Tis the season to unearth all the much-loved holiday themed movies that are only to be watched during the Christmas holiday. Lines are to be recited, songs hummed along with and tears jerked as each of these movies are once again enjoyed. This list is in order of priority and includes only feature-length movies ( no TV specials ) . ( Side note: Notice all the titles from the 1940s—a particularly potent decade for Christmas movies. )
1. Miracle on 34th Street ( 1947 ) : Classic TV specials aside ( Rudolph, The Grinch and Charlie Brown ) this is the one holiday annual the family never failed to watch on TV. A truly miraculous cast—Maureen O'Hara, the handsome John Payne ( underutilized by Hollywood ) , little Natalie Wood and a bevy of expert supporting performers ( led by the tart-tongued newcomer Thelma Ritter ) —enact a top-notch script that still resonates. The only holiday movie to win an acting Oscar ( Edmund Gwenn's Kris Kringle ) .
2. A Christmas Story ( 1983 ) : Jam packed with scenes and lines as quote-worthy as Young Frankenstein, this ribald comedy is genuinely deserving of its annual 24-hour TBS marathon honor. And who else thinks that Flick, with his tongue frozen to the pole, grew up to be gay?
3. It's A Wonderful Life ( 1946 ) : That last scene still gets me every time—just hand me the Kleenex right now.
4. Meet Me in St. Louis ( 1944 ) : The height of studio artistry—even the shadows thrown by the snowmen are painted on and Garland was never supported better or looked more beautiful. In director Vincente Minnelli's capable hands, the nostalgia is palpable. It's also a great fall movie because of its Halloween sequence.
5. Remember the Night ( 1940 ) : This is a wonderful, warm but little-known Barbara Stanwyck-Fred MacMurray vehicle ( written by Preston Sturges and directed by the expert Mitchell Leisen ) that should be on DVD. Stanwyck is amazing as usual and there's a wonderful, eccentric supporting cast in this heartwarming story of a jewel thief and the DA who falls for her.
6. The Bishop's Wife ( 1947 ) : Cary Grant as an angel sent to earth? Sign me up! Especially love the unintentionally hilarious ice-skating sequence.
7. The Man Who Came to Dinner ( 1942 ) : Bette Davis tones it down while gay actor Monty Woolley hams it up—almost chewing the tinsel off the Christmas tree—in this typical '40s-era comedy based on the hit play. One can almost see the stage manager cuing the actor's entrances and exits just out of camera range—part of the movie's nostalgic charm. And the gay subtext is as thick as a batch of divinity.
8. The Family Stone ( 2005 ) : We're here, we're queer, it's Christmas—get used to it! Here is gay writer-director Thomas Bezucha's instant new holiday classic. Funny, heartwarming, tragic and with Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker AND a multiracial gay couple—what self-respecting gay man can resist this onslaught?
9. Come to the Stable ( 1949 ) : Loretta Young and Celeste Holm are two nuns in Bethlehem, Penn., who are inspired to beat the odds and build a hospital.
10. White Christmas ( 1954 ) : Bing Crosby and Danny Gay, um, Kaye are in drag singing Sisters; there's George Clooney's aunt; Vera Ellen, the world's first cinematic anorexic; all those eye-popping Technicolor musical numbers; and ther are chorus-boy cuties galore. Plus, there's the most bizarre holiday lyric of all time ( from Snow ) : 'I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow…'
11. A Christmas Carol ( 1951 ) : The Chuck Jones 22-minute animated TV version from the early '70s is actually the best I've seen, but this will do in a pinch.
12. The Story Lady ( 1991 ) : Jessica Tandy shines in this little-known TV movie set during the holidays that co-stars Stephanie Zimbalist and Ed Begley, Jr.
13. Christmas Eve ( 1986 ) : Ditto Loretta Young in another TV Christmas weepie in which the dying Young is determined to get her squabbling family back together one more time. The gorgeous Christmas Love Song, played throughout ( and later recorded by Barbra Streisand ) , is a melodic bonus.
14. Edward Scissorhands ( 1990 ) : Tim Burton needs to stop beating around the bush and make a full-on Christmas-themed movie already. This was almost it as the last sequence, aided by Danny Elfman's lush music score, proves.
15. Home for the Holidays ( 1995 ) : Holly Hunter returns home to her dysfunctional family ( which includes gay brother Robert Downey, Jr. ) to celebrate Thanksgiving—a decade before dysfunctional family comedies were all the rage.
16. A Midnight Clear ( 1992 ) : Keith Gordon's elegiac drama set during Christmas between warring American and Nazi divisions during the last winter of WWII features strong performances by its good-looking cast ( Ethan Hawke, etc. ) .
17. Elf ( 2003 ) : 'Who needs a hug?!' It's Will Ferrell's most endearing movie and it's a kid-safe comedy, to boot.
18. Christmas in Connecticut ( 1945 ) : Here's yet another great Barbara Stanwyck holiday-themed vehicle, with dreamy Dennis Morgan and hiccupy Sydney Greenstreet.
19. Mame ( 1974 ) : Lucille Ball sings ( ! ) We Need a Little Christmas while temporarily donning a hideous Santa Claus mask in this bloated camp classic that begs for DVD release. Santa baby, this is the one I've behaved all year to get. Can you imagine the deleted scenes? C'mon Warner Bros.!
20. Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July ( 1979 ) : Rankin-Bass, creators of the Rudolph TV classic, went the feature route with this too-long bizarre stop-motion animation dud that's packed with icky musical numbers and unintentional camp. But who can resist a stop-motion Ethel Merman figure belting it out?
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Local Film Openings of Note: Coffee Date, a comedic gay sex comedy of errors starring the winning Wilson Cruz, plays a one-week run beginning this Friday at Landmark Century Centre Cinemas. Check out my interview with Cruz, one of the first actors to come out in Hollywood, in this week's Windy City Times. See the Web site www.landmarktheatres.com .
Wilderness Survival for Girls is another small indie getting a one-week theatrical run beginning this Friday at Facets Multimedia. It's the story of a trio of teenage girls who head to a remote cabin high amid the Rockies for some game playing, some high-charged sexual titillation, some pot smokin' and more before they head off on their separate ways. But things take a turn with the sudden realization that they are not alone—far from it. The husband and wife duo of Kim Roberts and Eli Despres directed what is described as a film that 'boldly reconfigures the psychological thriller.' See www.facets.org .
Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com .
