Christmas abounds with traditions, from neighborhood carolers to lovingly decorated trees, but from where did all these rituals emerge? This enlightening program looks at the origins of the Western world's most popular Christmas traditions -- from the significance of December 25th and its relationship to winter solstice to the enchanting legend of Santa Claus and Prince Albert's 1841 unveiling of the Christmas tree.

Her story is well-known — the lonely child who yearned for affection and approval which she finally seemed to find as Hollywood's greatest love goddess. But even though she scaled heights few could even dream of, she was one of the loneliest of stars.

A beautiful princess born in a faraway kingdom is destined by a terrible curse to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a deep sleep that can only be awakened by true love's first kiss. Determined to protect her, her parents ask three fairies to raise her in hiding. But the evil Maleficent is just as determined to seal the princess's fate.

A chemist in a perfume factory seems to have killed his wife, cut her up, and stuck her remains in the freezer.

Meet McGraw is an American dramatic television series starring Frank Lovejoy in the role of the hard-hitting detective McGraw, a man specifically given no first name in the program. Forty-one half-hour episodes aired on NBC during the 1957-1958 season, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The series was produced by the Desilu Studios, most of whose productions were broadcast by CBS. The theme song for the series is "One For My Baby" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. Meet McGraw preceded The Bob Cummings Show on Tuesday evenings on NBC. It aired at 9:00pm ET/PT opposite John Lupton’s Western series, Broken Arrow on ABC and Bud Collyer's To Tell the Truth quiz show on CBS. After its cancellation, Meet McGraw was repeated as The Adventures of McGraw on ABC in 1958-1959, but not in prime time. A number of episodes of the series, including "Mohave" and "Lady in Limbo," are available on DVD.

The Book of Acts is a 10-part series of short Bible films dramatizing the 28 chapters that comprise the Acts of the Apostles. The series was produced in 1957 by Family Films on behalf of Broadman Films, based in Nashville, Tennessee.

A former gunfighter who went to prison but then took up religion arrives in a western town as the new preacher. There he finds a feud between the ranchers and the farmers. The Railroad Agent is after the ranchers land and has his men causing all the trouble. The new preacher sets out to bring the two sides together and he says he will not need a gun.

A Pinkerton detective goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of thieves whose boss is a feisty lady saloonkeeper. Complications ensue.

A horse trainer and his friend, a jockey, fall in love with the same girl. Complications ensue.

The 20th Century Fox Hour is an American drama anthology series televised in the United States on CBS from 1955 to 1957. Some of the shows in this series were restored, remastered and shown on the Fox Movie Channel in 2002 under the title Hour of Stars. The season one episode Overnight Haul, starring Richard Conte and Lizabeth Scott, was released in Australia as a feature film.

An anthology series that explored the ways sudden and unexpected wealth changed life for better or for worse. It told the stories of people who were given one million dollars from a benefactor who insisted they never know him, with one exception.

A returning Korean War vet becomes embroiled in a fight over possession of a tungsten mine.

Lassie is the pet of Jeff Miller, an 11-year-old farm boy. The two become best friends and enjoy family adventures in the American countryside, teaching each other about love, nature and commitment.

To avoid the life-threatening dangers of manned space exploration, Professor Nordstrom creates highly advanced form of artificial intelligence capable of piloting a starship to other worlds. In order to transmit alien data, the extraordinary robot is infused with a powerful telepathic device that enables it to instantly read and even feel emotions. Danger strikes when a sinister band of covert agents kidnaps Gadge, the professor's 10-year-old grandson. But Gadge has a powerful ally. For he has developed a psychic, emotional bond with his grandfather's robot. And now Gadge's captors must suffer the wrath of his protective friend. They must face a mechanical monstrosity bent on a killing rampage of revenge and destruction.

Thanks to the chicanery of his crooked uncle Major Cosgrave, Jet has been cheated out of his father's property and branded a pariah. He spends the rest of the film trying to regain his birthright and clear his name. The two women in Jet's life are Judy Polsen, who chases him for so long that he finally catches her, and Alice Austin, Major Cosgrave's fianee.

Judy is the daughter of a famous opera singer who once bankrolled prospector Andrew "Cactus" Clayton. Now Clayton hopes to repay the favor, but first he must reclaim his stash of gold from the crooked Williams. Judy helps the old coot by taking on not only Williams, but duplicitous private detectives Walter Martin and Eddie Taylor, not to mention gangsters Spider Mike and Louie.

Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to June 1961 for a total of 165 episodes. The filmed show was hosted by Loretta Young who also played the lead in various episodes. Letter to Loretta was sponsored by Procter & Gamble from 1953 through 1960. The final season's sponsor was Warner-Lambert's Listerine.

Lorelei Lee is a beautiful showgirl engaged to be married to the wealthy Gus Esmond, much to the disapproval of Gus' rich father, Esmond Sr., who thinks that Lorelei is just after his money. When Lorelei goes on a cruise accompanied only by her best friend, Dorothy Shaw, Esmond Sr. hires Ernie Malone, a private detective, to follow her and report any questionable behavior that would disqualify her from the marriage.

Riley worked in an aircraft plant in California, but viewers usually saw him at home, cheerfully disrupting life with his malapropisms and ill timed intervention into minor problems.

After Celia's father dies, a war erupts over control of his land.

This show started in New York City, with Broadway actors and actresses. It then moved to Hollywood, California, where Hollywood actors and actresses headed the cast.

A psychopath on the run takes a job as a handyman at the house of a lonely widow.

In 1890 Minnesota Christine Powell is the scheming head of the Powell dynasty, the richest mining empire of the era. But the Powell mine deposits are diminishing. The Mesabi range represents a whole new productive area but the rights to mine there are held by a young geological engineer, Kyle Ramlo. The latter reaches an impasse when he needs money to continue his experimentation with open-pit mining and goes to Miss Powell for financing. She displays great interest in both his inventive mining method and in him personally but secretly plots to destroy him and take over his Masabi rights. The gullible Ramlo falls into clutches while the girl he really loves, Cathy Norlund, tries desperately to open his eyes to Christine's scheme.

It's a deadly play for power when a Mafia chieftain's top gun goes straight and threatens to testify against the big boss and his cruel, nationwide network of crime. The picture, which was shot in a semi-documentary style, was inspired by the Kefauver investigations of 1950-51.

The Bowery Boys are enrolled in a fancy college by a pair of rich snobs who think they can turn the Boys into classy guys. Sach becomes a football star, and is kidnapped by gangsters to keep him out of the big game.

Follows the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners. The show takes its name from the police term "dragnet", meaning a system of coordinated measures for apprehending criminals or suspects.

The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as well. Although his television series is largely associated with CBS, where it appeared for more than fifteen years, it actually began and ended on NBC. During its run, the program received three Emmy Awards, for Skelton as best comedian and the program as best comedy show during its initial season, and an award for comedy writing in 1961.

The Red Skelton Show is an American variety show that was a television staple for two decades, from 1951 to 1971. It was second to Gunsmoke and third to The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings during that time. Skelton, who had previously been a radio star, had appeared in several motion pictures as well. Although his television series is largely associated with CBS, where it appeared for more than fifteen years, it actually began and ended on NBC. During its run, the program received three Emmy Awards, for Skelton as best comedian and the program as best comedy show during its initial season, and an award for comedy writing in 1961.

Two old friends find themselves on opposite sides during the Civil War in a desperate battle atop an impregnable mountain.

Rich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet he names Rhubarb. Then T.J. dies, leaving to Rhubarb most of his money and a pro baseball team, the Brooklyn Loons. When the team protests, publicist Eric Yeager convinces them Rhubarb is good luck. But Eric's fiancée Polly seems to be allergic to cats, and the team's success may mean new hazards for Rhubarb.

A Catholic priest fights against his colleagues' immediate acceptance of an ambiguous “miracle”.

An oil engineer surrounded by foul play helps an heiress bring in a well.

A group of copper miners, Southern veterans, are terrorized by local rebel-haters, led by deputy Lane Travis. The miners ask stage sharpshooter Johnny Carter to help them, under the impression that he is the legendary Colonel Desmond. It seems they're wrong; but Johnny's show comes to Coppertown and Johnny romances lovely gambler Lisa Roselle, whom the miners believe is at the center of their troubles.

Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.

Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays.

Two tobacco growers battle for control of the cigarette market.

A single mistake puts a 19-year old girl behind bars, where she experiences the terrors and torments of women in prison.

Proud father Stanley Banks remembers the day his daughter, Kay, got married. Starting when she announces her engagement through to the wedding itself, we learn of all the surprises and disasters along the way.

Young auto mechanic Dan Brady takes $20 from a cash register at work to go on a date with blonde femme fatale Vera Novak. Brady intends to put the money back before it is missed, but the garage's bookkeeper shows up earlier than scheduled. As Brady scrambles to cover evidence of his petty theft, he fast finds himself drawn into an ever worsening "quicksand" of crime.

As far as the rest of the world is concerned, mill heiress Deborah Chandler Clark is dead, killed in a freak auto accident. But Deborah is alive, if not too well. Having discovered a horrible truth about her new husband, Deborah is now a “woman in hiding,” living in mortal fear that someday her husband will catch up with her again. When a returning GI recognizes Deborah, however, she must decide whether or not she can trust him.

A Christmas Carol was a 1949 syndicated, black and white television special narrated by Vincent Price.

An actor is recalled to active duty with the Army's C.I.D. to find the thief who stole historical jewels in occupied Germany and the trail leads to the boyfriend of a young debutante from Bel Air.

A middle-aged genius goes to college for the first time.

Gangsters frame Joe on a drunk charge and a murder rap so they can put their own fighter into a big event. Joe investigates in an attempt to prove his innocence.

A former prisoner of war, Frank Enley is hailed as a hero in his California town. However, Frank has a shameful secret that comes back to haunt him when fellow survivor Joe Parkson emerges, intent on making Frank pay for his past deeds.

In the 15th Century, France is a defeated and ruined nation after the One Hundred Years War against England. The fourteen-year-old farm girl Joan of Arc claims to hear voices from Heaven asking her to lead God's Army against Orleans and crowning the weak Dauphin Charles VII as King of France. Joan gathers the people with her faith, forms an army, and conquers Orleans.

When an heiress finds out that the friendly young man she's met at Sun Valley is really an investigative reporter, she ruins his career by falsely claiming they're married.

Hero Rod Cameron kills Sheriff Sam Borden at point-blank range and in front of several witnesses in the opening of this Republic Pictures Western, released in the company's patented Trucolor system. The "killing," however, is merely a ruse set up to allow army agent Johnny Drum to infiltrate a gang of highway robbers.

As part of a bet, a compulsive gambler agrees to marry the winner, a professional gambler. Before he can "collect," she skips town. The gambler hires a private detective to track her down so he can collect his "winnings."

A crusading DA falls for a defense attorney with a criminal past.

The brother of a nuclear scientist dies but is reincarnated as a dog so he can return to Earth to protect his brother.

Stanton Carlisle joins a seedy carnival, working with "Mademoiselle Zeena" and her alcoholic husband, Pete.

An ex-con trying to go straight must face a crazed criminal out for revenge.

This is 1947 biography movie about how Alexander Graham Bell and his partner Thomas Augustus Watson invented the first discernible speech, transmitted over a telephone.

When a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner in a quiet Connecticut town, the citizens are horrified and demand action from the police. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence.

An imaginative teenager decides to play matchmaker for her widowed father. Director David Burton's 1936 comedy stars Herbert Marshall, Anne Shirley, Gertrude Michael, Margot Grahame, Clara Blandick, Frank Coghlan Jr., Willie Best and Maxine Jennings.

When a couple become parents for the first time, they discover grandmothers can be almost as demanding as a newborn.

Ex-wife Lena Malena wants her alimony, but Taylor Holmes pleads poverty. So she moves in on him and current wife Natalie Moorhead.

A night of love, intrigue, death and blackmail leaves stage-star Elise Manning's fate at stake in a conflict with the unscrupulous Doctor Gruell. A rejected lover dies in Miss Manning's apartment, and Gurell implies that the death was murder and attempts to blackmail the actress. The climax brings the actress, her fiancé and the dead-man's wife face-to-face in an emotional denouement.

Terry Macy (Reed Howes), the son of a newspaper's founder, is assigned to investigate a mysterious warning signed '30' (newspaper term for 'The End)that has been sent to a local politician. Terry is captured at a clandestine meeting of the 'Mystic Medicants", an outlaw band, where he overhears the plans of a plot to kill his uncle, Robert Macy, publisher of the newspaper. Terry must also, according to his father's will, get married within a short period of time is he is to inherit the newspaper.

Her Market Value is a 1925 American silent melodrama film directed by Paul Powell and starring Agnes Ayres. Powell produced the picture and distributed through Producers Distributing Corporation.

Robert Bennett, an idle socialite, wagers $30,000 with his three friends that he can tell nothing but the truth for a period of one week. His troubles begin at a party where his friends' wives question Robert about their husbands' outside activities. Forced to tell the truth, Robert's veracity results in domestic disharmony. Consequently, his vengeful trio of friends pursue Robert for the next five days, intent upon silencing him until the week is over. They finally resort to committing Robert to an insane asylum where he escapes with the aid of Dolly, who is in love with him because she believes that Robert is a society thief.

As an entomologist and all-around wimp, Orlando Winthrop gets little respect from his wealthy parents. But when business needs to be taken care at the Winthrop sheep ranches out West, Orlando is raring to go. Upon his arrival, the ranchers see Orlando as an easy mark, but it turns out they're wrong. They try to take Orlando's money in a poker game -- and wind up broke themselves.

Harry Leon Wilson has written nothing more diverting than this story of the irreproachable English valet who is lost in a poker game to a rough-and-ready westerner and taken to Red Gap ultimately to become its social mentor and chief caterer, and there is sheer delight in the story of how the Earl, brought over to save his younger brother from the vampirish clutches of Klondike Kate, makes the lady his Countess and once more stands Red Gap upon its somewhat dizzy head.

Coaxed by sharpers, who seek to profit by his rustic innocence, the boy from the small town goes to the city with them and become, innocently enough, a successful swindler, but he learns of the deception and returns home, too ashamed to seek his old sweetheart. The crooks return to try a blackmail game, but Ernie's eyes are opened now. He cleans up in whirlwind fashion.

Philander has embraced every superstition imaginable, from hoarding rabbit's foots and horseshoes to avoiding the third light on a match. But his luck manages to run out anyway -- he loses his girl, Brunhilda and his job.

Efficiency wins success in business; why not in love? Edgar Bumpus, a rising young man, applies this reasoning to his courtship of Mary Pierce. He first eliminates Wimple, his closest competitor, who plays a guitar, by learning to play a saxophone, which makes louder noise, and by sending Mary flowers and candy each time Wimple calls on her. The plan works O.K., until the saxophone disturbs Mr. Pierce's slumbers. He and Edgar clash and the latter is forbidden to visit Mary any more. Edgar employs a clipping bureau to send news items to Mr. Pierce which tells of the troubles young girls get into when their fathers refuse to let them have beaux. One eloped with a milkman; another disappeared. This has no effect upon Mr. Pierce, however, except to make him hate Edgar more. However, the youth's persistence finally wins Mary's love. Then Edgar plays his trump card. He gets Mary to sign a legal agreement to forfeit $10,000 to him, unless she marries him.