The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1983, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a comedy and family film directed by George Schaefer, running about 48 minutes.

What it’s about. This is a made for tv adaptation of Barbara Robinson's novel The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Loretta Swit of M*A*S*H stars as Grace Bradley who inherits the job of running her church's Christmas pageant when the woman who usually does it breaks her leg tripping over the extremely long wire she has on her telephone.Not only does Grace inherit this disaster it gets worse when the Herdman kids - all six of them. The Herdmans are notorious for abusing each other and stealing from and abusing other kids as well. They smoke, steal, lie, bully and generally create havoc in their town.Their father disappeared years earlier and mother works two shifts at the shoe factory to support herself and the kids while the kids run wild.But this WILL be the best Christmas pageant ever when the Herdman kids learn the Christmas story and about the true meaning of Christmas.

Who’s in it. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever stars Loretta Swit as Grace Bradley, Jackson Davies as Bob Bradley, Anthony Holland as Rev. Hopkins and David Alexander as Charlie Bradley, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.4/10, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch The Best Christmas Pageant Ever page.

If you liked it. Fans of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever tend to enjoy Forrest Gump, Parasite, Life Is Beautiful and Fight Club.