A Holiday Tour de Force: Exploring Overlooked Yuletide Movies

A factor that annoys me about numerous modern seasonal features is their insistent self-consciousness – the gaudy decor, the predictable score tunes, and the canned speeches about the true meaning of the season. It could be because the genre was not yet solidified into tradition, movies from the 1940s often tackle Christmas from increasingly creative and far less obsessive angles.

It Happened on Fifth Avenue

One favorite gem from sifting through 1940s seasonal comedies is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 romantic farce with a clever concept: a jovial vagrant takes up residence in a unoccupied Fifth Avenue mansion each year. One winter, he welcomes new acquaintances to live with him, including a ex-soldier and a teenager who happens to be the heiress of the home's wealthy landlord. Helmer Roy Del Ruth gives the film with a surrogate family coziness that numerous contemporary holiday movies strive to earn. It expertly balances a class-conscious narrative on affordable living and a whimsical city fairytale.

The Tokyo Godfathers

Satoshi Kon's 2003 animated film Tokyo Godfathers is a fun, sad, and thoughtful take on the holiday tale. Loosely based on a classic Hollywood film, it tells the story of a group of displaced souls – an drinker, a trans character, and a adolescent throwaway – who discover an left-behind newborn on Christmas Eve. Their journey to find the baby's parents unleashes a sequence of hijinks involving crime lords, foreigners, and apparently magical coincidences. The film doubles down on the enchantment of chance frequently found in Christmas flicks, presenting it with a cool-toned animation that avoids cloying sentiment.

Introducing John Doe

Although Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life justifiably earns much praise, his lesser-known picture Meet John Doe is a powerful holiday film in its own right. Starring Gary Cooper as a down-on-his-luck "forgotten man" and Barbara Stanwyck as a resourceful reporter, the film begins with a fictional missive from a man promising to jump from a rooftop on Christmas Eve in protest. The people's embrace compels the journalist to recruit a man to play the mythical "John Doe," who then becomes a country-wide symbol for neighborliness. The movie functions as both an inspiring tale and a pointed skewering of powerful media magnates trying to use public feeling for personal ends.

Silent Partner

Whereas Christmas horror movies are now plentiful, the Christmas thriller remains a somewhat underpopulated style. This makes the 1978 feature The Silent Partner a unique delight. Featuring a wonderfully vile Christopher Plummer as a thieving Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a unassuming bank clerk, the film sets two kinds of amoral oddballs against each other in a sleek and unpredictable yarn. Mostly overlooked upon its first release, it deserves a fresh look for those who prefer their festive stories with a cold tone.

Almost Christmas

For those who prefer their holiday gatherings dysfunctional, Almost Christmas is a riot. Boasting a star-studded ensemble that includes Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the film examines the strain of a household gathered to spend five days under one house during the holidays. Secret problems come to the surface, culminating in situations of over-the-top farce, such as a dinner where a firearm is produced. Of course, the film reaches a satisfying ending, offering all the enjoyment of a seasonal disaster without any of the real-life aftermath.

Go Movie

Doug Liman's 1999 feature Go is a Yuletide-themed caper that serves as a teen-oriented take on woven narratives. Although some of its humor may feel product of the 90s upon revisiting, the picture nonetheless offers many things to appreciate. These are a cool role from Sarah Polley to a memorable scene by Timothy Olyphant as a charming supplier who fittingly sports a Santa hat. It embodies a specific kind of 1990s movie energy set against a Christmas scene.

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

The satirist's 1940s film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek skips traditional seasonal cheer in return for cheeky fun. The movie is about Betty Hutton's character, who discovers she is pregnant after a wild night but cannot identify the man responsible. Much of the humor arises from her condition and the efforts of Eddie Bracken's simping Norval Jones to rescue her. Although not immediately a Christmas film at the beginning, the narrative culminates on the holiday, showing that Sturges has created a playful take of the Christmas story, filled with his signature witty humor.

The Film Better Off Dead

This 1985 youth comedy with John Cusack, Better Off Dead, is a prime example of its time. Cusack's