In keeping with my love of lists, and in keeping with the current holiday season, I wanted to post a list of great Christmas movies the way I had made a list of not-to-miss Halloween movies. I thought the problem might be narrowing down the list. (For example, on Internet Movie Database, do a search on “Christmas” in titles. You’ll get over 500 titles.) The problem, though, wasn’t narrowing it down; it was finding movies or TV specials that were truly worthy. I wanted to find some gems that maybe you had missed. Instead, I found that my list would probably look pretty much like everybody else’s. I could have put the Christmas specials of the Teletubbies or the Flintstones or John Denver, but that just wasn’t what I was hoping for.
There are other movies that take place at Christmas time that I truly love. While You Were Sleeping is one of them. The fact that it’s Christmas just underlines how truly lonely Lucy (Sandra Bullock) is without family. We miss family more at Christmas than any other time of the year. But is it a Christmas movie? A good portion of The Matador takes place at Christmas, but could you call it a Christmas movie? Clearly not, and yet its themes of family, friendship, and welcoming the stranger in your midst are clearly Christmas themes.
So, to save this from being just another Christmas list of movies that you’ve probably seen a dozen times (maybe that many just in the past week!), I offer my list with a little bit of trivia on each movie that maybe you didn’t know. The links will take you to the trivia page of each movie on IMDb if you care to read more.
A Charlie Brown Christmas. (Shown above.) This first televised Peanuts special still remains my favorite. The one shown now on network television has been cut (throwing snowballs at the tin can), but the full length show is still available. “Bill Melendez tried to talk Charles Schulz out of using Biblical references (especially Linus’s speech) in this special. Schulz reportedly won him over by saying, ‘If we don’t do it, who will?’”
A Christmas Carol. I have to admit that I love this story by Charles Dickens so much that I love every single interpretation I’ve seen of it. That includes Mr. Magoo and the Lifetime original movie Ebbie. The best is the 1938 version. “Carl Barks’ Uncle Scrooge McDuck was probably based physically on this version of Ebenezer Scrooge, with the fringe of hair and the small tuft of hair on the top of his head.”
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Skip the Ron Howard movie of the same name and watch the original animated television show instead. By trying to explain why the Grinch was the way he was (misunderstood, bad childhood), the movie removed the significant and marvelous transformation of the Grinch. Plus there’s no Boris Karloff. “Boris Karloff’s voice changes when he speaks for the Grinch. Originally he spoke in his ‘Narrator’ voice throughout. After recording was complete, the highs in his voice were mechanically removed for the Grinch, giving him the gravelly voice heard in the finished version.”
A Christmas Story. The descriptions of this movie all sound so boring. “Boy wants a BB gun for Christmas.” It’s anything but boring and has become a classic in its twenty years. “When the character of Scut Farkas first appears, the ‘Wolf’ music from Sergei Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’ plays in the background. The name ‘Farkas’ is derived from the Hungarian word for ‘wolf.’” While the story takes place in a town in Indiana, the movie was filmed in Cleveland (and parts in Toronto). Cleveland is enjoying the fame.
It’s a Wonderful Life. This Jimmy Stewart classic makes a lot of people’s favorite movie lists, and not just Christmas movies. The film portrays our desire for our lives to have meaning, even in their very mundaneness. “The movie drew fierce criticism for its political statements about post-WWII society when it was released in 1946. Even the FBI labeled it a ‘subversive’ movie and charged that its use of a nasty, Scrooge-like businessman ‘was a common trick used by communists.’”
The Bishop’s Wife. “The film was originally cast with David Niven as the Angel and Cary Grant as the Bishop. Grant had signed to play the Bishop, but eventually agreed to swap parts with Niven.” Good choice. The performances in this film are wonderful. Loretta Young is so innocent that she almost seems like an angel herself. My favorite, though, is Monty Woolley as the agnostic professor. His bewilderment is priceless.
There you have my short list. You might question leaving off Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Miracle on 34th Street. You might argue that Bill Murray’s Scrooged! is the best interpretation of Dickens’ classic story. Let me know what your favorites are.
White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney. There are holes in the plot a mile wide, and some of the action is obviously contrived to show off the singers. But those singers are so good, and the song and dance is such fun. And some of the lines are classic: “Miss Haynes, if you’re ever under a falling building and someone offers to pick you up and carry you to safety, don’t think, don’t pause, don’t hesitate for a moment, just spit in his eye.
Comment by sherry — December 11, 2006 @ 2:16 am |
Believe it or not, I’ve never seen White Christmas. (I got to thinking that my list probably reflects what Christmas shows my parents watched.) White Christmas is such a famous one, and that line makes me want to watch it.
Thanks for commenting, Sherry!
Comment by Cher Smith — December 11, 2006 @ 12:18 pm |
Good list and trivia notes. Judith and I started watching White Christmas, recorded off of TCM, last week. We have an hour to go–it’s over two hours–and will finish it this week. Pretty good and you should see it if only to be culturally literate! It might be repeated on TCM so check your listings or their website schedule. Also, look for Holiday Inn which introduced the song. Leonard Maltin thinks it’s a superior musical. Bing is running the titular hotel which puts on a show for every holiday. He costars with Fred Astaire and with Berlin’s music, that’s all the reason you need to see this black and white classic.
Comment by Alex — December 12, 2006 @ 11:24 am |
(embarrassing confession) I can’t watch “Charlie Brown Christmas” without welling up with tears when Linus takes the stage. I never get bored of ‘A Christmas Story.’ One of my favorite classics is “Holiday Inn.” I’m not sure if it should be classified as a Christmas movie, but Bing does sing “White Christmas” in it too. And “Elf” has become like “A Christmas Story” as a classic with my daughter and me. It’s one you can enjoy in shorts in the middle of July as well as a sweater in December.
Comment by Catherina — December 12, 2006 @ 2:10 pm |
Alex, I just read your comment after posting mine. ( : Yep, I love “Holiday Inn.” The song-and-dance numbers are so fun.
Comment by Catherina — December 12, 2006 @ 2:12 pm |
I’ll make sure to watch for White Christmas and Holiday Inn. I’ve caught about half of Elf on television. I’m not a big Will Ferrell fan (although I loved him in Stranger Than Fiction).
And I tear up every time I watch Charlie Brown Christmas too. It’s just so, well, biblical.
Comment by Cher Smith — December 12, 2006 @ 6:56 pm |
Yeah, Farrell makes me tear up the other way–not being able to contain laughter. Didn’t get a chance to see Stranger than Fiction, but want to see it. Next up, “Pursuit of Happyness,” and with my daughter, “Night at the Museum.” Nothing like a little escapism.
Comment by Catherina — December 12, 2006 @ 10:07 pm |
Newbie visitor, seems like a nice site.
By all means watch “White Christmas” in one viewing. My favorite part about the movie is that you wait until the end for the big Christmas finale. Otherwise you’re treated to running plot lines on loyalty, friends and family (and a little buttermilk and romance!). The theater, the theater, what has happened to the theater?
A version of the Christmas Carol that gets overlooked and is our family favorite is also a musical, Albert Finney in Scrooge (1970). It has great songs and great acting (including Obi Wan Kenobe). I would have liked more emphasis on a Christian conversion, but you can’t have everything.
“The Nativity Story” will also be a tradition starting next year. While some may have considered it bland, the manger scene really delivers (sic).
Comment by Marc V — December 13, 2006 @ 4:26 pm |
Hey Marc! I love Albert Finney’s Scrooge. I haven’t seen it in a while. May have to watch it this year. I haven’t seen The Nativity Story yet, but I’d like to before it leaves the theaters.
Thanks for visiting. Visit often!
Comment by Cher Smith — December 14, 2006 @ 1:35 am |
I must say that my favorite version of “A Christmas Carol” has to be the 1951 version titled “Scrooge” in the UK but “A Christmas Carol” in the US starring Alastair Sim.
Comment by Michael — December 14, 2006 @ 5:39 pm |
I love the one with Alistair Sim. Father Christmas, the Ghost of Christmas Present, played by Francis De Wolf, was one of the very best.
Comment by Cher Smith — December 17, 2006 @ 12:02 pm |
Wah-hey!
All my fave Christmas movie lam-packed into a single blog post!
Cher, you rock out loud!
Except the Matador. I don’t think I’ve ever hearrd of it. A few friends of mine and I were talking about Christmas movies. One of my girl friends suggested Love, Actually. I’d never seen that one either.
Yes! A Christmas Story is CLASSIC! But then, I’ve read both books (In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden memories, and Other Disasters.) It was actually a compilation of those two books about the life of Jean Shepherd. (Actually, the whole dogs eating the meal scene was from Easter, not Christmas. But it was still funny!)
When my fiance told me he had never seen “It’s a Wonderful Life” I told him it was un-American. So I forced him to watch it. And I think he’s glad I did.
I’m actually on my way to the Nativity Story right now, So I’ll let you know how that goes.
Oh, and you forgot the most important movie. Muppet Christmas Carol, of course! tee-hee!
Later!
Ash
Comment by Ashley — December 17, 2006 @ 1:21 pm |
Can anyone help me- as a child I remember going to a movie theater to see a movie that was about childeren around the world good and bad. It had santa and the devil. There was a poor little girl that wanted a doll and a rich boy that wanted his parents time. I went to see this movie in the late “60″s. If anyone rembers the movie title I’d be greatful! Thanks, Lori
Comment by Lori — May 7, 2007 @ 6:16 pm |