Holiday Classics: “The Holly and the Ivy” (1952)

“The Holly and the Ivy” centers around a dysfunctional family gathering for the holidays, but while many movies play this concept for laughs, this 1952 British film directed by George More O’Ferrall from a play by Wynyard Browne is a melancholy drama. But that doesn’t mean that the film doesn’t end with the requisite dose […]

Holiday Classics: ”On Moonlight Bay” (1951)

“On Moonlight Bay” has often been written off as a less-impressive copy-cat of another holiday staple, 1944’s “Meet Me in St. Louis.” The reasons for this are obvious, because the two films share some remarkable similarities. Both are musicals set over the course of one year in a turn-of-the-century Midwestern family’s life, divided into chapters […]

Holiday Classics: ”The Cheaters” (1945)

I’ve heard some people say that they aren’t a fan of “The Cheaters”— a 1945 Christmas screwball comedy from Republic Pictures, a studio known at the time primarily for making B westerns starring the likes of Gene Autry and Roy Rogers— because the characters in it can be pretty insufferable. The review that ran in The […]

Holiday Classics: “On the Twelfth Day” (1955)

If it wasn’t for Mark Cousins’ extensive 2019 documentary series “Women Make Film,” I would likely have never become aware of “On the Twelfth Day,” a delightful short film that serves as a farcical interpretation of the song “The 12 Days of Christmas.” In the documentary, “On the Twelfth Day” is brought up at the […]

Holiday Classics: “Bell, Book and Candle” (1958)

There’s a perpetual debate as to whether or not “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie (personally I fluctuate too much on the matter and just watch it for Thanksgiving), and the same question could be extended to the 1958 comedy “Bell, Book and Candle,” based on the stage play […]

Holiday Classics: “The Great Rupert” (1950)

Much of one’s enjoyment of “The Great Rupert” will likely depend on their tolerance for schmaltz, and for Jimmy Durante appearing in a leading role. But both of those things feel just right for this strange but charming family comedy set over Christmas, in which the fortunes of a down-on-their-luck family are turned around by […]

Holiday Classics: “The Lemon Drop Kid” (1951)

Bob Hope appeared in many, many movies over his long life and career. And yet, he’s remembered more as an entertainer than an actor, his most recognizable films being the “Road” comedies he starred in opposite Bing Crosby beginning in 1940 and into the 1950s. But that doesn’t meant that Hope’s filmography is entirely unremarkable. […]

Holiday Classics: “We’re No Angels” (1955)

“We’re No Angels” was a bit of a departure for director and star Michael Curtiz and Humphrey Bogart. The light holiday comedy was their fourth collaboration, their previous projects including the gritty 1938 gangster drama “Angels with Dirty Faces” and the soon to be iconic drama “Casablanca.” But just because “We’re No Angels” was outside […]

Holiday Classics: “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947)

“Miracle on 34th Street,” which opens during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and concludes on Christmas day, this the perfect movie to kick off the holiday season. So it’s a little surprising that when it debuted in 1947, it was released in theaters at the beginning of May. That was the doing of 20th Century […]

Holiday Classics: “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)

Director Frank Capra once said that he never viewed his film “It’s a Wonderful Life” as a Christmas story when he took the project on—he just liked the story. But that story had roots in the quintessential Christmas story: Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Writer Phillip Van Doren Stern wrote a short story titled The […]