The made-for-TV movie "The Gift of Love" (1978) expands O. Henry's timeless Christmas story "The Gift of the Magi" into a heartwarming love story. Marie Osmond, then one of the singing hosts of the "Donny & Marie" variety show, plays a wealthy orphan torn between her arranged marriage to aristocratic James Woods and her feelings for Timothy Bottoms' young Swiss immigrant. This holiday story takes place against the backdrop of New York City in the early 1900s.


For her dramatic acting debut, singer Marie Osmond chose this sentimental adaptation of the venerable Yuletide short story The Gift of the Magi, previously filmed in 1952 as a segment of the omnibus feature film O. Henry's Full House. Set in turn-of-the-century New York, The Gift of Love casts Osmond as young heiress Beth Atherton, who gives up her life of privilege and luxury to become the wife of poverty-stricken immigrant Rudi Miller (Timothy Bottoms). Though he finds work as a clerk, Rudi is unable to afford a decent Christmas gift for Beth, nor is she able to scrounge enough money from the household budget to purchase a gift for her husband. What happens next hinges on the fact that Rudi is inordinately proud of his gold watch, while Beth takes equal pride in her long, flowing hair. Produced by star Marie Osmond's brothers, The Gift of Love made its ABC network debut on December 8, 1978.