Christmas(y) Film List

Christmas is just around the corner! I've begun my caroling and Christmas film watching almost a month ago now. There's just something so marvelous about this time of the year! Semesters come to their awaited end, families finally have the chance to gather, Christmas shopping begins (buying and giving gifts are always more fun than receiving), and there's just a joyous feeling in the air. And let's be real, for me Christmas is the only day in which snow is permitted!

This is also the time of year where most people would rather stay in their snuggly, warm homes with hot cocoa than be out and about. And what better way to spend the holiday week than watching some of the best old Christmas movies? Here is a list of some of my favorites!

I'm sure you've guessed 1. It's A Wonderful Life! (1948) starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Henry Travers. One of my favorite directors, Frank Capra, directed this beautiful film about a man named George (played by Stewart) who is on the verge of suicide when an "Angel Second Class" (Travers) comes in. He must save George from ending his life in order to be promoted to an angel. The film is basically a timeline of George's life in order for the angel to get an idea of why he ended up in his predicament.

This is one of those Greatest of All Times kind of films. Heartwarming with some humor, some sadness, and the ultimate Christmas feels! If you end up only watching one Christmas film, THIS is the one to watch!

2. Remember the Night (1940) is a film I watch all year long! If you've ever watched Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in the devious film noir Double Indemnity (1944), then you'd love seeing them paired in this romantic comedy. Barbara Stanwyck happens to be one of my favorite actresses and the two actors have AMAZING chemistry.

The film is about an Assistant District Attorney, John Sargent, (MacMurray) who is assigned to prosecute Lee Leander (Stanwyck) for theft. He postpones the trial and overhears that Lee is upset about spending Christmas in jail. He feels guilty and ends up bailing her out. You can imagine where this story goes! This is such a cute, romantic movie dealing with Christmas time, family, and falling madly in love.

3. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) is yet another Barbara Stanwyck Christmas vehicle and love story, but with a completely different (and brilliant) storyline. Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane, a food writer who lives in New York City. She's single and leads a life that is the opposite of domesticated. Yet she writes articles pretending to live on a Connecticut farm with a husband and child. Her articles give domestic advice on cooking, home decor, family care, etc. and garners a huge following amongst housewives around the country. Her publisher has no idea that she is lying and sets up for a returning war hero Jefferson Jones (played by Dennis Morgan) to stay at Elizabeth's home for home cooked meals, advice, and a fabulous Christmas. Jefferson was a huge fan of her articles during the war and wanted to meet Elizabeth, assuming she is an older woman.

In order to save face and avoid a scandal, Stanwyck's character has to pretend that she really leads the life she claims. This is a very funny film that highlights the fact that Barbara Stanwyck was both a brilliant dramatic actress and comedian!

4. White Christmas (1954) obviously has to be on this list. This is the only musical on my Christmas Recommendations List so if you're in the mood to hear numbers from Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, and Vera-Ellen, then this is the film for you! The storyline is not the best but the songs and dance numbers, costuming, and Christmas theme makes the film a must see.

The story is about two WWII army soldiers and partners (Crosby and Kaye) who make it big as a song and dance team. The two end up becoming romantically involved with a sister song and dance team (Clooney and Ellen), or at least they TRY to. The four end up in Vermont at an inn that just so happens to be owned by the ex soldiers' general who is failing in business. They try to revive his business through tons of fabulous singing and dancing numbers during the winter season.

The soundtrack consists of fabulous Irving Berlin numbers. Some of my favorites are: "White Christmas," "Heat Wave," "Blue Skies," "Sisters," and "Love You Didn't Do Right By Me."

And what about those costumes by Edith Head? The black dress number that Rosemary Clooney wore is to die for!

5. Desk Set (1957) starring couple Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. I never heard of this film until Netflix put it in their film inventory about a year ago (it's still there!). This is Hepburn and Tracy's second to last film together and is perfect if you're in the mood for a light-hearted comedy. The film has the normal sass and punch of Katharine Hepburn and the comical wittiness of Spencer Tracy.

Set in New York City, Katharine Hepburn plays Bunny Watson who is in charge of a reference library which is basically 1950s Google ran by people. Bunny and her fabulous coworkers (one played by the talented Joan Blondell) are responsible for taking and answering calls in which people ask questions that involve research--both small and big. The women are extremely knowledgeable and have an extensive selection of references to help their callers. Spencer Tracy's character (Mike Cutler) is an engineer who comes to ease the library's transition to a computer called EMRAC. This is one of those old films that deal with the paranoia and stress of new technology. There was a great fear that technology would take over human jobs, which is ironic watching it today, but still a pleasurable film to watch for those very reasons!

ALSO fashion, fashion, fashion. The costumes were designed by Charles LeMaire and are absolutely stunning. Tons of gorgeous silks and wools, long sleeved dresses, and workwear attire in vibrant colors. This is not your typical Christmas movie, but there is a fabulous Christmas office party reminiscent of Mad Men!

6. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) is the ULTIMATE Christmas movie. It's a film for the ages and it NEVER gets old no matter what age I am! This is one of those movies that I do reserve for Christmas time because it makes it all the more special. If you've never watched Charlie Brown, I suggest you do so now. And you may as well start with probably the best Charlie Brown story which is this one. He is a grumpy child who suffers bouts of unhappiness due to nerves and lack of confidence. He is very down during the Christmas holiday, but is also trying to figure out the reasoning behind it. He is offered a directorial position for a Christmas play by the abrasive Lucy van Pelt.

Charlie Brown begins to annoy everyone with his lamenting and bossiness, but in the end joy is restored.

I cannot talk about this film without mentioning the fabulous jazz soundtrack behind it. Vince Guaraldi Trio composed great Charlie Brown soundtrack albums. This one is perfect for getting in the Christmas spirit! "Christmas Time is Here" is the most known song, but the entire album is worth a listen. Bonus: A Charlie Brown Christmas can be watched here with excellent quality (you can thank me later)!

7. The Apartment (1960) is the reason I added the "Y" in "Christmas(y) Film List." Okay, so this may not be considered a Christmas film, but I HAD to put this on the list because this is one of my favorite films of all time. Christmas and New Years Eve are subtly in the backdrop of this brilliant and gorgeous film by my favorite director, Billy Wilder. This stars an all star cast, Jack Lemmon, Shirley Maclaine, and Fred MacMurray. The story is about "Bud" Baxter (Jack Lemmon) who is a lonely man trying to make his way up a big corporation in New York City. In order to do this, he allows the higher ups to "borrow" his apartment to have affairs and wild parties in, which gives him a bad reputation in his apartment. He is madly in love with Shirley Maclaine's character, Fran Kubelik. Unfortunately Fran is mad for the married Jeff Sheldrake (MacMurray) who is one of the heads of the corporation.

This is one of those films that I do not want to give too much away, but the storyline is genius, filming is genius, and acting is genius! I constantly rave about this film to anyone who will listen because I believe Billy Wilder is one of the most underrated directors of all time. He directed Sunset Boulevard (1950), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Sabrina (1954), Double Indemnity (1944), the list could go on and on!

It is also worth seeing Fred MacMurray play a ruthless jerk. He was heavily criticized by viewers of the time for playing such a morally bad character. Another fact about the film is, Mad Men was heavily influenced by this Manhattan office drama specifically the relationship between Joan Holloway and Roger Sterling.

8. Last, but certainly not least Carol (2015). Anyone who knows me knows that this is one of my most watched films of all time. I saw this in theaters opening week two years ago and fell madly in love with Todd Haynes (director), the beautiful storyline, fabulous production, and of course Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. This film is based on the progressive novel The High Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (1952) and followed much of the narrative from the book. The story is about a young woman named Therese Belivet (Mara) who is an aspiring photographer in Manhattan. She works in a job that she doesn't love (children's department of Frankenburg's) and is with a man whom she doesn't love. She meets Carol Aird (Blanchett) at her job in the children's department and falls head over heels for her.

Carol is an older, sophisticated woman who has a daughter and an ex-husband. Her husband is in the works of taking full custody of their daughter because of the fact that Carol is a lesbian. The film follows Carol and Therese's struggle to be together in the 1950s against a New York backdrop during wintertime.

Again this is another Christmasy film (not really a Christmas movie per se), but is a wonderful movie to watch. You will not regret it!

The references throughout this film always delights me. Todd Haynes references the brilliant British romantic drama Brief Encounter (1945), the photography of Saul Leiter and Esther Bubley, the styles of Audrey Hepburn for Rooney Mara, and so on and so forth.

I hope I've inspired you to watch one (or all) of these Christmasy films and have a wonderful holiday! I'll see you next Friday darlings xx

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images in this post.