IT'S CHRISTMAS MOVIE TIME

There's no doubt that more Christmas-themed movies have been made than any other film genre.
You could easily overdose on the Hallmark Christmas movies alone - - not to mention all those TV movies-of-the-week. 
(I'm not bashing them - - some are remarkably good). 

My personal taste tends to lean towards the old tried-and-true Hollywood Christmas classics. Although we've seen them more times than we care to remember, they always hold up to the test of time.

I have two rules about watching old movies: NEVER watch the colorized versions (they destroy and cheapen the original intent) and ALWAYS watch the full-length versions (I'm thinking of all those old movies that I watched on TV as a kid  that were savagely edited and chopped up with commercials).

The movies that I'm listing are in no particular order - they just happened to pop into my head.

HEIDI (1937)  

The classic version with Shirley Temple and Jean Hersholt. It's not exactly faithful to Johanna Spyri's book, and it's not specifically a Christmas movie - but it has snow and a Christmas Eve scene.
I recently found the original black and white version on YouTube. 

Holiday Inn (1942)

 I usually prefer to watch this one on New Year's Eve, but it's a timeless Christmas classic. Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire are in top form. Beautiful Marjorie Reynold's singing voice is dubbed - but what the heck....
Caution: the black-faced minstrel scene is sometimes cut by the liberal Movie Police. 

You can watch Holiday Inn (for free) at Internet Archive. Here's the link (I hope...):

https://archive.org/details/holiday_inn


THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)

 This charming romantic comedy takes place in a little shop in Budapest, where two employees who loathe each other (James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan) are unknowingly secret penpals.

 Here's a link to watch this film:
https://ok.ru/video/43381688898  (this is a Russian website, but it's legit - I've used it many times)






 In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

Don't let the title fool you. This movie has nothing to do with summer. It is a remake of the 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner - starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson.
I generally don't like remakes, but this one is great. Both films are worth watching.

White Christmas (1954) 

 Okay, this film has hokey dialogue, a mediocre plot, and possibly tries too hard - but it's still a holiday warhorse that's fun to watch - with great singing and dancing. 
Personally, I never liked Bing Crosby, and I can't warm up to Danny Kaye - but Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen add charm. And everyone does their own singing - - except Vera-Ellen, who was dubbed.

You can watch it for free at this link:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24ka2u


Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

 Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but still pleasant holiday fluff. Barbara Stanwyck is a New York food columnist who consistently writes about her husband, baby, and farm in Connecticut. Problem is, it's all a sham. She's single, can't cook, and has no farm. Things get tricky when one of her fans (Dennis Morgan) is chosen to spend Christmas with her at the fictitious farm.

Here's a link to the movie:
https://ok.ru/video/268185504419


Scrooge (1951)

 There have been more film renditions of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol than I can count. This British film is one of the best, with Alastair Sim as Scrooge. A genuine classic to watch on Christmas Eve.

It's available on YouTube. Put Scrooge 1951 in the search.

A Christmas Carol (1938)

 Another great version of the Charles Dickens classic. This American film features Reginald Owen as Scrooge and several members of the Lockhart family - including a very young June Lockhart.
 I think this movie can still be found on YouTube.

 Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

 Is he really Santa Claus?
There are several remakes of this film, but you can't beat the original starring Natalie Wood, Edmund Gwenn, and Maureen O'Hara. 

This film is available on Internet Archive (archive.org)
but I don't have the link.

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

 Why am I not as thrilled with this film as every one else? Possibly because it's over-played and praised to oblivion. But it admittedly is a timeless holiday classic well worth watching - starring James Stewart and Donna Reed. 
And, heck - we all need a guardian angel.....
 Not certain, but this might be available on Internet Archive (archive.org)


So many Christmas movies - - so little time.....
I should probably mention
The Homecoming (1971) spinoff for the TV series The Waltons (it's available on YouTube)
Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2 (1992)
A Christmas Story (1983)

and two real tear-jerkers

Christmas Eve (1986) starring Loretta Young
The Christmas Shoes (2002) with Rob Lowe  

I'm not nearly finished, but this post is getting annoyingly long. I hope that the links I provided are accurate and working properly. 

What are your favorite holiday movies? 


note:
I wrote this very quickly and it's not one of my best efforts, but I'm posting it anyway