ABC SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE: HOLIDAY IN YOUR HEART (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television movie, based on a story by LeAnn Rimes and Tom Carter, is a fable about a young country singer's rise to stardom and the lessons she learns along the way. The program opens with LeAnn performing "One Way Ticket" at a high school dance. Then, LeAnn discusses her lifelong dream of one day singing at the Grand Ole Opry. Playing only small gigs, LeAnn rides with her family and bandmates through the countryside. One day, they hear her song "Blue" played on the radio, marking a personal triumph. Quickly, LeAnn's world begins to change as she is booked heavily for the next eight months. Nevertheless, her pay is still low and her father Avery is forced to drive them around in a rickety bus. As Christmas approaches, LeAnn and the others struggle with the discomfort of the bus. LeAnn discusses not being able to stop thinking after a big show. She reflects on her grandma Teeden and how her sayings continue to resonate with her. She also thinks of grandpa Luther getting laid off from work, but still taking good care of her during her summer stays. LeAnn relates how Teeden felt that Luther should continue getting up early and putting on a suit and tie to find more work. LeAnn also remembers one day at church when Teeden claimed her regular pew from a stranger, saying LeAnn had to sit near the piano so that she could sing. That led to a young LeAnn telling Teeden how she will one day perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Back in the present, LeAnn's bus pulls into Nashville, her city of dreams. A crowd greets LeAnn as her bus stops at the Graystone Auditorium, and she signs autographs for the first time. Inside, LeAnn performs her hit "Blue" to much applause. Afterward, LeAnn learns that due to a cancellation, she will finally get to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. That night, LeAnn walks on the Opry stage for the first time, staring out at the empty theater. There, she meets Luther's favorite singer, Faith Shawn. LeAnn is shocked that the once-famous performer is standing in front of her. Faith gives LeAnn some advice, discussing all the great singers that have performed at the Opry. Then, LeAnn and Faith sing Patsy Cline's "Crazy." Faith invites LeAnn to go driving with her the next day on a special outing. LeAnn worries that Faith is too famous to walk around incognito but Faith says that her celebrity status has dwindled. Then, LeAnn exits the theater to an onslaught of fans. The next day, LeAnn asks her parents if she can go out Christmas shopping on her own, but they resist the idea. Later, Avery convinces his wife Audrey to let LeAnn go. As she is just about to meet Faith, LeAnn gets a call from Luther, reporting that Teeden is awaiting an operation in a hospital in Jackson, Tennessee. He encourages LeAnn and her parents to come to Jackson that night. LeAnn doesn't want to miss out on her Opry appearance, but Luther insists that she be there for her grandma. Then, LeAnn meets up with Faith and they head out on the town. Faith begins with a walking tour of Nashville. LeAnn recalls a Christmas long ago when she realized Santa was actually her grandpa. Then, a drunkard runs into Faith on the street and insults her. As Faith shows her how people struggle against hardship and broken dreams, LeAnn is unclear as to what Faith wishes her to see. Faith then leads LeAnn to a warehouse that holds some of her costumes from back in the day. There, LeAnn also sees a scale model of a snowed-in Nashville. LeAnn is confused, thinking it never snows in Nashville. Then, Faith shows LeAnn a yellowed newspaper article about the "arctic onslaught" that once hit Nashville. Faith recounts being on the road in a bus when the storm hit.
Later, after a blind man needed Faith's help to get onto the bus, he asked for an autograph. The storm intensified, but the driver found no place to stop or turn around. Finally, the bus veered off the road and into a snow bank. With the bus door wedged against a wall of snow, Faith and the others were trapped. Then, the motor went dead, leaving the passengers without heat. Back in the present, Faith tells LeeAnn that she isn't feeling well. She takes an injection to feel better. LeAnn is disgusted, thinking her idol is a drug addict. Faith explains that she is a diabetic that needs insulin, not dope. Faith further recounts being stuck on the freezing, snowed-in bus. One passenger suggested that they devise a plan to survive the ordeal. The passengers sang the hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour" to try to keep their spirits up. LeAnn wonders how Faith survived without her insulin and Faith tells her that the medicine played a big part in the story. After Faith asks LeAnn how Teeden is doing, Faith's husband Carl -- who look suspiciously like the drunk that insulted her -- arrives to pick up his wife and an uncertain LeAnn. Following a long drive, it gets dark and LeAnn becomes concerned. Soon, they are at the site of the bus accident. Faith leads LeAnn to an illuminated, translucent cross that can be seen for miles. Faith tells LeAnn a little about her childhood and her similar dream of one day singing country at the Opry. As a burgeoning country artist, Faith got into a fight with her controlling father and ran away from him. She details how he disowned her, not hearing from him until -- decades later -- she got a letter saying he was coming to see her in Nashville for Christmas. Faith says she opted to leave town and hurriedly got on the bus during the snowstorm, forgetting the insulin in her rush. During the storm, the blind man told Faith that diabetes took his sight, but he had packed enough insulin to see them both through the crisis. After asking Faith to record a gospel album one day, the blind man huddles with Faith throughout the long night.
In the morning, a man begins beating on the bus door and rescues the passengers, just as Faith realized that she needed another shot. However, by then, the blind man was dead, having given Faith the only vial he had and sacrificing his own life in the process. Faith tells LeAnn about leaving the blind man's body alone in the bus and why she and Carl built the cross to honor him. Weeks later, Faith received a bag with the blind man's cross on it. Only then did Faith realize that the blind man was her father, who she hadn't seen in twenty years. Faith is still troubled that she always remained estranged from her father. Faith tells LeAnn that family is more important than career. LeAnn then realizes that she need to put her Opry dreams on hold to go to Teeden with her parents. She recalls Teeden once taking care of her while she was in the hospital with an infection, singing with her. In the present, LeAnn and her parents visit the ailing Teeden, who reveals that she has cancer. Teeden wonders if LeAnn still talks to God every day. LeeAnn sings "Amazing Grace" to her grandma. Soon, Teeden is moved to the operating room for surgery and LeAnn can't follow. Later, a doctor comes to the waiting room to tell the Rimes family that Teeden is doing fine and all the cancer appears to have been removed. However, Teeden pitches a fit over having to have chemotherapy. Over the next six months, LeAnn, family, and the band take a newly designed bus around the country for a bevy of performances. LeAnn finally gets to open at the Opry. Once there, she is swarmed by fans. LeAnn's parents are nervous about their daughter's upcoming show. LeAnn wants to show her parents pictures she took with Faith, but for some reason Faith doesn't appear in the photos. Her father tells her that she is mistaken, as Faith died two years earlier, with most people not even realizing. LeAnn details how Faith met her maker before going out on the Opry stage. There, she sings "On the Side of Angels" in tribute to Teeden as Faith and Carl look on from afar, then disappear. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: December 14, 1997 Sunday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:54:35
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:51695
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Christmas
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1997
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Mouse Hunt" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - Aleve pain relief
- TV - Commercials - Alka-Seltzer Plus cold medicine
- TV - Commercials - America's Dairy Farmers for cheese
- TV - Commercials - Braun Oral-B electric toothbrushes
- TV - Commercials - Burger King restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Clairol hair care
- TV - Commercials - Continental airlines
- TV - Commercials - Crest dental health
- TV - Commercials - Desitin baby lotion
- TV - Commercials - Dimetapp cold relief
- TV - Commercials - DirecTV satellite television
- TV - Commercials - Domino's pizza
- TV - Commercials - Estee Lauder Pleasures perfume
- TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Johnson & Johnson products
- TV - Commercials - Keebler Club crackers
- TV - Commercials - LensCrafters eyewear
- TV - Commercials - Maxwell House coffee
- TV - Commercials - McDonald's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Oil of Olay moisturizer
- TV - Commercials - Partnership for a Drug-Free America
- TV - Commercials - Pay Day candy bars
- TV - Commercials - Payless shoe store
- TV - Commercials - Pier 1 Imports stores
- TV - Commercials - Primestar satellite TV
- TV - Commercials - Radio Shack stores
- TV - Commercials - Sears stores
- TV - Commercials - Target stores
- TV - Commercials - The National Arbor Day Foundation
- TV - Commercials - Walt Disney home videos
- TV - Commercials - Wendy's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Wrangler western wear
- TV - Promos - "America's Funniest Home Videos"
- TV - Promos - "Dharma & Greg"
- TV - Promos - "Ellen"
- TV - Promos - "Eyewitness News"
- TV - Promos - "Good Morning America"
- TV - Promos - "Grace Under Fire"
- TV - Promos - "Hiller and Diller"
- TV - Promos - "Home Improvement"
- TV - Promos - "Monday Night Football"
- TV - Promos - "NYPD Blue"
- TV - Promos - "Polar Bears: Arctic Terror"
- TV - Promos - "Primetime Live"
- TV - Promos - "Soul Man"
- TV - Promos - "Spin City"
- TV - Promos - "The Drew Carey Show"
- TV - Promos - "The View"
- TV - Promos - "The Wonderful World of Disney: Flash"
- TV - Promos - "World News Tonight With Peter Jennings"
CREDITS
- von Zerneck, Frank … Executive Producer
- Robert M. Sertner … Executive Producer
- Randy Sutter … Producer
- Stephanie Germain … Producer
- Rick Arredondo … Co-Producer
- Ted Babcock … Co-Producer
- Ellen Weston … Co-Producer, Writer
- Peter Sadowski … Associate Producer
- Michael Switzer … Director
- LeAnn Rimes … Based on the novel by
- Tom Carter … Based on the novel by
- Michael Tavera … Music by
- LeAnn Rimes … Cast, Herself
- Rebecca Schull … Cast, Grandma Teeden
- Rance Howard … Cast, Blind Man
- Bernadette Peters … Cast, Faith Shawn
- Vernon Grote … Cast, Avery Rimes
- Carol Farabee … Cast, Audrey Rimes
- Harlan Jordan … Cast, Grandpa Luther
- Charles Homet … Cast, Guitar Player
- Cherami Leigh … Cast, Young LeAnn Rimes
- Tommy G. Kendrick … Cast, Jason
- Kellie Rasberry … Cast, Tutor
- Gil Glascow … Cast, Bus Driver
- Rodger Boyce … Cast, Burly Man
- Kim Terry … Cast, Female Passenger
- Alana Grace … Cast, Young Child
- Curtis Randall … Cast, Larry
- von Zerneck, Danielle … Cast, Photographer
- Cliff Stephens … Cast, Male Passenger #1
- Joe Rutherford … Cast, Bass Player
- Mark Walters … Cast, Carl
- Megan Cole McDaniel … Cast, Young Faith
- Joe Nemmers … Cast, Young Doctor
- Dean Lindsay … Cast, Stage Manager
- Summer Selby … Cast, Nurse
- Mike McHugh … Cast, Doctor
- John William Galt … Cast, Santa
- Kevin Bailey … Cast, Band Member
- Fred Gleber … Cast, Band Member
- Kelly Glenn … Cast, Band Member
- Junior Knight … Cast, Band Member
- Jerry Matheny … Cast, Band Member
- Patsy Cline