Holiday Inn (1942, dir. Mark Sandrich)
The love triangle featuring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Marjorie Reynolds is a loose framework for Irving Berlin's music, Crosby’s crooning, and the inimitable dancing of Mr. Astaire. Unlike the "remake" in 1954 (see below), this one covers all the holiday bases, not just Christmas, with the plot hinging on a hotel that's only open on holidays. Look for popular favorites "White Christmas" and "Easter Parade," plus lesser-known but also great tunes like "I'll Capture Your Heart Singing", "You're Easy to Dance With", "I've Got Plenty to be Thankful For" and "Be Careful, It's My Heart." It's upbeat all the way, with Bob Crosby's swing band going all out.
White Christmas (1954, dir. Michael Curtiz)
When you get past the depressing opening scene and the 50s sensibilities throughout the rest of it, this movie is... still very hokey. Bing Crosby's a little old, Danny Kaye is kind of wasted, and their two-man song and dance act is a couple of short steps away from Bill Murray's lounge singer. But then you get to the great songs by Irving Berlin, including White Christmas (first heard in Holiday Inn twelve years earlier), Sisters, Blue Skies, While You're Dancing, and Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep). Plus the costumes by Edith Head, Rosemary Clooney's voice, and Vera-Ellen's legs! Michael Curtiz directs stylishly, as usual, and there are some dance numbers worthy of Busby Berkeley. Don't watch it if you're in a cynical mood. Otherwise it's great silly fun, and full of hummable tunes. The ending's a tear-jerker, unless you're a pacifist. Gee, I wish I was back in the Army!
A Christmas Story (1983, dir. Bob Clark)
Okay, it's not technically a "classic," since it was made after 1982 (just barely), but it's a classic to me, and will be a Holiday staple for decades. The sappy title might have scared away some people who weren't in the mood for saccharine, but I can assure you there's nothing cloying about this very funny movie. Narrated brilliantly by Jean Shepherd and based on part of his book, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, it's full of memorable lines and screwball moments, too many to list here. Peter Billingsley as the kid who wants a bb gun for Christmas, and Darren McGavin and Melinda Dillon as his goofy parents, are fabulous. One of those films you never tire of watching, and great for all ages.
Christmas in Connecticut (1945, dir. Peter Godfrey)
You can never have too much Holiday cheer, and you can never have too much Barbara Stanwyck. So here she is in her second appearance on my Christmas list, this time in a light screwball comedy about a woman caught in her own tangled web when she has to pretend in real life to be the happy homemaker she pretends to be in her popular magazine column. Babs is ably assisted by an excellent supporting cast, featuring Sidney Greenstreet and S. Z. Sakall. It'll make you laugh and make you hungrey at the same time. What more could you ask?
Holiday Affair (1949, dir. Don Hartman)
Janet Leigh is the widowed mother of a 6-year-old boy trying to choose between two very different men in Wendell Corey and Robert Mitchum. It's Christmastime, so this qualifies as a Holiday movie, and a well-acted, effective one, too, in the spirit of Miracle on 34th Street (without Santa, that is).
Scrooge (1970, dir. Ronald Neame)
This musical version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol has both its supporters and its detractors, but the cast, led by Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans and Kenneth More, does a fine job, and some of the musical numbers (written by Leslie Bricusse) are excellent. Despite a few deviations from the original, the story is well told once again, and the special effects are an improvement over earlier versions.
March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934, dir. Gus Meins & Charley Rogers)
Originally titled Babes in Toyland but retitled upon rerelease bue to a conflict with a Disney project, this musical comedy is one of the best efforts by Laurel and Hardy and will be enjoyed by the whole family. Though not a full-blown Christmas movie, it has the holiday spirit, with Mother Goose characters coming to life.
Larceny, Inc. (1942, dir. Lloyd Bacon)
A delightful caper flick starring Edward G. Robinson, Broderick Crawford and Jack Carson as crooks who decide to buy a store so they can tunnel into the bank next door, but get sidetracked by their success as merchants! Most of it takes place at Christmas time, and the final scene features EGR in a Santa Claus suit.
Back to Part I
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