A Holiday Tour de Force: Discovering Hidden Gem Christmas Movies

Something that annoys concerning a lot of modern holiday features is their excessive self-consciousness – the ostentatious decorations, the predictable music selections, and the stilted conversations about the true meaning of the holidays. It could be because the genre was not yet hardened into formula, movies from the 1940s often explore Christmas from far more creative and less obsessive angles.

The Fifth Avenue Happening

One delightful gem from sifting through 1940s holiday fare is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 semi-romantic comedy with a brilliant hook: a jovial drifter spends the winter in a unoccupied posh mansion each year. That season, he invites fellow down-on-their-luck individuals to live with him, among them a veteran and a young woman who turns out to be the heiress of the mansion's affluent proprietor. Filmmaker Roy Del Ruth imbues the movie with a found-family warmth that many modern Christmas films struggle to attain. It beautifully occupies the space between a thoughtful commentary on affordable living and a delightful city fantasy.

Godfathers in Tokyo

The late filmmaker's 2003 tragicomedy Tokyo Godfathers is a fun, poignant, and deeply moving take on the festive story. Inspired by a classic Hollywood picture, it follows a group of displaced individuals – an drinker, a transgender woman, and a adolescent throwaway – who find an discarded newborn on a snowy December night. Their quest to reunite the baby's parents unleashes a sequence of misadventures involving crime lords, immigrants, and apparently serendipitous coincidences. The movie doubles down on the enchantment of coincidence frequently found in Christmas tales, delivering it with a cinematic visual style that steers clear of overly sweet feeling.

Meet John Doe

While Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life justifiably receives plenty of attention, his earlier picture Meet John Doe is a notable seasonal story in its own right. With Gary Cooper as a handsome "forgotten man" and Barbara Stanwyck as a resourceful reporter, the movie starts with a fictional letter from a man threatening to fall from a ledge on Christmas Eve in despair. The people's response leads the journalist to find a man to play the mythical "John Doe," who then becomes a popular symbol for neighborliness. The narrative serves as both an inspiring tale and a sharp critique of wealthy publishers trying to exploit popular sentiment for personal ends.

The Silent Partner

While holiday slasher movies are now a dime a dozen, the festive suspense film remains a somewhat niche subgenre. This makes the 1978 gem The Silent Partner a unique surprise. Starring a wonderfully sinister Christopher Plummer as a thieving Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a clever bank teller, the story pits two types of morally ambiguous oddballs against each other in a sleek and twisty yarn. Mainly unseen upon its original debut, it deserves new attention for those who like their holiday entertainment with a dark tone.

Christmas Almost

For those who like their family gatherings dysfunctional, Almost Christmas is a blast. With a impressive group that has Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the film examines the strain of a clan gathered to spend five days under one roof during the Christmas season. Secret issues bubble to the top, resulting in situations of over-the-top comedy, such as a showdown where a firearm is pulled out. Naturally, the story arrives at a satisfying ending, giving all the entertainment of a holiday mess without any of the personal aftermath.

The Film Go

Doug Liman's 1999 feature Go is a Christmas-set caper that functions as a young-adult riff on interconnected stories. Although some of its humor may feel of its time upon revisiting, the film still contains several aspects to enjoy. These range from a cool performance from Sarah Polley to a captivating scene by Timothy Olyphant as a laid-back drug dealer who amusingly wears a Santa hat. It captures a very brand of 1990s cinematic vibe set against a Christmas setting.

Miracle at Morgan's Creek

The famed director's wartime film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek rejects typical holiday cheer in return for irreverent fun. The story follows Betty Hutton's character, who finds herself with child after a hazy night but cannot identify the soldier involved. A lot of the fun comes from her condition and the efforts of Eddie Bracken's hapless Norval Jones to help her. Although not obviously a Christmas film at the outset, the narrative climaxes on the Christmas, showing that Sturges has refashioned a clever version of the birth narrative, filled with his characteristic sharp humor.

The Film Better Off Dead

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