THE UPLIFTING TITLES
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) VHS, DVD
Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Thomas Mitchell, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers
Directed by Frank Capra
Frank Capra’s beloved Christmas classic about a despairing man who attempts to commit suicide on Christmas Eve, only to have an angel (second class) show him what the world would have been like had he never been born. He soon sees how much impact his life has had upon others, and how “no man is a failure if he has friends.”
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
(many versions; Patrick Stewart (1999); George C. Scott (1984); Reginald Owen (1938)
Best Version: aka Scrooge (1951) starring Alastair Sim, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst
WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954) VHS, DVD
Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Lee, Dean Jagger
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Two Army buddies, now professional entertainers, stage an extravagant show in Vermont to help keep their former commanding officer’s inn from going out of business.
GOING MY WAY (1944) VHS, DVD
Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald
Directed by Leo McCarey
A worldly young priest is sent to revitalize the failing parish of an elderly, old-fashioned priest. Somewhat slow, but has a great emotional ending
Won 7 Oscars, including Best Actor & Supporting Actor, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Song
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947) VHS, DVD
Maureen O’Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood
Directed by George Seaton
Macy’s hires a department store Santa who claims to be the real thing, and he helps a young girl and her disillusioned mother to regain their faith in life.
(1994 version has Dylan McDermott, Elizabeth Perkins and Richard Attenborough)
MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (1994) VHS
Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien, Lucille Bremer, Mary Astor
Directed by Vincent Minnelli
This is a lovely tale of the trials and tribulations of a close-knit family trying to adjust to changes in their lives in 1903 St Louis. Judy’s rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a wonderful performance and a key dramatic moment in the film, and child actress Margaret O’Brien is a delight.
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945) VHS
Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet, S.Z. Sakall
Directed by Peter Godfrey
A single woman pretending to be a married housewife and mother writes a successful homemaking column for a prestigious magazine. Her carefully constructed fictional life comes crashing down when her publisher insists that she invite a heroic sailor to spend Christmas with her family. Great fun.
POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (1960) VHS, DVD
Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, Hope Lange, Ann-Margaret, Thomas Mitchell, Peter Falk
Directed by Frank Capra
In this Damon Runyon tale, a superstitious bootlegger and his former girlfriend join forces to transform Apple Annie, the sharp-tongued leader of the beggars, into a respectable society widow so she is fit to meet her European convent-raised illegitimate daughter and fianc.
THE BISHOP’S WIFE (1947) VHS, DVD
Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven
Directed by Henry Koster
An angel comes to Earth at Christmas to help an Episcopalian bishop regain his purpose in life.
THE LEMON DROP KID (1951) vhs, dvd
Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell
Directed by Sidney Lanfield (Frank Tashlin uncredited)
Colorful Damon Runyon story about a race track tout who winds up owing a fortune to a gangster at Christmas. Introduced the classic song “Silver Bells.”
REMEMBER THE NIGHT (1940) VHS
Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Beulah Bondi
Written by Preston Sturges; Directed by Mitchell Leisen
A shoplifter out on bail spends Christmas in the custody of her prosecuting attorney at his mother’s farm, and falls in love with both him and his family. Another wonderful Stanwyck film.
LITTLE WOMEN (1933, 1994) DVD, VHS
Katherine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Frances Dee (1933) (Directed by George Cukor)
Winona Ryder, Samantha Mathis, Kirsten Dunst, Clare Danes (1994)/Director:Gillian Armstrong
Louisa May Alcott’s story of a poor but loving family of girls awaiting their father’s return from the Civil War. Has a wonderful scene of the girls packing up their own Christmas breakfast to take over to an unfortunate family with greater needs than their own.
2 UPLIFTING TITLES TO WATCH FOR ON CABLE OR LOCAL STATIONS
(Not on tape or dvd):
KATHY O’ (1958)
Dan Duryea, Jan Sterling, Patty MacCormack
A publicity agent tries to keep a bratty child star from revealing her true personality to a magazine writer doing a profile of the girl. But as they spend time together, the two adults realize the child star is just an unhappy kid who is having trouble adjusting to the rigorous demands of stardom.
ALL MINE TO GIVE (1957)
Glynnis Johns, Cameron Mitchell, Rex Thompson
Based on a true story. A loving Scottish family in Canada faces tragedy when both parents die unexpectedly, and the eldest son, 12 years old, must find new homes for his brothers and sisters at Christmas.
JUST FOR FUN:
A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983) VHS, DVD – Ranked most popular Christmas movie (2007)
Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon, Peter Billingsley
This reminiscence of holidays during the 1940’s tells the story of Raphie, a young boy who is obsessed with getting a BB gun for Christmas.
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1942) VHS
Bette Davis, Monte Wooley, Jimmy Durante
A spoiled, acid-tongued celebrity turns an Ohio household topsy turvy when he breaks his leg during a lecture tour and is forced to stay in their home for an extended period at Christmas. Jimmy Durante sings “Did you ever have the feeling that you wanted to go, but still had the feeling that you wanted to stay.”
HOME ALONE (1990) VHS, DVD
Macauley Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara
An 8-year-old accidentally gets left at home when his family flies to France for the holidays, and he must defend his home against 2 bumbling burglars.
THE SANTA CLAUSE (1994) VHS, DVD
Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewso, Eric Lloyd
A divorced father is responsible for the death of Santa, and is forced to become the new Santa.
GREMLINS (1984) VHS/DVD
Zack Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Harry Carey Jr., Corey Feldman, Dick Miller, Judge Reinhold, Glynn Turman
Directed by Joe Dante
A small-town teenager gets an exotic pet as a gift from his traveling salesman dad, along with a set of rules for little Gizmo’s care. Gizmo is sweet and adorable, but when the rules for his care are broken, he reproduces and his offspring are nasty, malevolent creatures that wreak havoc throughout the town during Christmas. Bizarre fun.
SCROOGED (1988) VHS, DVD
Bill Murray, Alfre Woodard, Karen Allen, Carol Kane
A nasty TV executive is jolted by his encounter with the 3 Christmas spirits in this broadly comic version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) vhs, dvd
Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Randy Quaid
A Christmas from hell with the super-dysfunctional Griswold family.
Often funny, but crude.
DIE HARD (1988) vhs, dvd (Rated R)
Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson
A humdinger of an action picture for adults, as a gang of European terrorists take over a Century City office building during the company Christmas party, and a lone NY cop tries to foil their dastardly plan.
ELF (2003) VHS< DVD
Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Asner
A human baby is inadvertently transported from a New York orphanage to the North Pole in Santa’s bag; he is raised as an elf, but when he, Buddy, reaches adulthood and his size becomes a problem in the elf community, he heads to the Big Apple to find his birth father – a workaholic (James Caan) who perpetually makes Santa’s “naughty” list. Is the city ready for Buddy’s perspective on life? Sweet, silly, and funny.
LOVE ACTUALLY (2003) vhs, dvd (Rated R)
Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightly, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Laura Linney, Alan Rickman, Thomas Sangster, Martin Freeman
Directed
This charming anthology of interwoven romantic tales (not all successful) explores the many different kinds of love. Among the stories: a foul-mouthed has-been pop star (Bill Nighy) and his manager make a desperate attempt at a musical comeback with a cheesy Christmas song; the new British Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) is attracted to his young catering manager; a widower (Liam Neeson) tries to help his pre-teen stepson in a romantic endeavor; a melancholy novelist (Colin Firth) and his Portuguese housekeeper make sparks together despite a language barrier; a businessman (Alan Rickman) flirts with an office affair to the dismay of his loyal wife (Emma Thompson). Bill Nighy’s turn as a reprobate pop star is truly memorable (but quite profane), and surprisingly touching; young Thomas Sangster is absolutely endearing as the “tweener” pining for the popular girl at school; and Colin Firth’s segment has the big romantic moment we’d all love to have. The music is wonderful, the film is great fun. However, there is also nudity and profanity, and not all the stories work well. But the bits that work are unforgettable.
THE HOLIDAY (2006) VHS, DVD
Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Rufus Sewell
Directed by Nancy Meyers
A successful Los Angeles movie trailer producer (Cameron Diaz) who can’t sustain a romance swaps houses for two weeks at Christmas with a heartbroken British writer (Kate Winslet) mired in an unrequited love affair with a callous cad. Each woman finds unexpected romance. Enjoyable fluff. This is definitely a “chick flick” but Winslet is quite transcendent as she blossoms in her new life, Jack Black is lots of fun, and Eli Wallach is a charmer as an aged screenwriter who is Winslet’s L.A. neighbor.
LAST HOLIDAY (2006) VHS, DVD
Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, Alicia Witt, Giancarlo Esposito, Grard Depardieu
Directed by Wayne Wang
OK, this movie isn’t about Christmas, but it is set during the holidays and has a lovely uplifting spirit to it. Georgia (Queen Latifah) lives a cautious life in New Orleans, having lots of dreams she never pursues. When she is diagnosed with a fatal disease and given 3 weeks to live, she quits her boring retail job, cashes out her life savings and heads to a posh resort in Switzerland, known for its fine cuisine and excellent service. Once there, she begins to live life fearlessly, embracing every possible new experience. It’s a sunny, funny and heartwarming movie, suitable for all ages.