Christmas movies have perhaps never been in greater supply, with Netflix and its streaming competitors now in the habit of releasing a glut of brand new festive films every single year.
But while there have been some great new additions to the canon in recent times – none more so than Alexander Payne’s terrific Oscar-nominated The Holdovers – you have to go back decades to find some of the best ever examples of the genre.
Of course, It’s A Wonderful Life tends to be the most cited vintage classic, and with good reason, but there are plenty of other options from yesteryear if you’re looking for something traditional as we count down the days to 25th December.
To help you out, we’ve put together a list of 11 great Christmas movies released between 1934 and 1960, including everything from a Laurel and Hardy favourite to a revered adaptation of A Christmas Carol and a couple of delightful movie musicals.
Read on to see our list – and details on how you can watch them.
1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
This masterpiece from Frank Capra is a film with much more to it than festive feel-good sentimentality and still has a lot to say about community spirit. As the suicidal man who is shown the value of his life by his guardian angel, central character George Bailey is Mr Deeds, John Doe and Mr Smith rolled into one, and only James Stewart could have so successfully lent him the self-doubt that gnaws away at his essential decency.
As with all good morality tales, the villain has to be exceptional, too, and Lionel Barrymore is at the peak of his powers as the evil Potter. The term Capra-esque is too often misapplied: forget the imitations and revel in the genuine article. – David Parkinson
Where to watch: ITVX, Prime Video and NOW
2. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
This wonderful romantic comedy drama, about pen pals who fall in love without realising they work together, contains delightful performances by Margaret Sullavan (full of grace and warmth) and the young James Stewart (a portrait of perfection).
The plot is paper-thin, but under the deft direction of the great Ernst Lubitsch the film (based on Nikolaus Laszlo’s play Parfumerie) has charm in abundance. It was remade in 1998 as You’ve Got Mail, with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. – Tony Sloman
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video, Google Play and YouTube from £3.49.
3. White Christmas (1954)
This partial remake of the 1942 film Holiday Inn – the Bing Crosby movie that gave the world the Irving Berlin song White Christmas – provided Paramount with an opportunity to introduce its new screen process Vistavision. Crosby’s Holiday Inn partner Fred Astaire wasn’t available, and Donald O’Connor pulled out, so Danny Kaye reluctantly agreed to second billing to co-star with Crosby, in what proved to be a fortuitous move.
The story, as if you need reminding, is about a song-and-dance team who travel up to Vermont to help their former army commander save his inn from foreclosure. Kaye is superb, especially in his knockout dance routine with Vera-Ellen, and the direction from veteran Michael Curtiz rightly embraces the sentiment rather than keeping it at bay. – Tony Sloman
Where to watch: NOW
4. Babes in Toyland (1934)
Fairy-tale whimsy with Laurel and Hardy! What could be better for children of all ages? Victor Herbert’s light operetta is adapted to the extent there’s nothing left of the original, with Stan and Ollie as incompetent assistants to Santa Claus.
They make 100 six-foot wooden soldiers instead of 600 foot-tall ones, but the outsize toys come in handy when miser Silas Barnaby parts Tom-Tom from his beloved Bo-Peep and tries to take over Mother Goose’s nurseryland. Simple-minded joy. – Tom Hutchinson
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video, Google Play and YouTube from £3.49.
5. Remember the Night (1940)
Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, both at the top of their form and perfect foils for one another, co-star in this romantic comedy, written by Preston Sturges and directed by Mitchell Leisen. The action concerns a shoplifter (Stanwyck) whose trial is delayed by the Christmas holiday, leaving her somewhat adrift. Sympathetic, assistant district attorney MacMurray takes pity on her and brings her home to his family’s snowbound country home for Christmas.
An absolute delight, combining warmth and charm with a little sentimentality and humour, woven together with stylish ease by all concerned. – Robyn Karney
Where to watch: Not currently streaming, but available to buy on Blu-ray
6. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
This isn’t the benign remake with Richard Attenborough, but the marvellous original first shown in the UK as The Big Heart. Natalie Wood plays a jaded youngster who knows there’s no such thing as Father Christmas because her mother, Maureen O’Hara, organises a New York department store’s yearly parade, and Wood has always seen Santa played by drunken old men. Then along comes Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) to work some Christmas magic.
The great plot was rightly awarded Oscars for best screenplay and original story, while Gwenn also won as best supporting actor. Indeed, Gwenn became so identified with this role that every holiday he found himself hired to hand out presents at the houses of such Hollywood notables as Louis B Mayer. Children may prefer the newer, more obvious version, but parents will warm to this utterly beguiling original. – Tony Sloman
Where to watch: Disney+
7. Scrooge (1951)
Released in the US under Dickens’s original title, A Christmas Carol, this is easily the best screen version of the much-loved yuletide tale. The ever-versatile Alastair Sim is impeccable as the miser who comes to see the error of his ways through the promptings of the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
Michael Hordern makes a splendid Jacob Marley and Mervyn Johns a humble Bob Cratchit, while George Cole does well as the younger, carefree Scrooge. Beautifully designed by Ralph Brinton and directed with unexpected finesse by Brian Desmond Hurst, this is not to be missed. – David Parkinson
Where to watch: Tubi
8. Meet Me in St Louis (1944)
This portrayal of a perfect American family – including Mary Astor as the mom and Judy Garland as one of four daughters – was too sugary for some critical tastes at the time, but it can be viewed today as a vintage MGM musical. Whatever the film’s minor flaws, they are more than made up for by some dazzling musical numbers – including Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, The Trolley Song and Skip to My Lou – enhanced by the masterly direction of Vincente Minnelli at the top of his game.
Providing a romanticised but still uplifting depiction of life in St Louis at the beginning of the 20th century, this may be a tale that only works against the backdrop of a more innocent age, but it’s delightful, and too good to miss. – Peter Freedman
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video, Google Play and YouTube from £3.49
9. Holiday Affair (1949)
In this absolutely charming yet little-known RKO Christmas movie, Janet Leigh plays a widowed single mother torn between Robert Mitchum and Wendell Corey (that’s a contest?) and, not surprisingly, drawn to the one her son prefers. There’s a sweet opening sequence and a nice sense of New York at Christmas time that’s a touch reminiscent of Miracle on 34th Street.
Mitchum reveals what a subtle actor he could be and Leigh proves yet again that she was one of the most delectable of cinematic charmers. Cynics should steer well clear, but if you’re in the right mood this is delightful seasonal entertainment. – Tony Sloman
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer
10. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
A corny little piece, and the hokum is hopelessly dated now, but it is still enjoyable, nevertheless. Barbara Stanwyck almost convinces as the oh-so-chic journalist whose column extols the virtues of home cooking and country living, who, as a promotional stunt, is forced to look after a navy hero (Dennis Morgan) for Christmas except, of course, she lives in the city, can’t cook and has to rent a cottage in Connecticut.
The idea is sound enough, but it becomes awfully sentimental under Peter Godfrey’s uninspired direction. Still, Sydney Greenstreet is splendid as Stanwyck’s boss, and, although lacking in true wit (one wonders what Billy Wilder or Preston Sturges would have made of it), it’s a good deal better than the 1992 TV remake, directed by no less than Arnold Schwarzenegger, with Dyan Cannon in the Stanwyck role.– Tony Sloman
Where to watch: Rent or buy on Prime Video, Google Play and YouTube from £3.49.
11. The Apartment (1960)
This classic from Billy Wilder sees Jack Lemmon’s put-upon, snuffling insurance clerk CC Baxter basically offer his apartment to his superiors so that they can indulge in extramarital trysts. That he does it in return for promotions that never come makes Buddy Boy Baxter a sad case indeed. But Wilder cleverly veils the plot’s darker side and operates the movie as a light romantic comedy.
He is helped immensely by Lemmon’s skilled performance, which instantly earns our sympathy, and his character’s redemption comes when Shirley MacLaine’s elevator girl – mistress of unscrupulous boss Fred MacMurray – gets in a fix and he comes to her aid. From such potentially edgy material Wilder and co-writer IAL Diamond sculpt an unforgettable romance that won five Oscars, including best picture, direction and screenplay. – Andrew Collins
Where to watch: ITVX
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Source link
-
-
-
-
-
