Christmas movies

The perfect Christmas movie hasn’t been made yet, in my opinion. But there are some old standards that I still watch without fail. Opinions regarding these movies are, I’ve discovered, quite subjective. It has almost reached a point where I feel as if I should apologize in advance for liking a couple of them because they are so outrageously sentimental. Heartstrings pullers. But if you can’t let your hair down and go with the unabashed sentimentality at this time of year, then phooey on you.

So here are my ten favorite Christmas movies, neither in ascending nor descending order:

Christmas in Connecticut* - 1945 - Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sidney Greenstreet. Stanwyck plays a career columnist who writes about her idyllic life in Connecticut on a farm, with her husband and young child. None of which she has. Her unsuspecting boss (Greenstreet) decides to visit for Christmas. Chaos ensues. Lighthearted, but warm and endearing. This one might be my favorite.

Holiday Inn* - 1942 - Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Majorie Reynolds. “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” was the big winner. A Vermont Inn, lots of snow, good song and dance, romantic interest. Plenty to like. There is one black-face performance which is jarring now, but clearly a relic of its time.

A Christmas Story* - 1983 - Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Peter Billingsley. About a geeky little kid in the 1940s who wants a BB gun for Christmas. I watch it for the leg lamp scene. It’s funny. It’s darned near perfect.

The Bishops Wife* - 1947 - Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven. A distracted bishop, his neglected wife, an all too handsome angel. Things get complicated, but in a sweet and funny way. I love this movie.

It’s a Wonderful Life - 1946 - Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers. This is one of those unabashedly sentimental ones that people love to hate. Not sure why. It is what it is and it’s all about those ideals of honesty, integrity, family, and love. There’s a villain and a sweet old angel. What’s not to like? It’s only once a year and makes you feel good.

Going My Way* - 1944 - Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald. Combine an idealistic young priest (Crosby) with lots of energy with a curmudgeonly older one (Fitzgerald). There was a perfect opportunity for this movie to lapse into syrupy sweetness, but it masterfully avoided it. It strikes the right chords, stays true to human foibles and the human heart with a good bit of depth. One of my favorites.

The Bells of St. Mary’s - 1945 - Bing Crosby reprises his role as Father O’Malley. Ingrid Bergman enters as Sister Benedict, the nearly perfect woman, who in the end, is (temporarily) brought down by tuberculosis. This film also has heart, but not nearly as much as Going My Way. Still, it’s a a worthy film with subtle humor and good performances.

Miracle on 34th Street* - 1947 - Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood. A single Mom as Macy’s store director, in charge of such things as the Macy’s Santa and the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Her sort of lawyer-boyfriend thinks she works too hard and not entirely out of necessity, and her small daughter (Natalie Wood) is at odds with her mother’s hard cynical realism. There is no Santa vs. there is a Santa. And then there is the real Santa in Edmund Gwenn who is perfection as the man himself. Also one of my top three favorites.

A Charlie Brown Christmas - 1965 - A Charlie Brown Christmas tree, Schroeder’s virtuoso (the music has surpassed the test of time), Charlie Brown’s idealism. What is the true meaning of Christmas? The Peanuts gang answers the question, somehow with a nearly impossible combination of brooding darkness, humor, introspection, and a lotta heart.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation - 1989 - Chevy Chase, of course. Diane Ladd, Randy Quaid. There is no such thing as the perfect family Christmas. It’s just fun and funny. Really funny. I love this one, too. It makes the people who don’t do Christmas glad. For those who do, it’s a good ‘the day after’ movie.

* - currently in my TiVo line-up.