OK it’s been quite a year. Thanksgiving is in the review mirror and Christmas is almost here. It’s time to draw near and reflect on things dear. That brings us to the topic of the top ten all-time favorite Christmas movies. Any such undertaking is purely subjective, and demographics are certain to play a major role in the outcome.
If you want to argue about which movies are in and which ones are left out, that’s OK. I will put it in the same category as March Madness that never happened, and we can all be happy with our picks. That said here are my top ten all-time favorite Christmas movies:
1. A Christmas Story (1983) – For those of us who were raising young children in the 80’s in the Midwest, this movie struck such a gut busting chord that it’s hard to describe. You remember the movie about a young boy named Ralphie who wants a Red Rider BB Gun. There are so many lines we still quote to this day such as:
“In the heat of battle my father wove a tapestry of obscenities that, as far as we know, is still hanging
in space over Lake Michigan”
“Deck the harrs with boughs of horry; fa ra ra, fa ra ra, fa ra ra”
“You’ll shoot your eye out kid!
“Fra-GEE-Lay; It Must Be Italian! I think is says Fragile”
“I triple-dog-dare ya!”
“He looks like a deranged Easter bunny. It’s a pink nightmare”
And my all-time favorite while standing in line to see Santa, the kid next to Ralphie turns and says:
“I like Santa, I like the Wizard of Oz, I like the tin man”
2. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) – It’s hard to imagine the impact this movie still has, although it was made 74 years ago. This included the somewhat cathartic performance of Captain James Stewart who flew over 20 bombing raids during WWII. Stewart suffered from PTSD as a result of his experiences in his B24 Liberator.
Jimmy Stewart, actor, American patriot, and B-24 bomber pilot had a wonderful life. We still speak of it each Christmastime.
“Welcome home Mr. Bailey”
“Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings”
“You’ve been given a great gift, George; A chance to see what the world would be like without you”
“To my big brother George, the richest man in town!
3. Home Alone 2 (1992) – Where were you the first time you saw Home Alone 2 Lost in New York? They took all the good slap stick of Home Alone to a new level. I busted a gut laughing so hard. And for those of us very familiar with NYC, can you imagine being a kid alone in New York? Pick your favorite scene.
Mine was Joe Pesci extinguishing his flaming head in the commode full of kerosene.
“Howdy do. This is Peter McCallister, the father.
I’d like a hotel room please, with an extra-large bed, a TV, and one of those little refrigerators you have to open with a key. Credit card, you got it”
“Get down on your knees and tell me you love me…I love you”
“Two turtle doves; you keep one and give the other to someone special”
“Nothing would thrill me more greatly than to shoot you”
“You can mess with a lot of things, but you can’t mess with kids on Christmas”
“I cross my heart and hope to die….Okay, kid. Give it to me!”
4. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) – Many unsuspecting children never realized that it wasn’t until 1947 that we had legal proof, on the basis of competent authority, that Santa Claus was real. Even 8-year-old Natalie Wood (Susan) was convinced Edmund Gwenn (Kris Kringle) was Santa.
He really is.
“What is your name? Kris Kringle. Where do you live? That’s what this hearing will decide”
“Why, we’d love to have Santa Claus come and stay with us”
“You go on back in there and tell them that you rule there is no Santy Claus. Go on. But if you do, remember this: you can count on getting just two votes, your own and that district attorney’s out there”
“Since the United States government declares this man to be Santa Claus, this court will not dispute it. Case dismissed.”
Susan finds the house she dreamed of and looks to see if there is a swing set out back and says, “There is one, there is one!”
5. Christmas Vacation (1989) – If Clark Griswold’s childhood home featured in those old movies looks familiar, that’s because it’s the same house featured in Bewitched. That was the house of Darren and Samantha Stevens. And the sounds of those childhood memories that all of us have of Christmas at ‘that’ house will stay with us for a lifetime. Please somebody knock over the Christmas tree so I can feel normal.
“SQUIRREL!”
“You couldn’t hear a truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant”
“In seven years, he couldn’t find a job? “He’s been holding out for a management position.”
“Where do you think you’re going? Nobody’s leaving. Nobody’s walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We’re all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency.
6. A Christmas Carol (1951) – Many consider this to be the definitive version of the Dicken’s classic. Others may disagree, but this version has longevity and gets on most mandatory viewing lists each Christmas. IMHO Alastair Sim as Scrooge makes the film go.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Scrooge! Bah Humbug”
“Bob, I haven’t taken leave of my senses. I’ve come to them.”
“I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present,and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me”
7. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) – For anybody who has seen a Charlie Brown Christmas or more importantly listened to it, the music of the Vince Guaraldi Trio is timeless. Countless kids, (of all ages), have gotten their holiday groove on listening to Linus And Lucy and more.
Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental)
8. A Christmas Carol (1984) – This George C. Scott version was directed by Clive Donner, who had been an editor of the 1951 film Scrooge. It was filmed in the historic medieval county town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire England. It has a particularly good and creepy ghost of Jacob Marley.
I wear the chains I forged in life. I made it link by link and yard by yard. Is its pattern strange to you or would you know the length of the strong coils you bear yourself? It was as full, as heavy, as long as this one seven Christmas Eves ago, you have labored on it since, it is a ponderous chain”
“See that Goose in the window? Go get it and deliver to Bob Cratchit’s house”
9. Home Alone (1990) – Again like A Christmas Story, those of us who lived in the Wisconsin / Illinois area of the Midwest thought this movie was talking directly to us. While Kevin’s family leaves for their Paris Christmas vacation, they leave him behind by accident. We had no idea the slapstick could be even better two years later.
The neighbor saves him from the bad guys and he encourages the neighbor to reconnect with his son. And his brother says, “Kevin, what did you do to my room?
10. White Christmas (1954) – I don’t think it would be Christmas without seeing ‘The Crooner’ sing White Christmas. Even though the storyline of ex-WWII GI’s making nice for their former boss may seem dated, the movie stands the test of time.
“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas”
Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night.
Here is to a fabulous holiday season and new year in 2021…!
