Holiday Classics: “Tenth Avenue Angel” (1948)

“Tenth Avenue Angel” is a sweet holiday story starring Margaret O’Brien, one of the top child stars of the 1940s. In this movie, O’Brien tugs at the heartstrings as usual playing Flavia, the eight-year-old daughter of Helen (Phyllis Thaxter) and Joe (Warner Anderson). They live in a poor neighborhood in Depression-era New York City with […]

Holiday Classics: “Scrooge” (1951)

The 1951 British film “Scrooge” (released under the title “A Christmas Carol” in the U.S.) is one of the best versions of Charles Dickens’ story ever to be put on screen. It embodies everything the story is supposed to be about. Alastair Sim plays the miserable Ebenezer Scrooge, as he is visited by the ghost […]

Holiday Classics: “Holiday Inn” (1942)

Don’t get me wrong, I love “White Christmas”. But there’s something special about “Holiday Inn”, the 1942 film that 1954’s “White Christmas” was a loose remake of. “Holiday Inn” follows song and dance team Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) and Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire). Jim plans to retire to his farm and marry the other member […]

Holiday Classics: “Love Finds Andy Hardy” (1938)

“Love Finds Andy Hardy” is the fourth of sixteen “Andy Hardy” movies, and the best, in no small part due to the addition of Judy Garland to the cast. This film marked the second time the soon-to-be-popular duo of Mickey Rooney and Garland appeared on screen together, and their chemistry is nothing short of perfect. This […]

Holiday Classics: “Fitzwilly” (1967)

“Fitzwilly” is a silly story told with a sophisticated sense of humor, largely thanks to Dick Van Dyke’s portrayal of classy, intelligent butler Claude Fitzwilliam, nicknamed Fitzwilly. Fitzwilly is the head of the staff working for elderly heiress Victoria Woodworth (Edith Evans). Miss Woodworth believes she is rich, her father having left her a large inheritance. […]

Holiday Classics: “The Shop Around the Corner” (1940)

Soon after he wrapped filming his romantic comedy “The Shop Around the Corner”, director Ernst Lubitsch told a newspaper regarding the movie, “It’s not a big picture, just a quiet little story that seemed to have some charm….I hope it has some charm.” The film is, in fact, overwhelmingly charming, and is Lubitsch’s best work. […]

Holiday Classics: “Remember the Night” (1940)

Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck made film history when they teamed up in one of Hollywood’s greatest noir films, 1944’s “Double Indemnity”. But they actually first costarred together four years previously in the holiday romance “Remember the Night”. Stanwyck plays Lee Leander, a shoplifter arrested for trying to steal a bracelet from a New York […]

Holiday Classics: “Holiday Affair” (1949)

“Holiday Affair” was not successful when it was released in 1949, and as a result remained largely forgotten, until annual airings on TCM led to the growth of a fan base for the movie. It’s now a bit of a holiday classic, and rightfully so. “Holiday Affair” is a sweet if generic romantic comedy set […]

Holiday Classics: “It Happened on 5th Avenue” (1947)

Some movies just make you happy, and “It Happened on 5th Avenue” is one of those. The comedy was the first film produced by Allied Artists Pictures, and was directed by Roy Del Ruth. Many viewers will likely notice, however, how Capra-esque the story is. Frank Capra actually did option the story to direct, but ended up […]

Streaming Movie Recap: November, Part 2

Happy December! Here’s part two of my mini reviews for new movies that came to streaming in November. Keep scrolling for reviews of “Hillbilly Elegy,” “The Christmas Chronicles 2,” “The Princess Switch: Switched Again,” “Lovers Rock,” “Happiest Season,” “Uncle Frank,” and “Black Beauty.” “HILLBILLY ELEGY” (Netflix) There are a lot of stories we need to […]