Night of the Meek (1998 film)

Night of the Meek is a 1998 made-for-television Christmas drama film directed by Carl Andy. It is the second remake of the 1960 episode of The Twilight Zone of the same name, following a 1985 version. It starred Michael Ironside, Judge Reinhold and George Buck Flower. The film aired on ABC on Christmas Eve, 1998.

Plot
On Christmas Eve, Henry Corwin arrives for his seasonal job as a department-store Santa an hour late and obviously drunk. When customers complain, Dundee, the manager, fires him and orders him off the premises. Corwin says that he drinks because he lives in a rooming house with the poor, for whom he is incapable of fulfilling his role as Santa. He declares that if he had just one wish granted him on Christmas Eve, he'd "like to see the meek inherit the earth."

Still in his outfit, he returns to the bar but is refused re-entry by Bruce. Stumbling into an alley, he hears sleigh bells. A cat knocks down a large burlap bag full of empty cans, but when Corwin trips over it, it is now filled with gift-wrapped packages. Overjoyed at his sudden ability to fulfill dreams, Corwin proceeds to hand out presents to passing children and then to derelict men attending Christmas Eve service at a mission house. Irritated by the disruption, the proprietress goes outside to fetch Officer Flaherty.

Flaherty takes Corwin to the police station on suspicion of theft. Dundee meets them at the station, where he and Flaherty find empty cans in Corwin's sack. Angry at having his time wasted, Dundee accuses Flaherty of incompetence; when Dundee challenges Corwin to produce a bottle of cherry brandy, vintage 1903, Corwin does just that, and is set free. He continues to distribute gifts until midnight, when the bag is empty.

A man named Burt, whose desired pipe and smoking jacket comes from Corwin's bag, points out that Corwin himself has not received a gift. Corwin says that if he had his choice of any gift at all, "I think I'd wish I could do this every year." Returning to the alley where the gift-laden bag had presented itself, he encounters an elf sitting in a large reindeer-hauled sleigh, waiting for him. Realizing that his wish has come true and he is now the real Santa Claus, Corwin sits in the sleigh and sets off with the elf.

Emerging drunkenly from the precinct, Flaherty and Dundee look upward upon hearing bells and see Corwin ascending into the night sky. Dundee invites Flaherty to accompany him home and share some hot coffee, with brandy poured in it, adding, "...and we'll thank God for miracles, Flaherty..."

Cast

 * George Buck Flower as Henry Corwin
 * Michael Ironside as Dundee
 * Judge Reinhold as Flaherty

Home Media release
The film was first released on VHS in 1999, followed by a DVD release in 2002.