Max Allan Collins had his life change around Christmas time in 1977. The mystery novelist was chosen to replace the retiring Chester Gould to write the Dick Tracy cartoon script. Gould’s last panels ran on Christmas Day and Collins was in charge of America’s greatest cop on Boxing Day. He was able to go deeper into the world of writing for comics when he created the Road to Perdition. The graphic novel was turned into a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks, Daniel Craig and in his final film appearance Paul Newman. Collins understands the gangster era. Thus it seems appropriate that he would write and direct Blue Christmas, a Noir version of A Christmas Carol. What would happen if the ghosts visited Scrooge while he was packing a heater?
Private Investigator Richard Stone (Nun Smack‘s Rob Merritt) is hosting his office Christmas Eve party for 1942. He’s not going to war like his others because the flatfoot has flat feet. He’s not going to take the holiday off since an insurance company is expecting his report shortly. He passes out gifts to his favorite people including a few black market hook ups. But after they’re gone, he gets a visit from his old business partner Jacob Marley (Chris Causey). This is a little bit startling since this is the anniversary of Marley’s death. Making it more awkward is Stone is having a bit of a fling with Marley’s widow. He wants Stone to investigate his death and change his ways in life. There will be three ghosts arriving that night. The first ghost is Bonnie Parker (Death By Fruitcake‘s Alisabeth Von Presley) who takes him from his last happy Christmas up to the finding the corpse of Marley in the gutter. The Ghost of Christmas present allows Stone to have a sense of what’s going on behind his back. The Ghost of Christmas future rocks Stone’s world with what will happen if he doesn’t find Marley’s real killer. Is Stone going to get the Christmas Spirit and revenge for his former partner?
Blue Christmas takes place entirely in Stone’s office. This makes the film feel like we’re watching a theatrical version of play. Collins doesn’t overwhelm our eyes with attempts to recreate classic Noir shots. The actors make the movie feel bigger that the single set. The flashbacks to Stone’s childhood somehow feel more realistic if he sees his parents using his office chairs. Collins and crew create a Noir vibe without going black and white. His dialogue and plot weave the world of Dickens with the visions of Humphrey Bogart and John Garfield. Collins does more than just reset the original story in the black and white crime world. This is a proper holiday hybrid. If you watch Noir Alley on TCM every weekend, you’ll enjoy Blue Christmas after trimming the tree.
If you’re in charge of finding new material for your local community theater, you should pick up a copy of Blue Christmas. This might be the right twist for your next version of The Christmas Carol.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The movie was shot on video and they don’t do too many effects over the action. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 stereo. The levels will let you hear the dialogue over the carols. The movie is subtitled in English.
Audio Commentary by Max Allan Collins and producer/editor/more Chad Bishop gets into how they put the movie together. They talk about how they turned the original script into happening in the office set. This allowed them to shoot most of the film in a week at their local community college stage. They mention Gary Sandy from WKRP in Cincinnati was going to play Marley, but he couldn’t make it.
Behind the Scenes, Premieres Q & A (101:43) gets extremely in-depth on how the film came about. It appears they shot it on a community theater stage. Muscatine Premiere is fully covered from last March. Where is Muscatine? It’s in Iowa. This is also Max Collins’ home base so it’s got to be an honor. Max Allen Collins was happy to be able to show it in theaters and not just streaming.
A Documentary on Max Allan Collins (26:24) has him as a legend of Muscatine Community College. This is his town. He’s been a major mystery writer over the years. He even won a Hammer award. He even novelized Saving Private Ryan. Collins did comic books.
Trailer (2:42) shows off the joy for the season and the Noir elements.
VCI Entertainment presents Blue Christmas: Special Edition. Directed by Max Allan Collins. Screenplay by Max Allan Collins. Starring Alisabeth Von Presley, Brian Linderman, Chad Bishop and Chris Causey. Running Time: Rating: Rated PG. Release Date: November 12, 2024.
