Holiday Inn (1942). Director: Mark Sandrich. Stars: Bing Crosby, Fred AstairePosted on 11/28/2001 4:56:07 AM PST by Brookhaven
Video stores should sell a special Christmas-movie viewing accessory package: eggnog, cognac, tinsel for the TV and most important, hankies.
No other type of film turns on the waterworks like a Christmas movie. And they don't even have to be full-length. Our heart may be three sizes too small, but How the Grinch Stole Christmas always enlarges it almost to normal.
So in the spirit of Whoville, we'd like to hold hands and share our list of the Top 10 Christmas Movies of all time. Note the proliferation of '40s films; schmaltz was easier to make — and maybe easier to take — in a black-and-white world. This is why we'll personally be watching a slasher menace Margot Kidder in Black Christmas. But you already know the size of our heart.
A Christmas Story (1983). Director: Bob Clark. Stars: Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin
Humorist Jean Shepherd's hilarious memoir of growing up in the 1940s and trying to finagle a BB gun for Christmas is one of those rare films that both grownups and kids will adore. Look for Shepherd in a brief, unbilled cameo as a department-store customer.
Gremlins (1984). Director: Joe Dante. Stars: Zach Gilligan, Phoebe Cates
We admit it lags at times and has a bizarre Steven Spielberg-does-Roger Corman feel, but there just aren't enough Christmas monster movies, and the little beasties are pretty fun. This one is perfect for when you're tired of Christmas Muzak. Don't eat after midnight!
Holiday Inn (1942). Director: Mark Sandrich. Stars: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire
Forget the plot; the writers did. Watch this one for the Irving Berlin holiday songs, including the debut of "White Christmas," which led to a more expensive and ponderous film of that name. This one's far better.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Director: Frank Capra. Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed
One of our all-time favorite movies; it sends chills up our spine just thinking about it. Stewart wonders if his life is worthwhile and sees what the world would have been like without him. See it with a loved one.
Meet John Doe (1941). Director: Frank Capra. Stars: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck
Newspaper columnist Stanwyck uses naïve homeless Cooper to impersonate a suicidal correspondent with strong social views. Pre-WWII populism seems very dated, but feel-good Capra-corn always makes a fine Christmas decoration for your TV screen.
A Midnight Clear (1992). Director: Keith Gordon. Stars: Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon
Not your average Christmas war movie, this WWII parable of American soldiers patrolling a snowy forest constantly confounds expectations. The fact that it's not all sweetness and light makes the Christmas scenes much more touching.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947). Director: George Seaton. Stars: Maureen O'Hara, Edmund Gwenn
O'Hara hires Kris Kringle (Gwenn) to play a Santa Claus at Macy's, but Kringle believes he's the real thing. Delightful fable, with young Natalie Wood as O'Hara's skeptical daughter. Avoid the inferior remakes.
The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993). Director: Henry Selick. Stars: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon (voices)
Producer Tim Burton's fingerprints are all over this dark but hysterical animated tale of Halloween king Jack Skellington's takeover of Christmas. Imaginative stop-motion animation looks truly unique.
Scrooge (a.k.a. A Christmas Carol) (1951). Director: Brian Desmond Hurst. Stars: Alastair Sim, Kathleen Harrison
The best of the 23 versions of A Christmas Carol has the lead character's name because Sim is the greatest Scrooge ever; he embodies all Scrooge's shifting emotions so well that we sympathize with him, not the Cratchits. After you see this, Scrooge McDuck won't do.
The Shop Around the Corner (1940). Director: Ernst Lubitsch. Stars: Margaret Sullivan, James Stewart
Recently remade as You've Got Mail, this charming comedy has Stewart and Sullivan as feuding colleagues at a small gift shop who unknowingly strike up an anonymous romantic correspondence.
as for my hero, the Grinch - I watch every year and he STILL wimps out in the end:-)
Judy Garland's Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas in this one is very touching.
I can't believe no one has mentioned "The Bishop's Wife" with Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young. A great Christmas treat!
COME TO THE STABLE--with Loretta Young and Hugh Marlowe. Love song was nominated for an Oscar in late 40's. Awesome movie about the power of faith to make impossible things happen. Subtle humor--great family viewing--great and inexpensive gift for the entire family.
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT--Barbara Stanwyck as a Martha Stewart-wannabee--beautiful sets, timely even by today's values. If you have all the others, this is a nice addition.
Ditto! Christmas Bump for 'The Bishop's Wife' (1947).
From the previews, it looks like a remake of "Earnest Saves Christmas". Santa is going to retire. The person chosen to be the new Santa doesn't want the job. They finally relent and Christmas is saved.
It was bound to be funnier with Jim Varney (Earnest), who IMHO was one of the funniest comedians of recent memory.
MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS--Longer than a December time frame but Judy sings her Christmas classic and Christmas-feelings ooze out of this all-time favorite. Also,
AUNTIE MAME--More like Holiday Inn--Not just about Christmas but its Christmas scene is one of the best of all time!
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