Classic Movies for Christmas
This is what you need to be watching instead of new movies!
So, you’ve come back for more, huh?
You’ve begun to hang out with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in classy hotel lounges, and you never say no when Kay Francis invites you to join her for some jewellery shopping in the world of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
You winter in Palm Beach and summer in Cape Cod with the movie stars of Old. You fish for the famous walleye with William Powell and Myrna Loy and admire Gene Tierney from afar but I recommend you never go in a rowboat with her!
You’ve already watched all movies in my earlier posts:
So — it is time for you to celebrate Christmas in style.
Stay classy, my friends! Here, sit down with some egg nog in this luxurious and over-sized leather chair by the enormous and roaring fireplace (where two well-mannered Irish Wolf hounds slumber on a rug). I have compiled a list of my all time favorite Christmas themed classic movies (all but one a comedy), and these will be guaranteed to set your mind and spirit into an atmosphere of celebration, excitement and above all, joy of the season!
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)
A criminally neglected seasonal classic. Probably because the cast aren’t household names. But don’t let that deter you. This is the Frank Capra movie Capra didn’t direct.
You should get to know Victor Moore — a master comic relief actor of the golden era. Here he is a hobo with heart who spends Christmas in the vacant mansions of rich people who winter in sunnier places. You will want to move in with him and his friends on Fifth Avenue or anywhere, and spend the best Christmas of your life there. I love every minute of this movie and I suspect you will too. I won’t say too much about this utterly charming tale because it is filled with delightful surprises. But your heart will be warmed like a perfect Yule log.
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Girl Margaret Sullavan meets boy James Stewart, work together in a small Hungarian shop at Christmas time where they get on each other’s nerves until, well, you’ll just have to watch it to learn the rest, won’t you? Some of the best comedic scenes ever, and a movie you can watch over and over again until you have memorized lines that you love. (Yes, You’ve Got Mail (1998) ripped this movie off but somehow failed to capture its full charming spirit.)
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)
Now you’re entering the arena of heavy weights. This is excellence and purity. Monty Woolley plays a world famous New York media figure who’s forced to spend Christmas with a small-town family. This is stuff people cannot make again, because we’ve lost “it.” But thankfully we can still watch Monty Woolley spew out insult after insult and make us wish he would insult us too with the same brio. As the equally witty egotist Reginald Gardiner zestily exclaims, “I have very little time, and so the conversation will be entirely about me and I shall love it.” Ann Sheridan is beautifully wicked, Bette Davis plays almost normal for a change even when she punts a hat, and Jimmy Durante roars in like a whirlwind and demands rye bread. Fun trivia for classic movie buffs, this the film debut for the indefatigable character actress Mary Wickes, whose career spanned six decades. As she shrieks at one point, “A penguin bit me!”
Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
A very modern story about a 1940s Martha Stewart who can’t cook or do any of the things she writes about. Barbara Stanwyck entangles herself in more and more intricate lies while celebrating Christmas in Connecticut with a fake husband and fake baby and romancing a war hero. The charming cast includes Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet and the ever-cuddly S. Z. “Cuddles” Sakall. Oh, and if you ever get a cow, you must name her Macushla! A true classic.
Remember the Night (1940)
The wondrous Barbara Stanwyck again, this time as a thief who spends Christmas with an assistant district attorney, Fred MacMurray, who takes pity on her. An absolutely beautiful, funny and, yes, memorable Christmas fable. We watch it every Christmas season, and it brings a cozy feeling every time the idiosyncratic yet affecting Sterling Holloway warbles, “The End of a Perfect Day.”
White Christmas (1954)
If you haven’t seen this Christmas color splash, you must remedy that immediately. A musical for those who don’t like musicals. At least it’s diegetic (look it up, I had to). Gorgeous numbers, luscious sets and irresistibly charming performers. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Ellen? The latter two’s “Sisters” number and the first two’s parody will put a smile on your face. An instant spirit-lifter.
The Snowman (1982)
A boy builds a snowman, and in the middle of the night the snowman comes alive and takes the boy on the Christmas adventure of his life! This gorgeous animated fairy tale will break and mend your heart in under half an hour. One of my favorite Christmas cries ever!
Excuse me but I have to get going. They’re showing “It Happened on Fifth Avenue” on TCM right now — for real!
A special thank you to my dear husband who was my contributing editor on this piece.
Thanks for being here! What can you do to support me? Well, since you asked, you can buy Aubade, my sci-fi novel — or scan the Venmo code. You can also subscribe to this newsletter and spread the word about classic movies. Oh, and press the heart button and leave a comment!
Thanks for visiting my Substack page! Thank you for the list of your favorite Christmas movies. Some are familiar and some new to me. Going to look them up and binge this weekend!!
White Christmas is one of my favorite movies. Everything about it is amazing. I never get an actual white Christmas but maybe one day 😌