Every year, around the holidays, an influx of new movies arrives in theaters. In 2022, that might be reiterations like Will Ferrell’s Spirited, based on the classic Christmas story by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, or movies like Violent Night that garner quite a few laughs by its end. Regardless, certain movies around the holiday season have managed to make it into popular culture. Whether every child in a traditional Western household grew up watching The Grinch or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, these movies have continued to permeate back into the mainstream again as soon as November hits.
Of course, some movies have stood the test of time and constitute themselves classics, even if they are from an era that now seems distant: the age of old Hollywood. From Miracle on 34th Street to It’s a Wonderful Life, these are the best holiday movies that come from this period.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 The Holly and the Ivy
London Film Productions
1952’s The Holly and the Ivy was originally a successful West End stage play that was then adapted for film. Starring Ralph Richardson, Celia Johnson, and Magaret Leighton, this British drama establishes that it is one family’s Christmas tradition to come back to their home village each year. As each member of the family is introduced, it quickly becomes obvious that this year’s festivities will be brimming with unresolved conflicts and simmering family issues, making the tensions higher than normal. Each family member comes in with their problems and grudges, making this Christmas a task at untangling all of them.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
5 Miracle on 34th Street
20th Century Studios
Miracle on 34th Street is a Christmas classic in the United States, a beloved film ever since its original release back in 1947. It opens on Thanksgiving Day in New York City, where the man hired to play Santa Claus in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has shown up drunk. Kris Kringle is hired to replace him at the 34th Street location of Macy’s, where he ends up winning a lot of customer loyalty with his good manners and demeanor. He claims to be the real Santa Claus and ends up on the chopping block after the woman who hires him decides he is becoming a problem for the company.
4 Bundle of Joy
Edmund Grainger Productions
It would not be Christmas without some kind of music to add to the backdrop, which is precisely what Bundle of Joy does. The musical is a remake of the 1939 movie Bachelor Mother and starred the real-life couple Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds alongside Adolphe Menjou. Reynolds portrays a salesgirl working at a department store in New York City. After being fired from work one day, she discovers an abandoned baby and, in a weird twist of events, ends up being rehired and keeps the baby. Chaos then ensues when the baby is mistaken for the store’s owner’s son (Fisher).
3 A Dream for Christmas
Lorimar Productions
1973’s A Dream for Christmas might have just been a television movie, but it is a significant one that deserves attention. It features an all-Black cast in a setting that proves to be quite universal, showing the struggles of what it means to be human. A Black minister moves his family from Arkansas to Los Angeles during the 1950s; he has been hired to lead the congregation of a church in their new neighborhood. However, upon arriving at their new home and workplace, they discover the church is in a state of disarray. It needs many repairs and actually might be destroyed soon, as it is scheduled for demolition. It is up to them to save the community’s church before it is too late.
2 White Christmas
Paramount Pictures
Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye star in White Christmas, a classic movie from 1954. Set in Europe in the middle of World War II, Crosby is Captain Bob Wallace, a former star on Broadway. Along with a Private named Phil Davis (Kaye), they are assigned to put on a soldier’s show for their comrades. This is the first of their collaborations, and once the war has ended, they become a duo that ends up producing their musicals and shows. But this year, as Christmas approaches, the two find themselves in hot water and discover old friends are in tight situations.
1 It’s a Wonderful Life
RKO Radio Pictures
It’s a Wonderful Life found many reiterations in the past before becoming a movie: a self-published book and Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol. The movie was a flop when it first came out in theaters, failing to make enough money to meet its budget, but became a classic after it entered the public domain (via Screen Rant). James Stewart stars in the leading role of George, who is ready to end his life. However, a guardian angel (Henry Travers) has been assigned to him in Heaven to earn his wings. The movie follows the progression of George realizing that life is wonderful and worth living for, making quite a resonating message for audiences across decades.
