Set around Christmas in 1850’s Wisconsin. In this fact-based drama set in the 1850s, the Eunsons move from Scotland to the American Midwest, where they live happily and run a successful business — until the untimely deaths of both the father (Cameron Mitchell) and the mother (Glynis Johns) of the family. Now orphaned, the six Eunson kids must fend for themselves. Robbie (Rex Thompson), the oldest, does his best to care for his siblings while he searches for foster parents kind enough to accept such a large family into their home.
You’ll have to keep wringing out your handkerchief during this heartwarming tale of an oldest child’s efforts to find his baby siblings homes on Christmas Day after the death of his widowed mom. An intelligent, talented cast saves what could have been a hopelessly schmaltzy tearjerker. – TV Guide
Winter comes, and Mamie, exhausted, contracts typhoid fever. Robbie takes charge of the household, but several days before Christmas, Mamie calls him to her side and asks him to find good homes for the children. After praising her son for having truly been the man of the house, Mamie dies. During her funeral, the haughty Mrs. Runyon loudly asks what the villagers are to do with six orphans. Robbie asks that the children be allowed to spend Christmas together before being sent to the state orphanage, and Dr. Delbert consents to the request. – Turner Classic Movies
Starring Glynis Johns, Cameron Mitchell, Rex Thompson, Patty McCormack, Ernest Truex.
Note: One year before its American release, the film was distributed in Great Britain under the title The Day They Gave Babies Away. This may be too sad for many for Christmas viewing, but for some this is a heartfelt film with family values that gets top billing.