Horace McNickle (Edward Asner) is a two-time felon serving prison time for counterfeiting. On the week before Christmas, he escapes from prison dressed as Santa Claus due to his uncanny resemblence to St. Nick resulting from his long white beard and heavyset features. McNickle hides out from the police in a nearby suburban neighborhood where he is befriended and helped by two local children who think he is the real Santa Claus. McNickle takes advantage of the kids naive ness to help him get his counterfeit money hidden somewhere in a local department store while he develops kind-hearted feelings for his two con victims that make him slowly understand the true nature of Christmas.
Unfortunately the movie The Christmas Star is not yet available on HBO Max.
| Directing | Alan Shapiro | Director |
| Writing | Carol Dysinger | Writer |
| Writing | Alan Shapiro | Writer |
| Art | Helen Jarvis | Set Decoration |
| Sound | Ralph Burns | Original Music Composer |
| Camera | Paul Lohmann | Director of Photography |
| Production | Alan Shapiro | Producer |
| Production | Franklin R. Levy | Executive Producer |
| Art | Michael S. Bolton | Production Design |
| Editing | Joe Ravetz | Editor |
| Art | Eric Fraser | Art Direction |
| Editing | Andrew London | Editor |
| Production | Jeffrey White | Producer |
