Ebbie
Also known asMiracle at Christmas: Ebbie's Story
GenreDrama
Fantasy
Written byPaul Redford
Ed Redlich
Directed byGeorge Kaczender
StarringSusan Lucci
Wendy Crewson
Ron Lea
Molly Parker
Taran Noah Smith
Music byLawrence Shragge
Country of originCanada
United States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producerJean Abounader
ProducersHarold Tichenor
Jayme Pfahl (co-producer)
EditorRoger Mattiussi
Running time96 minutes
Production companiesCrescent Entertainment
Maverick Productions
Victor Television Productions
Original release
NetworkLifetime
Release
  • 4 December 1995 (1995-12-04) (USA)

Ebbie or Miracle at Christmas: Ebbie's Story is a 1995 TV movie directed by George Kaczender, written by Ed Redlich, and starring Susan Lucci in the title role. It is a gender-reversed retelling of the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, with a hard-hearted female character in place of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge.

Plot

Businesswoman Elizabeth "Ebbie" Scrooge has never appreciated Christmas; she has always been rotten to everybody, even during the Holidays. She doesn't give to the needy; nor does she care about her employees at Dobson's, the store she owns. Moreover, she works on Christmas.

One night, the ghost of her partner Jake Marley (Jeffrey DeMunn) brings her back to a deserted Dobson's. There the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Jennifer Clement and Nicole Parker) show her the Christmases she has celebrated...particularly the year her sister Francine (Molly Parker) died after nearly miscarrying her niece; Ebbie believes that Francine would have survived, had she not left her alone to attend a party. That same year, Ebbie met Paul (Ron Lea), who became her boyfriend. The Ghosts show Ebbie other, ensuing Christmases: Paul broke up with Ebbie because she valued her work over their relationship; Ebbie and Marley took over Dobson's; finally, the previous year, when Marley died.

The Ghost of Christmas Present (Lorena Gale) shows Ebbie the life of her widowed assistant Roberta Cratchet (Wendy Crewson), her teenage daughter Martha (Laura Harris), and her young son Tim (Taran Noah Smith). Next, Ebbie sees the party that she is invited to every year by her niece (also Molly Parker), but has always declined; everyone toasts Ebbie, but her niece does not drink because she is pregnant. Ebbie sees Paul and his new family. The Ghost shows Ebbie Ignorance and Poverty, in the form of feral homeless children, and throws all of Ebbie's harsh words back at her.

The Ghost of Christmas Future shows Ebbie a terrible future: Tim has died; Dobson's is shut down; Ebbie herself is hit by a car, has no visitors in the hospital, and dies flat broke.

After experiencing all those visions, Ebbie becomes a better person. The next morning, she bids good morning to the doorman, then orders a large turkey for the Cratchets. She donates money to help impoverished children, and buys a coat for a homeless woman (Elan Ross Gibson) to whom she also offers a job. Ebbie gives Rita a raise, so that Rita will no longer need to work her second job, and gives a hard-earned promotion to Roberta. Finally, Ebbie attends the party her niece has been inviting her to...and, after that, enjoys dinner with the Cratchets at their house.

Cast

See also

Sources

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