My Annual Tradition - A Merry Christmas List

I just watched a new Christmas film that will join the ever-increasing list of movies to enjoy each year. ‘Red One’, on Amazon Prime, is a fun-filled romp with Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans teaming to save Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) from an evil witch. If you have Prime give it a viewing. But onto some older classics of Christmas cinema!

Christmas movies are a genre unto themselves. Love ‘em or hate ‘em there is no escaping Christmas films this time of year. Most of us have seen the classics like ‘A Christmas Carol’, ‘Miracle on 34th St’ and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. Here is a list of 10 non-traditional or underseen films to make your holiday season bright. Enjoy these yuletide movies that you might have missed!

The guidelines for this holiday spectacular list are simple. Films that feature Christmas as an important part of the plot. And the movies listed are not all traditional Christmas films. I have left ‘Die Hard’, a great holiday classic, off this list because it is so heavily watched to this day. All the films in today’s newsletter are movies that should be seen by more!

Christmas at Pee-Wee’s Playhouse

How can you miss a holiday movie that features Pee-Wee Herman, Little Richard, Dinah Shore, Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Magic Johnson and Santa himself! Plus a gift list that is over a mile long!

The Thin Man

Fabulous detective comedy set around Christmas. William Powell and Myrna Loy make the perfect couple for the holidays. Plus, ‘The Thin Man’ is the greatest ode to drinking ever filmed. Fun for everyone.

Trading Places

John Landis directs Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd and Jamie Lee Curtis to the heights of their craft. Dan Aykroyd’s Santa is a sight to behold. Both fun and poignant, no holiday is complete without a visit from Billy Ray Valentine!

Bachelor Mother

Ginger Rodgers is best remembered for her fantastic dancing. She deserves more credit for her warmth and comic timing. ‘Bachelor Mother’ showcases Rodgers as a complete actress. Co-stars David Niven and Charles Coburn just add to the antics! Funny and touching, this 1939 classic is a delight.

Batman Returns

Michael Keaton as Batman, Danny DeVito as The Penguin, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Christopher Walken as Max Schrek. All set around Christmas. What more could anyone want? Director Tim Burton returns to direct a terrific sequel!

Black Christmas

Director Bob Clark made this holiday thriller a decade before helming the holiday masterpiece ‘A Christmas Story’. Set over Christmas break, Margot Kidder, Andrea Martin, John Saxon and Kier Dullea (of 2001: A Space Odyssey fame) star in this college girls menaced by a stalker feature. Not gorey, but definitely unique!

The Lion in Winter

Henry II, played by Peter O’Toole invites Eleanor of Aquitane, portrayed by Katherine Hepburn, for a Christmas visit. During this visit each of his three sons maneuvers to obtain the crown. A very young Anthony Hopkins, Nigel Terry and John Castle play the prospective heirs while Timothy Dalton plays Phillip II of France. British royalty played by acting royalty!

The Apartment

As I wrote in an earlier newsletter, Billy Wilder’s ‘The Apartment’ is a magnificent movie. Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray star in this almost perfect film. Deserving winner of 5 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Lemmon, MacLaine and Jack Kruschen all received acting nominations as well. Enjoy this silver screen success. For the first time or again!

Remember the Night

5 years before they teamed up for ‘Double Indemnity’, Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray co-starred in a terrific Christmas Rom-Com. From a script by Preston Sturges, ‘Remember the Night’ tells the tale of a New York D.A. (MacMurray) who bails out a thief (Stanwyck) for the Christmas holiday. With nowhere to go, he takes her home for the holidays. This 1940 film is finally getting its due as a holiday classic to be seen every year. As always, Stanwyck is magnificent!

Krampus

This movie is my inspiration for this list. Wonderfully dark, ‘Krampus’ brings to life the Eastern European mythological character who terrorizes at Christmas. In the U.S. misbehaving children receive lumps of coal from Santa. In parts of Europe those children get a visit from a birch-rod wielding, horned demon named Krampus. Toni Collette and Adam Scott lead a deep cast in this hidden holiday horror fest!

I enjoyed each of these non-traditional Christmas films. I hope you do as well!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!