A Festive Showcase: Exploring Overlooked Christmas Movies
Something that annoys me about numerous present-day Christmas features is their overly self-awareness – the ostentatious ornaments, the predictable soundtrack selections, and the clichéd speeches about the true meaning of the season. It could be because the style was not yet hardened into formula, films from the 1940s often approach Christmas from far more creative and not as obsessive perspectives.
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
A delightful gem from exploring 1940s seasonal fare is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 semi-romantic farce with a great concept: a jovial vagrant takes up residence in a empty posh mansion each year. That season, he brings in fellow down-on-their-luck individuals to reside with him, including a ex-soldier and a young woman who is secretly the daughter of the home's affluent proprietor. Helmer Roy Del Ruth imbues the film with a makeshift family coziness that many contemporary seasonal movies strive to earn. It beautifully balances a thoughtful story on affordable living and a whimsical metropolitan fairytale.
Tokyo Godfathers
Satoshi Kon's 2003 tragicomedy Tokyo Godfathers is a engaging, poignant, and profound take on the holiday narrative. Loosely based on a classic Hollywood picture, it centers on a trio of homeless people – an drinker, a trans woman, and a adolescent runaway – who come across an abandoned newborn on Christmas Eve. Their journey to reunite the infant's family sets off a sequence of hijinks involving yakuza, immigrants, and ostensibly serendipitous coincidences. The movie celebrates the enchantment of fate frequently found in Christmas tales, delivering it with a cinematic aesthetic that avoids cloying emotion.
Meet John Doe
While Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life deservedly receives plenty of attention, his earlier picture Meet John Doe is a compelling seasonal story in its own right. Starring Gary Cooper as a charismatic "forgotten man" and Barbara Stanwyck as a clever reporter, the film starts with a fabricated missive from a man vowing to fall from a building on Christmas Eve in frustration. The nation's reaction compels the reporter to hire a man to impersonate the mythical "John Doe," who then becomes a popular figure for kindness. The movie serves as both an uplifting fable and a pointed critique of powerful media magnates trying to exploit grassroots sentiment for their own ambitions.
A Silent Partner
While holiday horror films are now plentiful, the festive suspense film remains a somewhat rare subgenre. This makes the 1978 film The Silent Partner a novel delight. Starring a delightfully menacing Christopher Plummer as a criminal Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a clever bank employee, the film sets two varieties of opportunistic characters against each other in a stylish and unpredictable narrative. Mainly ignored upon its initial release, it is worthy of a fresh look for those who like their holiday entertainment with a chilling edge.
Christmas Almost
For those who like their family reunions messy, Almost Christmas is a blast. Featuring a impressive group that features Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the movie delves into the dynamics of a family compelled to share five days under one house during the holidays. Hidden issues come to the forefront, resulting in situations of extreme humor, such as a showdown where a weapon is brandished. Ultimately, the story reaches a heartwarming resolution, providing all the enjoyment of a family catastrophe without any of the real-life cleanup.
Go
Doug Liman's 1999 film Go is a Christmas-themed tale that is a young-adult riff on woven stories. While some of its edginess may feel product of the 90s upon rewatch, the picture nonetheless contains plenty elements to savor. These include a engaging role from Sarah Polley to a captivating scene by Timothy Olyphant as a dangerous supplier who fittingly dons a Santa hat. It represents a particular brand of 1990s film vibe set against a holiday scene.
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The satirist's 1940s farce The Miracle of Morgan's Creek rejects typical holiday cheer in return for irreverent humor. The movie centers on Betty Hutton's Trudy Kockenlocker, who ends up pregnant after a wild night but cannot identify the man responsible. Much of the humor arises from her situation and the attempts of Eddie Bracken's lovestruck Norval Jones to marry her. Although not explicitly a holiday movie at the beginning, the narrative climaxes on the festive day, making clear that Sturges has refashioned a satirical take of the birth narrative, packed with his characteristic satirical humor.
Better Off Dead Movie
This 1985 adolescent film with John Cusack, Better Off Dead, is a quintessential specimen of its time. Cusack's
