The Christmas Tree

From Terence Young, the versatile director of Dr. No, From Russia with Love, The Rover, Wait Until Dark and Cold Sweat, comes this bittersweet drama starring the great William Holden (Stalag 17, The Devil’s Brigade). Since the death of his mother, ten-year-old Pascal spends his holidays with his father, the rich Laurent Ségur (Holden). One day, when diving near the Corsican beach, an aircraft falls into the sea. The holiday goes on happily with Catherine (Virna Lisi, Casanova ’70), the young and pretty girlfriend of Laurent. But soon blue marks appear on Pascal’s face. He has been contaminated by a nuclear weapon carried by the destroyed plane, and he won’t survive more than six months. There is nothing Laurent can do, except give his son the best six months he has ever lived. Also starring French comic great Bourvil (Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies), The Christmas Tree has been called “the most tearful film of sixties”—a heartrending story about facing mortality.