In many households, a showing of Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) is an annual event. A suicidal George Bailey (James Stewart) gets to see what life in his small town would have been like had he not existed. A benevolent angel helps him to choose life with his lifelong love (Donna Reed). Far be it from me to discourage you from enjoying this movie that ends with a basket of dollars expressing the townspeople’s love of George while the chorus sings “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” and “Auld Lang Syne.”Far be it from me to discourage you from enjoying this movie that ends with a basket of dollars expressing the townspeople’s love of George while the chorus sings “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” and “Auld Lang Syne.”
Nor would I speak against Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), if only for Judy’s Garland’s magnificent rendition of that most melancholy of all Noel songs, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” with its resolve to “muddle through somehow.” Nor White Christmas (1954), another annual-viewing tradition for many families, which boasts the talents of Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye, and Vera-Ellen. Irving Berlin’s score includes the title number, winner of the Oscar for Best Original Song 12 years earlier for its use in Holiday Inn. It was, and may still be, the best-selling song of all time.
But there are cinematic gems you may have never seen or considered in the context of the holiday season—whether they illustrate the spirit of Christmas or provide an ironic counterpoint to it
For the five recommended "gems," click here.
https://theamericanscholar.org/christmas-movies-beyond-the-expected/
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