The Gathering

The Gathering
Theatrical-like poster.
Production company	Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor	Worldvision Enterprises
Release date	December 3, 1977
Run time	1:32:09
Starring	Edward Asner Maureen Stapleton Rebecca Balding Sarah Cunningham Bruce Davison Veronica Hamel Gregory Harrison James Karen Lawrence Pressman John Randolph Gail Strickland Edward Winter Stephanie Zimbalist
Executive producer(s)	Joseph Barbera
Producer(s)	Harry R. Sherman Terry Morse, Jr.
Music composed by	John Barry
Screenplay by	James Poe
Director(s)	Randal Kleiser
Title card

The Gathering is an American live-action Christmas drama television film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. It aired on December 3, 1977 on ABC. It was written by James Poe, produced by Harry R. Sherman, and directed by Randal Kleiser.

A dying executive works to reunite and make amends with his estranged family for one last Christmas.

Rather unexpectedly, a sequel called The Gathering Part II followed in 1979, airing on NBC, instead.

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Adam Thornton	Edward Asner
Doctor John Hodges	John Randolph
Clara	Sarah Cunningham
Bob Block	James Karen
Old Man Chambers
Kate Thornton	Maureen Stapleton
Mary	Mary Bradley Marable
Helen Thornton	Veronica Hamel
Tom Thornton	Lawrence Pressman
Peggy Thornton	Gail Strickland
Roger	Edward Winter
Joey Collum	Ronald Readinger
Tiffany Collum	Maureen Readinger
Julie Collum	Rebecca Balding
George Collum	Bruce Davison
Jim	Unavailable
Hugh	Unavailable
Jeff	Unavailable
Toni Thornton	Stephanie Zimbalist
Adam Thornton III	Unavailable
Bud Thornton	Gregory Harrison
Adolf Hitler
Patty Hodges	Unavailable
John F. Kennedy
Spencer Tracy
Rupyard Kipling
Robert Burns
Yogi Bear (doll)	N/A
Mrs. Block	Unavailable
Reverend John Powell	John Hubbard

Organizations

• Thornton Industries
• Environmental Protection Agency (mentioned)
• BTL Turning Works (mentioned)

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • New England
      • Massachusetts
        • Boston
          • Thornton Industries building
        • Thornton residence
        • Collum residence
        • Adam's residence
    • New York
      • New York City
        • Tom and Helen's residence
        • East River (mentioned)
        • Columbia University (mentioned)
        • Abercombie's (mentioned)
    • Washington, D.C.
    • Colorado (indirectly mentioned)
      • Aspen (mentioned)
        • Rocky Mountains (mentioned)
    • Florida (mentioned)
      • Gainesville (mentioned)
  • Canada
    • Manitoba (mentioned)
    • Bud's residence
  • England (mentioned)
  • Rome (mentioned)

Objects

• The New Yorker
• The Night Before Christmas
• Yogi Bear doll

Vehicles

• Adam's car

Production

Development

The movie was based in part on executive producer Joseph Barbera's childhood.

Filming

Filming took place in Chagrin Falls and Hudson in Ohio.

Music

The score was composed and conducted by John Barry. The music editor was Kenneth Hall.

Songs

1. "Jingle Bells"
2. "When the Snow Went Round About"
3. "Let Heaven and Nature Sing"

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: December 3, 1977 on ABC
• United Kingdom and Ireland: December 24, 1978 at 7:30 pm on BBC Two

Behind the scenes

• The terminal illness that Adam has is never discussed in full. The next film puts his death in 1978, instead of 1977.
• Thornton Industries HQ is located in Boston in the sequel.
• Adam mentions Ebeneezer Scrooge, who appeared in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel A Christmas Carol.
• George's surname is revealed in the next movie.
• Peggy breaks up with Roger between movies, with no mention of his name in the sequel, as she has already moved onto the next guy and separated from him as well.

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient	Result
Primetime Emmy Awards	September 17, 1978	Outstanding Special - Drama or Comedy	Joseph Barbera, Harry R. Sherman	Winner

In other languages

Language	Name	Meaning

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • March 16, 2010: Warner Archive Collection releases The Gathering (including The Gathering Part II) on DVD.
  • October 25, 2011: Warner Archive Collection releases The Gathering on DVD.
  • October 15, 2013: Warner Archive Collection releases The Gathering/The Gathering Part II on DVD.

Trailers

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