I consider myself to be a movie lover. There are a handful of movies that I consider my absolute favorites that you would think I would watch them on a regular basis that I can go for years without watching. But I always watch my favorite Christmas movies every December. This is not intended as a complete list of every Christmas movie that I like. It only includes the ones that I absolutely have to watch every year. If you haven’t seen these films, I highly recommend them all. This is not intended as a review of these films, only a recommendation list and a few of the reasons I suggest watching them.
Christmas in Connecticut – 1945
This is my favorite Christmas movie. It is a screwball comedy set at Christmas. While it has romance, it’s not your typical sentimental Christmas movie. S. Z. Sakall as Uncle Felix is one of the main reasons to watch this film. His lack of command of the English language is comedy gold. I never cared much for Barbara Stanwyck when I was growing up because I didn’t like The Big Valley. This movie changed my mind about her. The other people that make this movie worth watching are Sidney Greenstreet and Una O’Connor being great doing what they do in every other movie they’ve appeared in. The other reason to watch this one is to learn about “the old magoo”. The most memorable line from this movie for my family is actually Sidney Greenstreet just giggling at the end of the move. Stay away from the TV remake from 1992 with Dyan Cannon and Kris Kristofferson.
Holiday Inn – 1942
I remember watching this one for the first time in the late 1970’s. I immediately fell in love with the cheesy songs that celebrated each holiday. You’re Easy To Dance With is the first song I remember when I think of this movie, not White Christmas. Highlights are Fred Astaire’s firecracker dance and Fred Astaire’s drunk dancing. You should look for the unedited version with the blackface song Abraham intact. You should also see the edited version with this song taken out to see what a hatchet job they did. Louise Beavers portrayal of the stereotypical character Mamie could easily be seen as offensive Abraham, but Mamie, Daphne and Vanderbilt are easily some of the most lovable characters in the film. And Mamie is one of the few characters who says exactly what she’s thinking making her the smartest one in the picture. Watch for those exploding jars of peach preserves.
The Bells of St. Mary’s – 1945
Just like Holiday Inn, The Bells of St. Mary’s isn’t really a Christmas movie. Less than 8 minutes of this movie takes place around Christmas. That 8 minutes contains the funniest Christmas pageant ever. This was the first movie I ever saw with Ingrid Bergman. I have a hard time not picturing her as a nun. I also have a hard time believing that her character ever taught the lovable but goofy Eddie any boxing skills. Eddie’s mom is portrayed by Una O’Connor, making her second appearance on this list of films. This also makes the second appearance by Bing Crosby. For my family, The most quotable line from this movie comes from Patsy: “To see, to hear, to taste, to smell, to feel… to be.” You wouldn’t think that good holiday movie would have subplots involving prostitution and tuberculosis, but they are in this one. Leo McCarey directed the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup before he made this one. Watch for the kittens in the hat.
A Christmas Carol – 1938
There were 9 versions of this film released before this one. As of this writing, there have been another 9, not counting various versions done for television. I haven’t seen many of the other versions but this one is my favorite of the ones I have seen. Most people identify the version of A Christmas Carol by the person playing Scrooge. In this case, it is Reginald Owen. His transformation during this movie is an example of great acting. The real reason this is my preferred version is Terry Kilburn as Tiny Tim. This portrayal is totally convincing and as iconic as Boris Karloff’s portrayal of The Monster in Frankenstein. Terry Kilburn owns the role of Tiny Tim. With a running time of only 69 minutes, this film is a model of economic storytelling. There is not a wasted second of a scene in this movie. My family’s favorite line in the movie is when Tiny Tim is excited about the goose and declares “I’d like to stroke it!” Pay attention to the Cratchit family scenes. They are excited about everything with the Christmas meal. All the food, the chestnuts and whether all the family members will be there. A Christmas movie with a true Christmas message.
It’s A Wonderful Life – 1946
I don’t count this one a Christmas movie and it’s not a Christmas tradition for me. A local TV station would always show it at midnight on New Year’s Eve. When I was a kid, I had stayed up by myself to watch Guy Lombardo ring in the new year. That show went off the air and I was about to get ready to go to bed. The TV station I was watching showed a clock that clicked to midnight and a voice said, “Happy New Year”. Before I got up, a movie started. It caught my attention because I had never heard of a movie studio called “Liberty Films”. I continued to watch the movie because one of the angels was named Clarence and the main character’s last name was Bailey. My first name is Clarence and my mother’s maiden name is Bailey. I continued to watch because of that and fell in love with the movie. Even though more of it takes place on Christmas than some of the other films on this list, I still don’t watch it until New Years because that’s when I grew up watching it.