Every year at Christmas time, I love to see how people with such vastly different tastes in movies and music seem to converge on the same genre: Christmas. It may be a small thing, but it’s such a great illustration of the meaning behind the season – we all put aside our differences (if only for a short while) and come together to enjoy this season that has always meant so much to us.
One of my most cherished Christmas traditions is watching a movie with my family. Growing up, my brother always loved to watch The Wizard of Oz (1939). My mother-in-law vividly remembers it coming on TV every Christmas when she was growing up…but none of us has ever figured out why people see it as a Christmas movie.
In the spirit of the season, I’m going to list my favorite Christmas movies – I can’t wait to hear about yours in the comments below!
In chronological order…
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
I watched the remake of this film (You’ve Got Mail [1998]) many times before I ever saw this one. The remake is great in its way, but it couldn’t top the original. I’ve never seen a bad Jimmy Stewart film (now my wife is coughing something that sounds suspiciously like “Harvey” [1950]) and this is one of his best! Stewart and Margaret Sullivan have great chemistry as co-workers who can’t stand each other in person, but manage to fall in love through the written word. They are anonymous pen pals who have no idea they’re writing to each other. This charming story is perfectly set during the days leading up to Christmas!
Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
This film manages to be both the perfect holiday movie and the perfect comedy of errors. The situations are always fun to watch and laugh at, even on repeated viewings when things are no longer a surprise. Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) plays the Martha Stewart of her day – a journalist who is known for her recipes, mixed with a healthy dose of stories about her fictional family farm, husband, and baby…but her readers (and her publisher – uh oh) believe the stories to be true. When the publisher practically orders Elizabeth to host a popular war hero, Jefferson Jones (Dennis Morgan), in her home for Christmas, she quickly has to put on a show to save her career. This is the perfect plot for a mixed-up comedy, and Elizabeth’s Uncle Felix (S.Z. Sakall) is a true scene-stealer. I guarantee you’ll have a hunky-dunky time watching this film (if you haven’t seen the movie before, I promise that will make sense afterward)!
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
I mean, come on. Jimmy Stewart, again. This is unquestionably a classic. We’ve all seen it. There were tears, there was laughter…and then we watched it again. It never gets old. Need I say more?
It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)
I just love the premise of this film! It is about a group of people who stay in a boarded-up mansion during the holidays. Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore) is the mastermind behind the situation, but he intended to be there by himself. The Christmas spirit got to him, though, and he agreed to let a few more people stay with him. What McKeever doesn’t know, though, is that one of the residents is Michael J. O’Connor (Charles Ruggles), who happens to own the mansion. This movie is a great comedy in terms of the irony of the situation. It’s also a great love story, focusing on Jim and Trudy (Don DeFore and Gale Storm), two of the temporary residents. More importantly, it is about the bonds that form among the members of this little accidental Christmas family, reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas.
A Christmas Carol (1951)
There are so many film adaptations of the Charles Dickens classic, but this one has always stood out over the others. Alastair Sim’s performance as Ebenezer Scrooge is perfect and matches the description that Dickens had originally written in his book. I also love the style of the film – particularly the visual effects used for the ghosts of Jacob Marley and Christmas Past. Richard Addinsell’s musical score always echoes in my mind every time I watch this movie. Highly recommended!
White Christmas (1954)
My wife will be proud that this movie made it to my list since she was the one who introduced me to it. Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye are perfect together in this classic filled with memorable musical numbers. The production design and the set decoration are mind-blowing and so ahead of their time! I’m not normally a fan of musicals, but this one is an absolute delight for the holidays!
The Apartment (1960)
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. Not very many movies bring a tear to my eye, but this one is a rare exception. C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is an employee at a big insurance company who agrees to lend his apartment to his superiors to use for romantic liaisons with their mistresses (not all at the same time, of course). Baxter is a nice guy, and he means well, but he gives in to the request for purely selfish means – he hopes his “guests” will put in a good word with the head-honcho, Jeff D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray) to get him a promotion. Sheldrake decides he wants to be a part of the arrangement and Baxter eagerly accepts. In the meantime, Baxter has his sights set on the elevator girl, Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine). Unbeknownst to him, though… Ms. Kubelik is Mr. Sheldrake’s secret romantic partner. This a wonderfully made tale of romance, laughter, and Christmas! There is an unforgettable scene with a massive office Christmas party. This movie is a delight to watch on Christmas and any other day of the year!
A Christmas Story (1983)
The classic tale of a little boy wanting a Red Ryder BB gun is an annual must-watch for me. You just can’t go wrong with a movie that features a fish-net leg lamp, a bunny outfit, and a Chinese Christmas dinner. This is unlike most of the Christmas movies I’ve seen. Very original!
Scrooged (1988)
Bill Murray stars in this modern-day take on A Christmas Carol as Frank Cross, the heartless president of a T.V. company. With a complete disregard for his employees, he decides to broadcast A Christmas Carol…live. All of his employees have to work on the broadcast, so they’re all going to be kept away from their families on Christmas. He is the Ebenezer Scrooge of the 1980s. Just like Scrooge, Frank is visited by three ghosts who show him the error of his ways in hopes of changing him for the better. Murray seems to enjoy playing characters who need a bizarre occurrence to change their personality (i.e. Groundhog Day [1993]). Scrooged is one that will make you laugh hysterically during the holidays!
Christmas Vacation (1989)
I do not doubt that this is the funniest Christmas movie of all time (though my wife vehemently disagrees). This one almost made my list of the funniest movies of all time. Just like A Christmas Story, this movie demonstrates the dangers of a family spending Christmas together. Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) always dreamed of hosting a big family Christmas in his house. He gets more than he bargained for when his parents and in-laws show up at the same time, shortly followed by his cousin-in-law (Randy Quaid) and his little gang of hoodlums. I’ve been watching this movie for years and I still end up laughing so hard my face turns red…every single time.
Home Alone (1990)
This movie will always be special to me since it was the first one I saw in the theater when I was six years old. It will forever be a Christmas classic for me. Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) wakes up one morning to find that his family left on their Christmas vacation without him! Kevin doesn’t mind, though. In his large family, the alone time comes at a premium…and he just scored a whole week of it! His fantasy is short-lived because a couple of bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) plan to rob his house – it needs to be defended, and Kevin is the kid for the job! Childish as it may seem, but I always enjoy the booby-trap scenes no matter how many times I watch this movie
Elf (2003)
This a modern classic, and easily one of the most quotable movies ever! Will Ferrell impressed me the first time I watched this movie. I never watched his Saturday Night Live skits, and I thought his previous movies were a bust (A Night at the Roxbury [1998] and Superstar [1999] are good…bad? examples). Ferrell grew on me with his performance as Buddy the Elf and I thought his approach to children’s humor was significantly better than his attempts at adult humor. Now don’t get me wrong here – I’m not saying that adults can’t enjoy the humor in this movie. It’s a great pick for the entire family!
Happy watching and Merry Christmas!
The Top 10 Films of the 1940s - Ryan's Movie Corner
[…] is one of the best feel-good movies of all time, and one of my favorite Christmas movies, to boot. All of the characters are likable, and I just love the way they connect with one […]