Christmas is in the air
It happened again yesterday. I watched another Christmas movie.
I got up to warm my dinner in the kitchen and when I walked back to
the living room, my parents had put the television on the Hallmark
channel. I don’t even know what this Christmas movie was called,
but it starred Peter Falk who seems to have made a second career
for himself playing angels or Santa in December films. The story is
always the same. Someone is bitter about life and angels/Santa come
to help them see the joy in life.
Christmas is in the air
It happened again yesterday. I watched another Christmas movie. I got up to warm my dinner in the kitchen and when I walked back to the living room, my parents had put the television on the Hallmark channel. I don’t even know what this Christmas movie was called, but it starred Peter Falk who seems to have made a second career for himself playing angels or Santa in December films. The story is always the same. Someone is bitter about life and angels/Santa come to help them see the joy in life.
The theme probably started back in the 1940s with the Christmas classics “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street.” Still there are now many more Christmas movies to choose from these days. They are a Hollywood staple and filler for television stations each year. I should know. My mom loves Christmas movies. I think between Hallmark, the Lifetime Movie Network and ABC Family channel we will be watching a holiday movie each night. Of the ones I’ve already watched, two of them revolved around journalists – apparently we are humbug types who hate the holidays – and they ended with people reuniting with family and falling in love.
So maybe these made-for-TV Christmas movies aren’t the greatest, but there are some great ones out there. I asked coworkers and family members for their top picks and was surprised at the variety they came up with. Some go for the old classics, some for the cartoons and others for the latest holiday comedy. Here is a roundup of some of the favorite Christmas movies that make our lists each year.
It’s a Wonderful Life
George Bailey (James Stewart) gets a chance to see what life would have been like without him in Frank Capra’s classic 1946 film. The movie has been a hit for more than 60 years. In the movie, Bailey feels as though he has failed when his savings and loan company is on the brink of collapse. He hates to think of the shame that will be brought on his wife and children. On Christmas Eve, he contemplates doing himself in when an angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) comes to tell him how awful life would have been for his loved ones without him. The movie may sound cloying, but Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore, some of the lead actors, have made it last through the years.
Miracle on 34th Street
The original 1947 version of this movie topped the list for a few people we know. The iconic scene where mailmen carrying in bags of mail for Santa Claus is enough to make anyone believe. Doris Walker, an employee of Macy’s, is cynical about the holidays and has told her daughter Susan that Santa Claus isn’t real. All that changes when she recruits a jolly old man to play the department store Santa for the season. The man goes by Kris Kringle and little Susan seems to know there is something special about this man. When he insists he is the real Santa, Doris has him committed to a psychiatric hospital. In the end, of course, Doris finds herself a believer and all is well.
A Christmas Carol
Take your pick with this one. There are dozens of remakes of Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas tale about Ebenezer Scrooge. But the one that made the list in our office is the 1938 version directed by Edwin L. Marin. The film stars Reginald Owen as Ebenezer Scrooge, Gene Lockhart as Bob Cratchit and Kathleen Lockhart as Mrs. Cratchit. The other telling that got a mention was “Scrooged,” the 1988 film, in which Bill Murray plays miserly television producer Frank Cross. While some versions are serious, this one is laugh-out loud funny.
A Christmas Story
I hate this movie, but it got enough mentions that I can’t leave it out. Some people watch it every year – and there are plenty of opportunities to see it what with the 24-hour marathon on TBS. Little Ralphie Parker wants just one thing for Christmas – a Red Ryder bb gun. Ralphie tries to behave himself while taking care of his younger brother Randy (Ian Petrella) and dealing with a school bully. His father is obsessed with a hideous lamp – a replica of the lamp is for sale this year at Rite-Aid – and his mother worries that he will shoot his eye out with the gun if he gets it.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
This isn’t really a movie, but still is a favorite with us. Charlie Brown is overwhelmed by how material Christmas has become – and this cartoon was made in 1965 – so he decides to direct a Christmas pageant about the real meaning of the season. Everyone teases him when he picks out a forlorn little Christmas tree, but Linus helps him teach everyone about the true meaning of Christmas. The tree has become an icon, and every time someone has a scrawny tree, they refer to it as a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
Love Actually
I’ve already written about “Love Actually,” but it deserves a mention on the best Christmas movie list. The soundtrack is great for the holidays, with “All I want for Christmas” topping our list of favorite songs this year. The movie weaves several tales of love and heartache during the days leading up to Christmas. It has an all-star cast of actors including Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and Keira Knightly. It’s just one of those movies that can be watched over and over, and it makes us laugh and cry every time.
There are plenty of other Christmas movies that made the list; “Santa Claus the movie,” “Polar Express,” “The Santa Clause,” “Bad Santa,” and even one vote for “Die Hard.” If your movie didn’t make our list, check out Moviefone.com, a movie Web site that is a great go-to place for movie times. While some people might use an Advent calendar to countdown the days to Christmas, Moviefone is revealing one new movie a day on their top 25 Christmas movies list. There are still plenty of days left to watch some holiday hits.
