When Sheriff Andy Taylor is forced by the town Scrooge, Ben Weaver (Will Wright), to hold a moonshiner in jail over Christmas, Andy (Andy Griffith), Barney (Don Knotts), Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), Ellie (Elinor Donahue), and Opie (Ronny Howard) move their Christmas celebration to the jail. 25 min.
So many Christmas shows try for warmth and end up with sickening, artificial over-sentimentality. Not here. The Andy Griffith Show: Christmas Story is charming family fare. There’s plenty of humor (much of it supplied by Don Knotts as the bumbling but good-natured deputy who so wants to play Santa Claus, even though he weighs around a hundred and fifty pounds), a good message for children and adults alike, and lots of Christmas cheer. Elinor Donahue is beautiful, sweet, and defines adorable as Andy’s girlfriend, while the young Ron Howard, long before his directing days, is a child that is believable without being obnoxious. Griffith is the story’s foundation as Andy Taylor, not only making sure that several families are together for the holiday, but extending the definition of family and working out what lonely Ben Weaver really needs.
While many Christmas episodes of TV series make sense only to repeat viewers of the show, that’s not true here. This episode defines what The Andy Griffith Show was about in its early years, but it also has a story that anyone can jump right into. The characters are clear without any pre-knowledge, as is the situation they find themselves in.
This is good, wholesome fun without the schmaltz. Gather your own family together around the TV and enjoy the antics of the crew from Mayberry.