Best Christmas Holiday Movies Review

Best Christmas Holiday movies is a two part essay that will concentrate on several movies that may be just under your radar when you think of Christmas movies, but you should probably consider as wonderful alternative holiday fare to watch.  I'll mention the most popular ones, my alternates and at the end of part 2 some so bad they are good choices too.

This is part 1 of 2  (they are both labeled the same.. oops..)  Part 2  is here:  http://www.viewpoints.com/Best-Christmas-Movies-Top-Holiday-Movies-Alternate-Seasonal-Movie-Part-1-of-2--303616-review-945a1

I'll run through the more obvious popular ones first:

The best CHRISTMAS CAROL  (there are several and all are fun to watch) is the one with Alistair Sims made in 1951 sometimes called SCROOGE, sometimes called A Christmas Carol.   It's based on the timeless A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens.   The television version with George C. Scott is very good too!!! There's also the decent musical version with Albert Finney called SCROOGE which is good if you're in the right mood.  I had a good time watching The Muppets Christmas Carol  too; so don't forget about that one.   We're also getting a 3D version in a few weeks with Polar Express type animation utilizing Jim Carrey's talents.  I find him too loud and over the top for me to enjoy in his comedies and too earnestly insincere in his quieter  ones...but perhaps it will be a good movie.

Frank Capra's  It's a Wonderful Life from 1947 gets the overly sentimental rap because of the Clarence the angel sub-plot and happy ending.  However, a lot of the movie is very dark and features one of Jimmy Stewarts' best performances.  It's my favorite Christmas movie of all time and if you haven't seen it for a while, sit down and enjoy yourself with it again.. soon.  It was a flop when it was first released, and a minor hit when it was re-released.  Its popularity came from many TV. showings through the 1960s.  

Some other movies that make most people's lists and deserve to  are

the original Miracle on 34th Street  with little Natalie Wood, (the re-make is pretty good too-though it's nearly as corny as the original).  A Christmas Story is one of the best and I've watched it several times without 'putting my eye out'.    Also consider: the more recent The Santa Clause which is much better than I ever expected it to be (forget the 2 lesser sequels);  Home Alone which is better than Home Alone 2 and much better than the other sequels  are set over the Christmas holidays and can be very entertaining (though after seeing them a few times, I'm done and don't need to watch them ever again).  There's also the original Bishop's Wife  (Cary Grant and David Niven) which I find a bit too dated to thoroughly enjoy.  I don't recommend the re-make from a few years ago.. it's cornier than the original.

 Bill Murray and Carol Kane have made SCROOGED worth watching for me many times over the years . I was let down by it the first time I saw it many years ago because I thought it was an such an easy lazy obvious satire and it tries to be both cynical and schmaltzy.  I've grown to really like it and enjoy how Bill Murray handles the schmaltz with tongue firmly in cheek. 

Other decent but perhaps overly sweet Christmas movies include PRANCER and ONE MAGIC CHRISTMAS. If you're under the spell of Christmas -try them out.  ELF  is a pretty charming new addition to the holiday movie shelf.  It's funny, mostly wholesome, corny, family friendly and you can watch Bob Newhart's performance several times.  The original television cartoon specials of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas * and A Charlie Brown Christmas are indispensible wonderful holiday treats. I like the Simpson's Christmas Special a lot too. Didn't South Park do a ....?  I sometimes get nostalgic for the cloying Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman but those are very dated schmaltzy holiday fare and after watching them I need Scrooged or maybe Badder Santa.  

And now some alternates you might not think about for Holiday viewing.

 BABES IN TOYLAND 1934 also called MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS

March of the Wooden Soldiers remains a very funny, charming, family film' featuring  the comedy team Laurel and Hardy at their peak of their comic timing and abilities. It is a very dated film, with old style special effects, musical numbers, corny dialogue and all the rest which is part of the reason it works so well when you watch it today. The pace is fast, the comedy still very funny and it's a lot of fun to watch this story of the evil Silas Barnaby (played in the best over-acted melodramatic style by Henry Brandon ) who wants to throw the old woman who lives in the shoe out of her home so he can put up a shopping mall (okay not really a mall-but do hiss at this cruel bad character). Laurel and Hardy play Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum who are toy-makers who mean well but keep getting into trouble. They are the original Dumb and Dumber of course. They really mess up an order for Santa Claus and get into trouble-especially when they try to battle against the evil Barnaby!!! There are several fairy-tale and Mother Goose characters shown throughout and those horrible awful BOOGEY MEN !!!!. Costumed performers, puppets and stop motion work are well-used-and some of it looks inventively surreal.  I try to watch this classic every year. Discover or re-discover it soon. There's a decent colorized version on DVD (if you really must watch a color version of the film).   This one used to play on television around thanksgiving when I was growing up and so I like to watch it around Thanksgiving to continue the tradition.

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. 1993

The concept was Tim Burton's, realized by Director/Animator Henry Sellig (James and the Giant Peach) who updated the George Pal and Ray Harryhausen Puppetoon style to create this highly stylized treat, featuring a couple of memorable songs and a great score by Danny Elfman. It's about Jack the Pumpkin King's desire to create a very special Christmas and be as beloved as Santa.... but the ghouls who help him create Halloween really mess up Christmas !!! The  DVD  from a few years ago collects Burton's short films-FrankenWeenie and Vincent too !!! BUY IT.   There's also the re-vamped 3d version of the movie which I haven't seen yet...   It's more a Christmas movie than Halloween, but it's usually shown around Halloween time.

CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT 1945

Accept no substitutes for the heart-warming schmaltzy original. Barbara Stanwyck is radiant playing the 1940s equivalent of a Martha Stewart named Elizabeth Lane. She writes a homespun column supposedly from a farm somewhere in Connecticut that also features a recipe. When her publisher Alexander Yardley (Sidney Greenstreet) decides it's time to visit the farm there's a complication. Lane actually writes from a New York City apartment and does not know how to cook!!! She needs a farm, and some cooking lessons.. quick. Oh there's a romance and plenty of gentle laughs and warmth of course. Perfect film for the holidays and not so over-played that you've seen it too many times to appreciate.

MEET JOHN DOE 1941

Another Capra classic this one full of cynicism. It  is set during the holiday season.  Fired reporter Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The public wants more so the paper is forced to rehire Ann and then must hire John Willoughby (Gary Cooper)to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses use John mercilessly as John Doe's philosophy creates a political movement that must be taken seriously which might just lead to a truly tragic conclusion. There's a fun Walter Brennan performance here as well.

HOLIDAY INN  1942

Covers several holidays-not just Christmas, and was remade in color as the much inferior White Christmas. This one is the keeper when you are in the mood for the smooth crooning of Bing Crosby and the fancy smooth footwork of Fred Astaire. The plot has Crosby and Astaire as partners who open a resort hotel that puts on seasonally-related musical shows for their guests. There's romance problems but eventually the stars are paired with Marjorie Reynolds and Virginia Dale. Astaire has a great dance number for the 4th of July show (with firecrackers). There's a dated and racist blackface number meant to celebrate Abraham Lincoln (that some might take offense to). Crosby sings Easter Parade and White Christmas etc. The kind of overly pleasant romantic musical comedy they do not make any more.

Coming soon  Part 2

*NOTE: The live action  GRINCH movie I do not recommend.  Some of the movie is entertaining I will admit.  Why the filmmakers decided to show the citizens of Whoville having a 'key ' holiday party (a swapping partners swingers sort of party) in the middle of their 'family' movie, I'll never know.  The kids won't get the reference but it's a rotten thing to do to a Dr. Seuss' classic. I haven't forgotten this movie,  I boycott it.    I also haven't forgotten about many other mediocre or lousy movies (Santa Clause the Movie for example) I just hope you don't spend much time with them.