Luboff Chorus
  +
|-
  ⚫
| "[[Don't Give Your Love Away]]" || Ed Ames
  +
|-
  ⚫
| "[[Smiles Go With Tears]]" || Mario Thomas
  +
|-
  ⚫
| "[[Through My Eyes]]" || D. Thomas
  +
|-
  ⚫
| "[[The First Christmas (song)|The First Christmas]]" || D. Thomas<br>The N. Luboff Chorus
  +
|-
  ⚫
| "[[That Was Yesterday]]" || M. Thomas
  +
|-
  ⚫
| "[[Fish and Chips]]" || Abbe Lane
  +
|-
  ⚫
| "[[Through My Eyes|Through My Eyes (Reprise)]]" || D. Thomas
  +
|-
  +
| "Melody: [[Cricket on the Hearth (song)|Cricket on the Hearth]]/[[The First Christmas (song)|The First Christmas]]" || D. Thomas<br>The N. Luboff Chorus
  +
|}
   
  +
==Availability==
−
Later, in the bedroom, the cricket starts to wake Bertha up. She was happy that he was back and safe, so Edward starts to hold hands with Bertha, who was wondering if she was dreaming. She was glad that he was alive.
 
  +
Since 2016, the special has been owned by {{W|NBC Universal}}, who obtained all rights to the pre-1973 Rankin/Bass library when they purchased Classic Media's parent company, {{W|DreamWorks Animation}}, in April 2016.
   
  +
The special was distributed on home video by Sony Wonder in 1998 and 2006, by Genius Entertainment in 2007 and 2009, and by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment in 2019. Prior to getting its own individual Blu-ray release in 2019, it was also included in Universal's ''Original Christmas Classics Deluxe Edition'' DVD and Blu-ray sets in 2018, sharing a disc with ''[[The Little Drummer Boy (Rankin/Bass)|The Little Drummer Boy]]''.
−
[[File:Caleb_tells_the_cricket_that_he_was_the_luckiest_thing.png|thumb|250px|Caleb tells the cricket that he was the luckiest thing.]]
  
−
On Christmas morning, after when Edward and Bertha were married, Tackleton was shocked to see Bertha married. She starts to tell him that her heart belonged to Edward. Tackleton started to cry that no one loved him, but Bertha tells him that they loved him, and that there would be a place in her heart for a fine, kind, noble, and handsome gentlemen such as him, so she kisses him, which Tackleton felt good all over. He felt as like as a lark, and happy as a humming bird since it was Christmas. Caleb then tells the cricket that he was the luckiest thing that ever happened to anyone.
  
−  
⚫
==Songs==
  
⚫
*"[[Cricket on the Hearth (song)|Cricket on the Hearth]]"
  
⚫
*"[[Don't Give Your Love Away]]"
  
⚫
*"[[Smiles Go With Tears]]"
  
⚫
*"[[Through My Eyes]]"
  
⚫
*"[[The First Christmas (song)|The First Christmas]]"
  
⚫
*"[[That Was Yesterday]]"
  
⚫
*"[[Fish and Chips]]"
  
⚫
*"Through My Eyes (Reprise)"
  
−
*"Melody: Cricket on the Hearth/The First Christmas"
  
   
  +
<gallery widths=200 bordersize=none spacing=small>
−
==Releases==
  
  +
CriketOnTheHearth VHS 1998.jpg|{{GNH|VHS|Golden Books Family Entertainment/Sony Wonder<br>September 1, 1998}}
−
<gallery widths="200" bordercolor="transparent" captionalign="center" spacing="small" position="center">
  
−
CriketOnTheHearth_VHS_1998.jpg|{{GNH|VHS|Sony Wonder<br>September 1, 1998}}
 +
CriketOnTheHearth DVD 2006.jpg|{{GNH|DVD|Sony Wonder/Classic Media<br>September 5, 2006}}
−
CriketOnTheHearth_DVD_2006.jpg|{{GNH|DVD|Sony Wonder<br>September 5, 2006}}
 +
CriketOnTheHearth DVD 2007.jpg|{{GNH|DVD|Genius Products/Classic Media<br>2007}}
−
CriketOnTheHearth_DVD_2007.jpg|{{GNH|DVD|Genius Entertainment<br>2007}}
 +
CricketOnTheHeartAndLittleDrummerBoyDVD.jpg|{{GNH|''Holiday Double Feature'' DVD|Genius Products/Classic Media<br>August 18, 2009}}
−
CricketOnTheHeartAndLittleDrummerBoyDVD.jpg|{{GNH|''Holiday Double Feature'' DVD|Genius Entertainment<br>August 18, 2009}}
 +
Cricket on the Hearth DVD 2019.jpg|{{GNH|DVD|Universal Pictures Home Entertainment<br>November 5, 2019}}
  +
Cricket on the Hearth Blu-ray 2019.jpg|{{GNH|Blu-ray|Universal Pictures Home Entertainment<br>November 19, 2019}}
 
</gallery>
  
</gallery>
   
−
==Trivia==
  
−
*Marlo Thomas' other work with Rankin/Bass includes the ''ABC Saturday Superstar Movie'' episode "That Girl in Wonderland", an animated spin-off of her 1966-1971 sitcom ''That Girl'' with Ann Marie working as an editor of children's books who winds up in a series of classic children's stories.
  
 
==Cast==
  
==Cast==
−
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
 +
{| class=wikitable
−
! Voice actor !! Character(s)
 +
! Voice actor/actress !! Character(s)
−
|-valign="top"
 +
|-valign=top
−
| {{w|Danny Thomas}} || Caleb Plummer {{s|(animation)}}<br />Himself {{s|(live-action bookended segments; host)}}
 +
| {{w|Danny Thomas}} || Caleb Plummer {{s|(animation)}}<br>Himself {{s|(live-action bookends)}}
 
|-
  
|-
 
| {{w|Marlo Thomas}} || Bertha Plummer
  
| {{w|Marlo Thomas}} || Bertha Plummer
Line 77: Line 87:
 
| {{w|Abbe Lane}} || Moll
  
| {{w|Abbe Lane}} || Moll
 
|-
  
|-
−
| {{w|Roddy McDowall}} || [[Cricket Crockett]]
 +
| {{w|Roddy McDowall}} || [[Cricket Crocket]]
 
|-
  
|-
 
| {{w|Hans Conreid}} || Tackleton
  
| {{w|Hans Conreid}} || Tackleton
−
|-valign="top"
 +
|-valign=top
−
| [[Paul Frees]] || Jeremiah Bleak<br />Money Lender<br />Uriah Caw<br />Dog<br />Strangler<br />Slink<br />Captain<br />Toy Elephant<br />Rocking Horse
 +
| [[Paul Frees]] || Jeremiah Bleak<br>Money Lender<br>Uriah Caw<br>Dog<br>Strangler<br>Slink<br>Captain<br>Toy Elephant<br>Rocking Horse
 
|-
  
|-
−
| {{w|The Norman Luboff Chorus}} || Themselves
 +
| {{w|Norman Luboff|The Norman Luboff Chorus}} || Themselves
 
|}
  
|}
   
 
==Gallery==
  
==Gallery==
−
<gallery widths="200" spacing="small" orientation="landscape" position="center">
 +
<gallery widths=200 spacing=small>
 
The cricket as an elder cricket.png|The cricket (as an elder person) looks at us.
  
The cricket as an elder cricket.png|The cricket (as an elder person) looks at us.
 
Edward hugging Bertha.png|Edward hugging Bertha.
  
Edward hugging Bertha.png|Edward hugging Bertha.
Line 114: Line 124:
 
The cricket in the water.png|The cricket floating in the sea.
  
The cricket in the water.png|The cricket floating in the sea.
 
Finally free.png|The cricket is now free!
  
Finally free.png|The cricket is now free!
−
The cricket is finally back to land.png|The cricket is finally back to land!
 +
The cricket is finally back to land.png|The cricket is finally back on land!
 
The cricket in a wedding dress..png|The cricket is back at the Plummers house!
  
The cricket in a wedding dress..png|The cricket is back at the Plummers house!
 
Cuckoo clock.png
  
Cuckoo clock.png
Line 121: Line 131:
 
That is not an old man, that's.png|"That is not an old man, that's..."
  
That is not an old man, that's.png|"That is not an old man, that's..."
 
Edward Belton.png|"...Edward Benton!"
  
Edward Belton.png|"...Edward Benton!"
−
Cricket Crockett's on to you.png|"Cricket Crockett's on to you!"
 +
Cricket Crockett's on to you.png|"Cricket Crocket's on to you!"
 
Cricket wakes Bertha up.png|The cricket waking Bertha up.
  
Cricket wakes Bertha up.png|The cricket waking Bertha up.
 
Holding hands.png|Edward and Bertha start to hold hands.
  
Holding hands.png|Edward and Bertha start to hold hands.
 
Edward and Bertha are married now.png|Edward and Bertha are married now!
  
Edward and Bertha are married now.png|Edward and Bertha are married now!
  +
misfit46-34.jpg
 
Bertha kisses Tackleton.png|Bertha starts to kiss Tackleton.
  
Bertha kisses Tackleton.png|Bertha starts to kiss Tackleton.
 
</gallery>
  
</gallery>
  +
 
==References==
  
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
  
{{reflist}}
   
 
==External links==
  
==External links==
−
* {{imdb title|0387954}}
 +
*{{imdb title|0387954}}
−
* [http://www.platypuscomix.net/hollywood/misfits/misfit46.html Platypus Comix's review]
 +
*[http://www.platypuscomix.net/hollywood/misfits/misfit46.html Platypus Comix's review]
   
 
{{rankinbass}}
  
{{rankinbass}}

Revision as of 03:51, 5 December 2019

“ I suppose, I had never seen a happy room. And in there, in the corner, was the nicest little hearth you could ever hope for. ”

— Cricket Crocket looking at a room inside of the toy shop.

Cricket on the Hearth is a Christmas special produced by Rankin/Bass, and it is suggested by the original story of the same name by Charles Dickens. It premiered on NBC on December 18, 1967, as an installment of The Danny Thomas Hour.[1]

Synopsis

The special begins in England where the chorus sings the title song. Our main character, Cricket Crocket, goes inside to warm up and tells us how he became a part of his human family.

Vlcsnap-2019-02-09-16h26m11s194

Caleb offering the cricket to stay with him and Bertha.

It was springtime and he was looking for a proper family to "adopt". Just then, he spots a toy shop and meets its owner, Caleb Plummer. Caleb suggests to him if he could stay with him and his family for a little while, and Cricket accepts his hospitality.

Cricket enters and sees Caleb's daughter, Bertha weeping as she hugs her fiance, Edward. Edward is a sailor in the Royal Navy and must leave for a voyage lasting several years. The two share a tearful farewell and Bertha promises to always be faithful to him ("Don't Give Your Love Away"). Later, Caleb and Bertha, with some help from Cricket, build some toys. Bertha sings "Smiles Go With Tears". Once she's done, Jeremiah Bleak drops in to inform the family that Edward has died at sea. The shocking news makes Bertha suddenly and inexplicably go blind. Caleb does all he can to make Bertha feel better, but nothing works. He hires doctors to try to cure her blindness but they cannot. Caleb loses his passion for work and takes out loan after loan. When he's unable to pay the mortgage, he has no choice but to pack up and leave.

Caleb, with Cricket and Bertha, try to find a bit of work. As he's about to give up, Cricket spies a toy shop in need of employment ("Through My Eyes"). Caleb meets the greedy toyshop owner Tackleton and his pet crow Uriah and urges him for a job. Tackleton signs on Caleb and tells him that he can sleep on the premises and eat leftovers but won't be paid. Caleb also learns he's the only toymaker working for Tackleton and must do quadruple the usual workload on his own. In their new home, Caleb pretends they're living with other workers and that their situation isn't quite so grim so as to not worry Bertha.

Cricket meeting Uriah

The cricket meeting Uriah, Tackleton's caw.

Later that night, as Caleb and Bertha are sleeping, Uriah appears to chase Cricket around and tries to eat him, until Tackleton calls him back to his cage. The next day is the week before Christmas. Caleb starts to work night and day to keep up with the demands of the season and Tackleton's penny-pinching orders. Two days before Christmas, Caleb bumps into an old man who is really Edward in disguise. Caleb invites him to come home with them, and Bertha is surprised when this supposed stranger knows her name. Caleb declares that they are all one family, and that Christmas is a time for mankind to come together ("The First Christmas").

Tacklton gives Caleb and Bertha a Christmas Bonus

Tackleton giving Caleb and Bertha a Christmas bonus.

On Christmas Eve, the trio builds toys until Tackleton and Uriah stop by to give them a Christmas bonus of a few shillings. What Tackleton really wants, however, is to make Bertha his wife. He gives her an hour to think it over. Bertha, unaware of Tackleton's true nature and age, is honored, though Caleb initially refuses since he still sees her as just a child. She tells Caleb that he must accept the fact that she is grown-up now ("That Was Yesterday"). Edward arrives intending to finally tell Bertha the truth about him, but Bertha happily tells him that she's decided to marry Tackleton. Edward leaves in heartbreak.

Cricket is determined that Bertha doesn't yes to Tackleton's proposal, so he calls on his friends to sabotage her meeting with him. After it ends with Tackleton running out sneezing (as Cricket put black pepper in his tea), Tackleton orders Uriah to get rid of the cricket by any means necessary. Uriah goes to an animal bar down by the docks and meets his associates, a dog and monkey named Strangler and Slink. They listen to a cat named Moll sing "Fish and Chips".

After the song, they go over plans to eliminate Cricket. Slink proposes an alternate solution to killing him: they can capture him and sell him to a sea captain who's keen on capturing and selling crickets for their luck. Uriah, Strangler, and Slink kidnap Cricket and bring him to the captain's ship in a cage. The captain, however, shoots them and sets sail to China, intending to sell Cricket Crocket there for a pretty price.

The sea captain talks to the cricket

"You'll fetch a pretty price, you will."

Eager to return home to his family, Cricket plays dead and successfully tricks the captain into throwing him out of the boat. He makes his way back to land with the help of a whale, a pelican, and various helpful fish.

When Cricket finally makes it back to the toyshop, it's midnight. The toys start to come alive, which they can only do on Christmas Eve when there are no people present (they inform Cricket Crocket that crickets don't count). Cricket asks for their help in preventing Bertha's marriage to Tackleton, which they agree to since Bertha and her father have looked after them so well. They take Cricket to Edward, who is sleeping outside, and remove his disguise. The toy elephant explains that Edward didn't drown when his ship went down. He built himself a raft, sailed to an uncharted island, and lived there for two years before a whaler found him and brought him back to England.

Edward wakes up and Cricket demands to know why he never told Bertha and Caleb who he was. Edward says he came directly to Bertha once he returned home, but blamed himself for her sudden blindness. He felt guilty stepping back into her life after what he feels he did to her, so he adopted the disguise so he could still Bertha with her without anyone knowing. He finally gathered up the courage to tell her the truth, only to see how happy she was when Tackleton proposed to her and decided not to take that happiness away from her. He came back tonight to have one last look at Bertha before she is married. Cricket insists that Bertha will be happy that he's alive and wakes her. Just as Cricket said, she is thrilled to find Edward again and the two are married right away.

Caleb tells the cricket that he was the luckiest thing

Caleb tells the cricket that he was the luckiest thing.

On Christmas morning, Tackleton is shocked to see Bertha has already been wed to Edward. He cries over how nobody loves him, but Bertha tells him that there will always be a place in her heart for him. Tackleton is suddenly moved by Bertha's kindness and happily changes his ways. Caleb tells Cricket that he was the luckiest thing that ever happened to anyone.

Songs

Title Performed by
"Cricket on the Hearth" Danny Thomas
The Norman Luboff Chorus
"Don't Give Your Love Away" Ed Ames
"Smiles Go With Tears" Mario Thomas
"Through My Eyes" D. Thomas
"The First Christmas" D. Thomas
The N. Luboff Chorus
"That Was Yesterday" M. Thomas
"Fish and Chips" Abbe Lane
"Through My Eyes (Reprise)" D. Thomas
"Melody: Cricket on the Hearth/The First Christmas" D. Thomas
The N. Luboff Chorus

Availability

Since 2016, the special has been owned by NBC Universal, who obtained all rights to the pre-1973 Rankin/Bass library when they purchased Classic Media's parent company, DreamWorks Animation, in April 2016.

The special was distributed on home video by Sony Wonder in 1998 and 2006, by Genius Entertainment in 2007 and 2009, and by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment in 2019. Prior to getting its own individual Blu-ray release in 2019, it was also included in Universal's Original Christmas Classics Deluxe Edition DVD and Blu-ray sets in 2018, sharing a disc with The Little Drummer Boy.

Cast

Voice actor/actress Character(s)
Danny Thomas Caleb Plummer (animation)
Himself (live-action bookends)
Marlo Thomas Bertha Plummer
Ed Ames Edward Benton
Abbe Lane Moll
Roddy McDowall Cricket Crocket
Hans Conreid Tackleton
Paul Frees Jeremiah Bleak
Money Lender
Uriah Caw
Dog
Strangler
Slink
Captain
Toy Elephant
Rocking Horse
The Norman Luboff Chorus Themselves

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ The Enchanted World of Rankin/Bass, by Rick Goldschmidt. 1997, Miser Bros. Press.

External links

Rankin/Bass
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer • Cricket on the Hearth • The Little Drummer Boy • Frosty the Snowman • Santa Claus is Comin' to Town • "A Christmas Tree" • 'Twas the Night Before Christmas • The Year Without a Santa Claus • The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow • Frosty's Winter Wonderland • Rudolph's Shiny New Year • The Little Drummer Boy, Book II • Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey • The Stingiest Man in Town • Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July • Jack Frost • Pinocchio's Christmas • The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold • The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus • Santa, Baby!
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