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THREE-TIME GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINEE LINDA HAMILTON STARS IN

 ‘SILENT NIGHT,’

BASED ON A TRUE STORY,

TWO-HOUR, ORIGINAL MOVIE,

AIRING EXCLUSIVELY ON HALLMARK CHANNEL,

Film Remembers Peaceful Christmas Eve Gathering of German and American

Soldiers During Battle of the Bulge

Linda Hamilton, a three-time Golden Globe Award nominee, stars in “Silent Night,” a true WWII story, airing Friday, November 24 (1pm/noon c) on Hallmark Channel.  Encore presentations on Sunday, December 10 (7/6c), Sunday, December 24 (1pm/noon c) and (11/10c).

The two-hour movie is based on the true story of German woman Elisabeth Vincken (Hamilton) and her 12-year-old son Fritz, who gave shelter to both a group of American GI’s and a small band of German soldiers at the family’s small cabin in the Ardennes Forest on Christmas Eve 1944, during one of the Battle of the Bulge’s fiercest firefights.  At the risk of being shot for treason, “Frau” Vincken courageously insisted (without regard for her own life) that all of the soldiers set aside their differences and celebrate the season for one life-transforming evening.

“Silent Night” has the first person perspective of Elisabeth’s then 12-year-old son, Fritz.  In 1995, Fritz retold his family’s story for the first time in an episode of “Unsolved Mysteries” in an effort to locate any of the surviving American G.I.’s.  Mr. Vincken’s effort to reunite with one of the last living American soldiers from the experience was fulfilled when Sgt. Ralph Blank was located. “Silent Night” is executive produced by Steven Hewitt of Hallmark Entertainment, Michael Prupas of Montreal-based Muse Entertainment and Fast Carrier’s Steven J. Rubin.  Irene Litinksky (“Sherlock Holmes in ‘The Royal Scandal’”) of Muse Entertainment produces.  Rory Aylward serves as Creative Consultant.  The teleplay “Silent Night” is written by Roger Aylward and is directed by Rodney Gibbons

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming to a national audience of 75 million subscribers.  The top tier program service is distributed through more than 5,300 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country.  Hallmark Channel consistently ranks among the top 10 ad-supported cable networks in Total Day and Prime Time household ratings and is the nation’s leading network in providing family-friendly programming.  Crown Media also operates a second 24-hour linear channel, Hallmark Movie Channel.

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