As we pass Thanksgiving we are certainly now entrenched in the Holiday Season. Today is Black Friday, a day of sales. Of course some of these sales have been going on for several day, if not several weeks.
It’s also a time to watch our favorite Christmas Movies. Unless your favorite is a Hallmark movie since those have been playing for several weeks now. I will admit I’ve watched a few.
But what I’m talking about are those classic movies that we grew up with and enjoy seeing year after year.
When it comes to Christmas Movies, it really begins and ends with A Christmas Carol. There has been many versions and retelling of the 1843 novella by Charles Dickens. Tops on my list is either the 1938 version starring Reginald Owens or with Alastair Sim released in 1951. Many though think that the one with George C. Scott is the best.
In National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation The Griswold Family takes their third vacation during the Christmas of 1989 without leaving home. The comedy is slapstick and in many ways the jokes are expected, but it still is the best of all of the Christmas Comedies made during this period.
Die Hard is often debated as being a Christmas Movie. The plot is a Terrorist invasion during a company’s Christmas Party with Bruce Willis as an invited guest of one of the company’s Vice-Presidents. Sounds like a Christmas Movie to me.
Elf is imply the best movie that Will Ferrill has made. As time pass it will be mentioned with the greats, hopefully not along with A Christmas Story and Home Alone, two movies I think that have been greatly over rated. Others will disagree and that is part of the fun of discussing Christmas Movies
Even since its first showing Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer has been a favorite of mine. Ok this was a Christmas TV special and not a movie, but it was the best TV Christmas Special, besides A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Frosty the Snowman to be produced for television during the 1960s and early 1970s.
I doubt if any list of favorite Christmas Movies would be complete without the 1954 film White Christmas starring Bing Crosby. So I added it here as well.
No matter what your favorite Christmas Movie or Special may be, I hope that you get a chance to see it during this Holiday Season with your friends and Family.