It’s December, time for all those Xmas specials that are filled with furs, because they are set in winter, and that should be a thing, right? That’s what a much younger version of me hoped would be the case, but even back in the ‘80s I quickly learned that Xmas specials were pretty much a bust. There are exceptions, and one is from the VHS bargain bin by NBC in 1979: The Man in the Santa Claus Suit.
Graphic content warning: The film contains some particularly gruesome scenes, and I have edited the content to ensure no one (me) is offended.
The Man in the Santa Claus Suit – The Film
The movie is an anthology about a guy who rents a Santa suit to a few different doofuses to help change their lives. We are only concerned with one of them.
The Man in the Santa Claus Suit – The Furs
Meet Polly (Tara Buckman), a fashion model who is “big on the disco scene.” Now that we’ve achieved peak 1979, we turn to what she is wearing: a thick, stroller-length blue fox coat. (As was the style at the time…)
Polly is the object of affection for this segment’s protagonist, but she’s already in a relationship with another wealthy individual. Tara Buckman is perhaps best known as one of the “Lamborghini Ladies” from Cannonball Run.
The shy guy (Radar from M*A*S*H, who is only in this movie to not be forever known as Radar from M*A*S*H) eventually gets the girl because it’s a movie. It’s even a Christmas movie, so the idea he would not approaches a logical impossibility.
These scenes land in the first half hour, and you can check out after that. It would be great if the quality was better, but I do not think the 360p VHS rip uploaded to Archive.org, the apparent basis for all versions of this film online right now, will get a 4k restoration anytime soon. It would also be great if there weren’t some douche spoiling an otherwise pleasant visual tableau by wearing something he shouldn’t.
- Fur Runtime: 3:50 minutes
- Film Runtime: 104 minutes
- On-Screen Ratio: 3.69%
Find-a-Fur: The Man in the Santa Claus Suit, 1979
(All times are approximate and are affected by the cut of the film.)
- 24:38 – 27:18 – blue fox stroller and hat
- 35:20 – 37:44 – ”
Fur Fashion Gallery – The Man in the Santa Claus Suit, 1979
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