#2. Another perennial favourite (from 1946) is It’s a Wonderful Life, in which Clarence finally gets his wings and long-suffering George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) discovers that he is “the richest man in town.” [Trivia fans may know that the fictional town of Bedford Falls may have been based on Seneca Falls in NY State.]
#3. Going My Way is another classic from long ago (1944). Barry Fitzgerald was nominated for best actor and best supporting actor (something never allowed thereafter). He deserved either, but took best supporting actor, while Bing Crosby won the best actor award. If you are not moved by the closing scene in which Barry Fitzgerald sees his mother (from Ireland) for the first time in 45 years, check your pulse.
#4. The song “White Christmas” was introduced in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn, starring Bing and Fred Astaire. Yes, the movie is not politically correct in places, including in the use of blackface paint for one of the numbers – but if you can get past that, there is an interesting story, good singing and dancing, and a most satisfactory ending.
#5. Crosby and Astaire were to be reunited 12 years later in the movie White Christmas, but Astaire was unavailable and his part was taken by Danny Kaye, who provided much of the comedy in the movie. Rosemary Clooney is also prominent and character actor Mary Wickes is very good as usual.
#6 1947 brought us The Bishop’s Wife, a romantic comedy with Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven. [No prize for guessing who played the wife.] Grant wins over the very stern Mrs. Hamilton (played by Gladys Cooper) and leaves Monty Woolley with a wine bottle that constantly refills – now where can I get one of those.
#7 That same year featured Miracle on 34th Street, with Edmund Gwenn playing the man who claimed to be Santa Claus and a very young Natalie Wood. It provides a striking contrast to the very commercial Christmas of the modern era.
#8 1947 also brought a movie that is much less well known – It Happened on Fifth Avenue. Victor Moore (who also appears in a couple of Fred Astaire musicals) plays a hobo who moves into the home of a rich man who has gone south for the winter, and then gradually invites a variety of homeless folks to join him. His guests eventually include the absentee owner (played by Charles Ruggles), who learns a lot about life by observing the behaviour of the squatters.
#9 Christmas in Connecticut appeared in 1945 and stars Dennis Morgan as a returning soldier who wins a visit to the farm of famous cook and columnist Barbara Stanwyck – who can’t cook and has no farm. It also stars bombastic Sidney Greenstreet and S. Z. “Cuddles” Sakall (both of whom also appeared in quite a different classic – Casablanca.)
#10. Our last example, You Can’t Take it with You, is the oldest (from 1937). Jimmy Stewart is from a very wealthy family, headed by the perennially stern Edward Arnold. He is engaged to be married to Jean Arthur, a daughter in a most unconventional family headed by Lionel Barrymore. It is delightful to watch how Arnold gradually thaws and discovers the joy of simple things.
I can’t leave this list without also mentioning Meet Me in St. Louis, which culminates with various adventures on Christmas Eve and In the Good Old Summertime, which also has Christmas as a central theme. Both star Judy Garland (among others) and the latter features “Cuddles” Zakal and also Buster Keaton (whose antics with the prize violin are hilarious)
Whatever you watch, or don’t watch, may we all hope for a healthy new year – even if it takes a while to arrive.