A Holiday Tour de Force: Discovering Overlooked Yuletide Films

One thing that annoys concerning numerous present-day Christmas movies is their overly meta-commentary – the ostentatious decor, the predictable music selections, and the canned speeches about the essence of the festive period. Perhaps because the style was not yet ossified into routine, movies from the 1940s often tackle Christmas from increasingly inventive and not as neurotic angles.

The Fifth Avenue Happening

One delightful gem from sifting through 1940s holiday fare is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 lighthearted comedy with a brilliant concept: a cheerful drifter winters in a empty posh estate each year. One winter, he invites strangers to reside with him, including a ex-soldier and a young woman who is secretly the daughter of the property's affluent landlord. Director Roy Del Ruth imbues the movie with a surrogate family heart that many newer Christmas movies struggle to earn. It perfectly walks the line between a class-conscious narrative on affordable living and a whimsical city romance.

Godfathers in Tokyo

The late filmmaker's 2003 tragicomedy Tokyo Godfathers is a entertaining, poignant, and deeply moving take on the holiday narrative. Inspired by a classic Hollywood movie, it centers on a triumvirate of displaced souls – an drinker, a trans woman, and a teenage throwaway – who discover an discarded infant on a snowy December night. Their quest to locate the baby's mother triggers a sequence of unexpected events involving yakuza, immigrants, and seemingly magical connections. The animation doubles down on the wonder of chance often found in seasonal flicks, offering it with a cinematic visual style that sidesteps saccharine emotion.

Introducing John Doe

While Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life deservedly gets a lot of praise, his lesser-known film Meet John Doe is a notable holiday tale in its own right. With Gary Cooper as a charismatic "forgotten man" and Barbara Stanwyck as a resourceful reporter, the movie kicks off with a fabricated letter from a man vowing to fall from a building on the holiday in frustration. The public's embrace compels the journalist to recruit a man to portray the mythical "John Doe," who subsequently becomes a national icon for community. The narrative functions as both an uplifting fable and a brutal skewering of ultra-rich businessmen trying to exploit public feeling for personal ambitions.

A Silent Partner

Whereas Christmas slasher movies are now commonplace, the Christmas thriller remains a relatively underpopulated style. This makes the 1978 gem The Silent Partner a fresh discovery. Starring a delightfully vile Christopher Plummer as a bank-robbing Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a unassuming bank teller, the movie pits two kinds of opportunistic characters against each other in a stylish and surprising narrative. Largely unseen upon its first debut, it is worthy of rediscovery for those who like their festive stories with a chilling tone.

Almost Christmas

For those who like their holiday reunions messy, Almost Christmas is a riot. Featuring a stellar group that features Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the movie explores the strain of a clan gathered to share five days under one home during the Christmas season. Private issues come to the top, culminating in situations of high comedy, including a dinner where a weapon is pulled out. Of course, the story reaches a heartwarming resolution, offering all the enjoyment of a holiday catastrophe without any of the actual cleanup.

Go

Doug Liman's 1999 feature Go is a Yuletide-set story that functions as a youthful take on woven narratives. Although some of its comedy may feel product of the 90s upon revisiting, the film still offers many things to enjoy. These include a composed role from Sarah Polley to a memorable appearance by Timothy Olyphant as a dangerous pusher who appropriately wears a Santa hat. It represents a particular brand of 1990s film attitude set against a holiday setting.

Miracle at Morgan's Creek

The satirist's 1940s film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek rejects typical holiday sentimentality in return for bawdy humor. The story is about Betty Hutton's Trudy Kockenlocker, who ends up expecting after a hazy night but cannot recall the man involved. A lot of the fun stems from her predicament and the devotion of Eddie Bracken's simping Norval Jones to rescue her. While not explicitly a Christmas movie at the beginning, the plot winds up on the Christmas, showing that Sturges has created a satirical interpretation of the birth narrative, loaded with his characteristic satirical style.

The Film Better Off Dead

This 1985 adolescent movie with John Cusack, Better Off Dead, is a quintessential specimen of its decade. Cusack's