I am so glad you included The Bishop's wife on here. It has been one of my all-time favorite movies since I was a teen. It's a wonderful Life is my all-time favorite movie . It's not just my favorite Christmas movie it is my actual favorite movie period. When I was 15, I was feeling depressed because I didn't have money to buy expensive clothing and jewelry and purses like all of my friends. I watched the movie it's a wonderful Life ,by myself, one day. After I finished the movie, I fell to my knees and sobbed. I felt ashamed that I didn't appreciate all the beautiful family members I had that loved me. George Bailey made me realize I truly was the richest girl I knew. It was 40 years ago, and I would give anything today to have those family members back . I miss everyone so much as they have passed on. Remember everyone ,it's not about the gifts or who has what and who buys what. It's about the people you have around you and how much love and joy that they add to your life and you to theirs. I have not seen the thin Man in many years but I'm so glad you brought it up because I'm going to watch it immediately!
Great work, Daniel! If anyone is looking for more B&W Christmas-y movies to watch: * "Good Sam" (Gary Cooper and Ann Sheridan, directed by Leo McCarey) * "I'll Be Seeing You" (Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten) * "Bachelor Mother" (Ginger Rogers and David Niven, written and directed by Garson Kanin) * "A Christmas Carol" (the 1938 version) * "Holiday Inn" (Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire) * "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (Bette Davis and Ann Sheridan; funny, sweet, and very zany!) * "The Lemon Drop Kid" (Bob Hope; a real hoot and a million laughs from start to finish) and especially... * "The Bells of St. Mary's" (Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman, directed by Leo McCarey; the Christmas pageant scene is very sweet, and who could forget the wonderful, heartbreaking ending...there is a good reason this was probably the biggest box office hit of the 1940s) * "Remember the Night" (Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray; FANTASTIC story of love and redemption set at Christmas time; this really opened my eyes as to how versatile an actress Barbara Stanwyck was!)
Man, Scrooge is the best version of A Christmas Carol. Of all the movies versions you mentioned they are good but this one is Excellent. The part when we see the Cratchits feel so real. And so full of love when the daughter comes from hiding and when the eldest son is inform he got a job. And Sim of all the actors you mentioned is the one that show more that truly change. Tiny Tim is a little big I admit but no movie is perfect. I can’t believe you put it number 10. The list was great except the ranking of Scrooge. And you forgot to say that the Bishop’s Wife had a remake with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston called the Preacher’s Wife.
I’ve been watching the Alastair Sim Christmas Carol since I was a child, every Xmas eve I watch it alone while I wrap presents. I also watch It’s a Wonderful Life every year. These are not just two of my favorite Xmas movies, but two of my favorite movies period
If you haven't seen it, don't miss Remember the Night (1940), the first teaming of Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. With a great script from Preston Sturges, good holiday atmosphere and skeptical sentiment, it's easily my favorite Christmas film. I promise it will make your next top ten!
Right off the bat, the Alistair Sim Christmas Carol film is my favorite Christmas movie. Every time I watch it, I end up crying. The same goes for Miracle On 34th Street, my number two. I'm glad the Bishop's Wife made your list. I first saw it only a few years ago, and really enjoyed it.
Pretty standard list but I can't find fault with it. One addition I might suggest is "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (1942) starring Monty Wolley and Bette Davis. Set at Christmas in the Midwest, Wooly play an obnoxious celebrity author and radio personality who trips on the steps of a wealthy couple's house and insinuates himself into the household for the Holidays. Fans of "The Bishop's Wife" will remember him as the Professor. Here, he's the star of the show and chews the scenery with a ferocity that I've seldom seen in a Christmas movie. I think Davis is probably a little miscast as his long suffering secretary but she does well enough. *Correction-"It Happened on 5th Avenue" isn't set during the depression, which was over by 1947. It's about an era that most people don't talk about-the post-war period where the economy was booming and GIs were coming back from the war, only to find that there simply wasn't enough housing for everyone and landlords were raising the rents because demand was so high they could get away with anything (sound familiar). The movie kind of touches on that as the Jim Bullock character tries to buy an abandoned military base to convert it to housing. This is when housing developments started going up all over the country, creating a massive construction boom. My grandfather owned a construction company in NJ during this period and he made enough money just building houses to retire early
Don't forget HOLIDAY INN with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Its the film that first introduced WHITE CHRISTMAS, the film of which is a partial remake. Made in 1942, its a period piece, but lots of fun.
Great list. Sim's Scrooge is excellent. My favorite version of A Christmas Carol is Albert Finney's version of Scrooge 1971. It's a musical, and I am not a huge musical fan, but I love this one. Certainly the best performance of Scrooge, IMHO anyway...
Very well done! It's not black and white but my favorite A Christmas Carol was portrayed by Jim Bacchus as Mr. J. Quincy Magoo. It's a musical from 1962 and the most delightful Christmas confection you can imagine.
1951 Scrooge or Christmas Carole is the best. I would list it lower than Christmas in Connecticut. Its A Wonderful Life isnt just the best, most stirring holiday movie, its one of the top 20 movies ever made.
A lot of these are on my list too! But I have to mention the Great Rupert! 😊 I can't believe I've never seen the Bishop's Wife. I'm watching it this week.
The Bishops Wife is a real grown up movie. It was a post WW2 film and spoke to the rapid commercialization of Christmas after the privations of the war. My fave!
Hi Daniel! Great list as usual, not surprised at no.1 as it's my favourite as well. If you enjoyed Stewart and Sullavan together you should watch a movie I love watching this time of year called "The Mortal Storm". Not sure if you're familiar with it. Though it's not a Christmas movie at all, it does take place in Germany and Austria during the winter so it does have a Christmas vibe, even though it isn't. It's a dark movie but it has a strong message and is incredibly thought provoking and enlightening. Always makes me emotional, especially the ending. The performances by both leads are magnificent. Cannot reccomend this movie enough! Would love to hear your thoughts on it sometime. Take care.
The Mortal Storm ❤ : wonderful movie, not only Sullavan and Stewart but also Maria Ouspenskaya, Robert Young, Frank Morgan and Bonita Granville… About Margaret Sullavan, I am fond of her first movie : Only Yesterday (1933 - remade as Letter from an Unknown Woman in 1948). Greetings from France 🇫🇷
Thank you for putting together this list - I have a suggestion for you now that Veteran's Day is on its way... There are lots of good suggestions in the comments below including several Bing Crosby movies that are near the top of my Christmas list. One big comment below is that 1947 was not the Great Depression (which begun with the stock market crash in the fall of 1929. Most of the US had climbed out of the depression by the late 1930s. Many of the movies were filmed while we were at war or were dealing with the post war era which saw returning GIs searching for work and a housing shortage. Thousands of young boys left high school, went to Europe or the Pacific and returned young men, forever changed and needing a job that might have been performed by their sisters, mother, wife or fiancé while they were gone. Situations like this are covered in almost half of the movies on your list. I too love The Bishop's Wife and if you have not done so already, you should watch the trailer for that film which is shot outside at the Samuel Goldwyn studios and mentions the previous year's academy award winner, The Best Years of Our Lives. This is my favorite movie to watch around Veteran's Day. It deals with 3 service members (Army, Navy and Airforce) from the same town that never knew each other before the war and meet on a flight back home at the war's end. The movie shows the real-life experiences of veterans returning from war and trying to return to a "normal" life while combating a changing world, tragic wounds (both physical and psychological) and their families that have grown while they were gone. An amazing movie with award winning performances!
If you can hunt down "It's a Wonderful Life" the May 8, 1949 radio drama with Arthur Q. Bryan as Clarence is a treat! I've been working on getting the ghost stories back for Christmas, usually it's only a couple people that'll participate.... Hmmmm that gives me an idea! Happy Christmas, Cobwebs!
Great picks! There is no Scrooge like Alastair Sim for sure. If you want to see a hugely funny Christmas film give "The Man Who Came to Dinner" a spin...it's comedy is often snarky and surprisingly modern. There are more than a few quotable lines here.
The Bishop's Wife is one of my all-time favorites!! My favorite on-screen Santa Claus will always be Art Carney from The Night They Saved Christmas. If you don't remember that movie, I don't blame you. It was a TV movie from 1984, and it's definitely a product of the times. But it's a dearly loved favorite of mine, and as I've said, this version of Santa Claus is and always has been how I envision the real Santa Claus. ❤️🎄 I know you usually do the older, more vintage movies, but I really think you and the viewers would enjoy an 80s Christmas movie video. Things like The Night They Saved Christmas (which I know you can find here on UA-cam), A Muppet Family Christmas (also go for the UA-cam version, as the physical media versions cut a lot out due to copyright laws), One Magic Christmas, Santa Claus: The Movie. All cheesy and sweet and fun and nostalgic. I think it would be really fun!
The 1951 version of A Christmas Carol (aka Scrooge) gets better at each viewing. There are so many subtle details that you see something new no matter how many times you have seen it. The next time you watch it, you might note Sim's reply to the two men collecting money for the poor. "Why?" is said so cold-bloodedly that it sends chills down my spine. Sim is, of course, magnificent in the role but there isn't a bad performance anywhere. I love Mervyn John's Bob Cratchit.
For decades, the ashes of Edmund Gwinn went unclaimed in a storage room at the Chapel in the Pines Cremetorium in California. Arthur Dark of Hollywood Graveyard discovered them during one of his video tours & raised funds to purchase a niche for him, so that his fans would have a place to pay their respects. The video of his recent internment is very touching - it was attended by many "Santas" & they sang "Here Comes Santa Claus" as his urn was walked down the aisle to its final destination.
Great list! Thanks for making the post. Have you seen a British Xmas film called THE HOLLY AND THE IVY? Been watching B&W Xmas flicks my whole life and only found this one a couple of years ago, which makes me think it's one that a lot of people may not have seen. It's an intense family drama that is also a quintessentially Christmas flick. It's very good. Another one I like is REMEMBER THE NIGHT with Fred MacMurry and Barbara Stanwyck. So glad you rediscovered THE BISHOP'S WIFE, one of my absolute favorites. Fantastic list of films (though I would have put the 1951 CHRISTMAS CAROL with Sim much higher!). I would have the exact same top three, for sure. :)
@user-ki2xc6ns3w Yes!! I have grown to love "The Holly and the Ivy" and watch it every Christmas season. It's a beautiful little film. And I was surprised Daniel didn't include "Remember the Night," but maybe he hasn't seen it.
I only saw The Holly and the Ivy for the first time last year and it knocked me out--such a powerful film! Maybe too bleak to become as popular as some of the others? Agree too about the Alistair Sim Christmas Carol--it is for me the definitive film version!
Bishop's Wife is my favorite, but your choice of It's a Woderful life is a terrific one, truly always a difficult choice. You didn't mention Carey Grant's other worldly quality in the film which was magical. I thought I was a film nut when I was your age, but you had I few I hadn't seen. How on earth did I miss Robert Mitchem and Janet Lee teaming up? Also, a Peter Cushing film I haven't seen!?!? This is the second count down I've seen of yours, you are fun. Thanks so much! Happy holidays and may love and peace find you, you're family and friends this season.
Really like your channel!!!! Great list too!!!! Of course 'It's a Wonderful Life' is number one, for you and me and for most film buffs I think. Thanks for a couple of surprises on this list! Particularly the robert Mitchem on and the Peter Cushing one (yeah, Hammer rules!!!!) I've also enjoyed your Witch and VAmpire and especially your haunted house lists. I do like Film Noir and your list and video helped broaden this genre for me. One comment you made caused me to pause and reflect. It's when you said something like 'It's a Wonderful Life' had a deep influence on you, on how you believe people should live, treat others, etc. What made me pause about that is that I feel the same way not about Its a Wonderfu Life, but about 'A Man for All Seasons.' I saw that by myself one afternoon shortly after I had watched it win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Something about the movie pulled at me. So, one afternoon after school, I biked to a nearby movie house and watched it. Was blown away because up to then (that spring of 1967 I was in the 8th grade) I did not know who Thomas More was or what had happened to him. I was stunned that Henry had him beheaded. His standing for what he believed to be right, good and true in opposition to the King, to the government, to those in power, made a deep, deep impression on me that was only deepened as I grew to maturity during the years of Vietnam, of LBJ, then Nixon, Ford and Carter. That movie hit me at a perfect time to make a super big impression on me. Movies are THE persuasive entertainment & influencer in young people's lives. Other people have had to have experienced being deeply touched/influenced by a film that left such a big impact it really influenced their lives. Why not solicit thru your channel some feedback about this, and then make a video listing the most often cited films and why they exerted such a deep influence on some. What do you think?
The 1984 Clive Donner version of "A Christmas Carol" (starring George C. Scott) is one of my favorite movies of all time. Not B&W, but...amazing atmosphere with a much darker vibe.
Thanks for the list! I haven't seen four of those so I added It Happened on 5th Avenue, Cash on Demand, The Shop Around the Corner and Holiday Affair to my list of Christmas films to watch. The rest I have watched in the past few years and I loved them all. I agree with #1, It's a Wonderful Life really is about as perfect a film as I have seen. I might have added a few more Barbara Stanwyck films, such as Remember the Night and Meet John Doe.
You nailed the best Christmas movie list, Daniel. I had the same reaction when I saw The Bishop's Wife. I felt it so deeply, and such a great script and message. My favorite feel-good is Christmas in Connecticut, and of course It's A Wonderful Life is the best movie ever made. Frank Capra is amazing. Merry Christmas!
Wow, wasn't expecting to see Cash On Demand mentioned. It's a really interesting, unique film with a good life lesson. Peter Cushing gives an excellent performance. Nice choice and great list! ☃️🦇👌
@@cobwebschannelHi Daniel, I'm a huge Hammer fan as well. I own the same box set you referenced. I'm really enjoying all of your Classic Horror content. You do an awesome job with your channel! Happy Holidays! ☃️🦇👌
Your top 3 matches my top 3. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is my favorite movie of all-time. James Stewart as George Bailey is my favorite performance of all-time. George and Mary walking home from the dance is my favorite scene in any movie all-time. In addition to the top 3, I also watch HOLIDAY AFFAIR, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER and CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT every year. A couple more I would throw in are THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, which is based on a zany Broadway play, and MEET JOHN DOE, which is another Capra Christmas tale. It is dark. Also, though it's not specifically a Christmas movie, it begins and ends on separate Christmases, and introduced the most popular recording of all-time. The movie is HOLIDAY INN, and the recording was "White Christmas". It was originally written for HOLIDAY INN.
I love this list.... I appreciate any list with James Stewart and Peter Cushing on it . I would also recommend 'Beyond Tomorrow' (1940) to anyone who hasn't seen it. Three rich men throw their wallets out of the window to see if there are any good people left in the world. Ghosts, romance and friendship make that one a nice little feel good Christmas movie 😊
I might swap out Holiday for It Happened on 5th Avenue, or Scrooge. I'm going to be watching Cash on Demand tonight. i'm excited to see something new! Thanks!
Ahhh, we're different generations, Daniel. I'll always go for my Alastair Sim version of Scrooge. A Miracle On 34th Street with Edmund Gwenn Cary Grant in The Bishop's Wife It's A Wonderful Life. Can't go wrong with that. Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck in Meet John Doe And, of course, for me, Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus Of Nazareth. I'm Irish, what can I say. Thanks Daniel. By the way, your sweater is top notch. If you don't post again before the big day, a Happy Christmas to you and your family.
One of my favorites,....but the black face is cringe worthy at the least. I like the song,..but. I do think it should not be removed. It should be there as a reminder of how things were and why the changes still needed are taking too long.
I used to watch the Thin Man movies with my family when they would come on channel five at 8pm. I have three of the blu-rays. They’d be good to watch at Xmas
As always I love the ones you mentioned that I know (Wonder Life IS one of the greatest films of all time) and I'm curious about the ones I don't know. 10/10 fricheks
I really like " Scrooge " and " Shop around the corner " . "Cash on demand " was a great discovery some years ago ( I also believe that Cushing has been one of the best actors ) . For me the best Christmas movie, in B/W or color, will always be the spanish " Placido " by Luis Garcia Berlanga. Although it is also more bitter, there is no denying that it is a Christmas movie, and a masterpiece that does not pass the time.
I just picked up that blu ray of Miracle on 34th Street, but haven't seen it in about 40 years. Looking forward to see what I think of it as an adult. I haven't seen The Bishop's Wife, but I have seen the remake from the 90s starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. It's a pretty good movie in its own right, if you haven't seen it.
You might check out the 1938 MGM version of A Christmas Carol, if you like a little cheese with your Christmas meal. A great comedy to check out which is firmly entrenched with Christmas vibes is the 1942 Warner Bros. film, The Man Who Came to Dinner, with Monty Woolley, Bette Davis, Billie Burke, Mary Wickes, Jimmy Durante, and Ann Sheridan. Also, one film I watch at Christmas every year is the 1944 WWII era melodrama Since You Went Away with Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Monty Woolley (in a Christmas 2-fer with The Man Who Came to Dinner, above), Hattie McDaniel, Jennifer Jones, and teenaged Shirley Temple. While it's not "Christmas themed", it does culminate at Christmas eve.
My new co-workers asked me what my favorite Christmas movies were, keep in mind that my youngest co-worker is 27 and I'm 15 years older than my next oldest co-worker, and I mentioned Holiday Affair and Remember the Night. They had to look them up.
Great list, thank you very much ! About Lionel Barrymore, the antidote to Potter is dear Grandpa Martin Vanderhof in You Can’t Take It with You (hope you have seen it !) Greetings from France 🇫🇷
I really enjoyed the Alastair Sims Scrooge. I need to check out The Thin Man. Christmas In Connecticut is another I should check out. The original Miracle on 34th Street is one of my favorites. It's a Wonderful Life is amazing. I really appreciate this list and I have a lot I need to add to the collection.
Great list, id add The Lemon Drop Kid to it. It a black and white Bob Hope christmas move. I you do a classic color xmas movie list id recommend Were No Angels staring Bogart, its about 3 convicts that escape a french prison at xmas
Monster movies don’t get enough respect! I didn’t realize you had an interest in films other than horror films. If that’s the case I would like to encourage you to do other “Best of” movie lists. I’m a fan of older films. Besides monsters and science fiction I like older detective films such the Thin Man, Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto, Sherlock Holmes, the Falcon, Perry Mason, Bulldog Drummond, and Detective Dee. And what about old westerns and comedies? And oh my God, serials. What about serials? Some of the greatest action I have ever seen. You know the classic Flash Gordon, but what about Tim Tyler, Manhunt in the African Jungle, Terry and the Pirates, Don Winslow of the Navy, Daredevils of Red Circle, The Perils of Pauline, Gangbusters, and Adventures of Captain Marvel to name a few. Non stop action with cliffhangers, always. You’ve got to watch and share them. Thanks for your time.
Have you not seen Remember the Night (1940)? Elbow rubbing anecdote: I met Janet Leigh at a celebrity gathering at the flagship restaurant at Universal Studios and she was sitting with Charlton Heston and I approached their table and said, "Touch of Evil!" And Mr. Heston said, "Not many people remember that movie." And I said, "Well, I do. I can't forget it." And Ms. Leigh looked at my face with indescribable appreciative beautiful eyes and smiled and beamed so brightly that I almost fell backwards.
I have seen Remember the Night, and I’m sad to say I was disappointed by it. Maybe a rewatch one day will change things. That anecdote is LOVELY though. Thanks for sharing! And imagine thinking people don’t remember Touch of Evil, holy cow!!
If it were my list, I would have made room for another comedy that would have earned its place as a stretch in the manner of the The Thin Man. And that would be Preston Sturges' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944). One of the funniest movies of all time, as well as a surgical skewering of the Nativity Story.
We love old BW Christmas movies. I’d encourage you to give a good look at the riotous The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Cheaters, I’ll be Seeing You, Never Say Goodbye and Remember the Night. These are all up there with the ones you mentioned but few watch them. (The best of this lot being The Man Who Came to Dinner). Strongly suggest giving these a view.
x I am a huge fan of It's A Wonderful Life, actually recommended that film to a friend yesterday. o She does not like Christmas movies that much but was very impressed with that film. o I really like The Shop Around The Corner also, I just sent that recommendation to her (also noted that is was from this channel). x I played a comedy version of Tiny Tim at the assisted living (The Waterford) that I used to work at for the Christmas program there. o Somewhat similar to the version of Tiny Tim gymnastic-like girl in the film Scrooge (similar in its outlandishness). x Just wrote down Miracle on 34th Street and The Bishop's Wife on my December Watch List (to watch before Christmas), actually haven't seen either of them before! o I am trying to find the right time to watch Christmas In Connecticut, there is another film called Twas The Text Before Christmas (it is a Hallmark film) that also takes place in Connecticut.
Sorry, but the 1951 version of a Christmas Carol is, by FAR, the best version of the story and ought to be close to number one on the list. Sim's Scrooge is definitive. And it's a truly British version of the film, which illustrates an understanding of Scrooge's three dimensional character. Sim makes him even more so by his nuanced performance. No one has ever delivered a performance of Scrooge as good. So you missed the boat on that one man. TOTAL agreement on Christmas in Connecticut. Funny and likeable, and Stanwyck carries the movie. But Morgan is not well-cast as a partner for her. Happy with the inclusion of the original version of The Bishop's Wife. THAT'S a Christmas movie. And... It's a Wonderful Life. Well, there was a time when I too would have placed this movie at number one. (And not a lot of younger people know that this film was a flop when it was released--which was not at Christmas, BTW, as it wasn't considered a Christmas film per se originally) and was pretty much ignored and thought of as one of Capra's lesser films until PBS got a hold of it in the 1980s, as I believe the copyright on it had gone out or some such thing... and PBS stations across the country aired the hell out of it during the Christmas pledge drive season. That's the origin of the film's latter day success, and when most of us first saw it, and why it came to be considered THE Christmas movie). And while I still think it's a very good movie (but no, nowhere near the best movie ever made, come on) it's become too sentimental for me. It kind of represents the excesses of Frank Capra as a director for me now. But I get it. This is the big one for a lot of people.
I love your Top 10 videos. Good stuff! I had the chance to watch The Shop Around The Corner in a theater yesterday. I'd never seen it before so I took the opportunity and it was awesome. The same theater will be playing Rear Window next month and I can guarantee I will be there.
Wonderful list of classic Hollywood Christmas films! Many are my favorites as well. When talking about The Bishop's Wife, I'm surprised you didn't make mention of its remake, The Preacher's Wife (w/ Whitney Houston). That, too, is a great film, although I realize it couldn't be included in your list of black & white Christmas films. Enjoying the channel, Daniel. Thanks😊
Wow. Cash on Demand! Deep cut. Props. Personally I find the female lead in Shop Around the Corner INCREDIBLY annoying! I think it's a great movie that I watch almost every year but Carole Lombard should have played the part. A better actor would have elevated that movie to mythic status. I also don't agree with your assessment that Gary Cooper would have been better in the part for Christmas in Connecticut. I may be alone but I find Cooper lacks any charisma of any kind. That's why he played so many stoic parts. Definitely can't see him singing by the piano. I would add Remember the Night to this great list. I also enjoy Stalag 17 and The Apartment around this time of year.
Honestly, that’ll probably be my Christmas video next year. haha But my list would be similar to yours, along with some others like Silent Night Deadly Night 1 & 5, and Dial Code Santa Clause.
This was the first time that I ever caught your channel. I loved your choices and have seen all of them numerous times except for “Cash on Demand”. Many years ago I was a den mother for my now 51 year old son. On the meeting just before Christmas, I used the concept of “what if it never happened?” to explain the meaning of Hanukkah to the boys. One of the boys was Jewish and usually felt a bit awkward at Christmas. Since Hanukkah fell very close to Christmas that year, I recounted how Judah Maccabee had asked God to help him save the temple under attack by the Greeks. Their aim was to obliterate the concept of “the one true God” and replace it with their polytheistic concept. Their plan was to destroy all of the records of the Old Testament so that the people of Israel would have no knowledge of their history or of their heritage.However their prayers were answered when God provided them with enough oil to keep the flame (light) going so that they could fight off the enemy. But if the Greeks had succeeded,the prophecies about Jesus’ birth in the Old Testament would have been lost and it would have been as though the birth of Jesus couldn’t have been perceived. It was similar to George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” not being there to save his brother from falling through the ice because he (George) had wished that he’d never been born. This incident resulted in the Jewish boy’s mother calling me later that evening to thank me for helping her son and his friends to feel a real bond that didn’t usually happen at that time of the year. Just one more reason the film should be at the top of the list of the best Christmas movies.
Not the Great Depression. It refers to the post-WWII period characterized by high unemployment and housing shortages among returning veterans. Did you actually watch this movie?
You’re right. Sometimes I have a tendency to just think of all economic problems in this general time period as part of the depression, and that’s not necessarily accurate. I need to brush up on economic history. lol
I film that might be up your alley (you may have already seen it) is Curse of the Cat People (1944) - It's a Christmas Movie!. It's the sequel to Cat People (1942) in name only. It features Simone Simon and Kent Smith from the first film, but it's so far from a horror movie and has virtually nothing to do with the first movie. It somehow blends fairy tale vibes with spooky vibes *and* Christmas vibes to create a perfect oddball film. I swear it's a Christmas movie.
I am so glad you included The Bishop's wife on here. It has been one of my all-time favorite movies since I was a teen. It's a wonderful Life is my all-time favorite movie . It's not just my favorite Christmas movie it is my actual favorite movie period. When I was 15, I was feeling depressed because I didn't have money to buy expensive clothing and jewelry and purses like all of my friends. I watched the movie it's a wonderful Life ,by myself, one day. After I finished the movie, I fell to my knees and sobbed. I felt ashamed that I didn't appreciate all the beautiful family members I had that loved me. George Bailey made me realize I truly was the richest girl I knew. It was 40 years ago, and I would give anything today to have those family members back . I miss everyone so much as they have passed on.
Remember everyone ,it's not about the gifts or who has what and who buys what. It's about the people you have around you and how much love and joy that they add to your life and you to theirs.
I have not seen the thin Man in many years but I'm so glad you brought it up because I'm going to watch it immediately!
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Great work, Daniel!
If anyone is looking for more B&W Christmas-y movies to watch:
* "Good Sam" (Gary Cooper and Ann Sheridan, directed by Leo McCarey)
* "I'll Be Seeing You" (Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten)
* "Bachelor Mother" (Ginger Rogers and David Niven, written and directed by Garson Kanin)
* "A Christmas Carol" (the 1938 version)
* "Holiday Inn" (Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire)
* "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (Bette Davis and Ann Sheridan; funny, sweet, and very zany!)
* "The Lemon Drop Kid" (Bob Hope; a real hoot and a million laughs from start to finish)
and especially...
* "The Bells of St. Mary's" (Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman, directed by Leo McCarey; the Christmas pageant scene is very sweet, and who could forget the wonderful, heartbreaking ending...there is a good reason this was probably the biggest box office hit of the 1940s)
* "Remember the Night" (Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray; FANTASTIC story of love and redemption set at Christmas time; this really opened my eyes as to how versatile an actress Barbara Stanwyck was!)
Going My Way and The Bells Of St Mary's are also traditional favourites of mine.
Man, Scrooge is the best version of A Christmas Carol. Of all the movies versions you mentioned they are good but this one is Excellent. The part when we see the Cratchits feel so real. And so full of love when the daughter comes from hiding and when the eldest son is inform he got a job.
And Sim of all the actors you mentioned is the one that show more that truly change.
Tiny Tim is a little big I admit but no movie is perfect. I can’t believe you put it number 10.
The list was great except the ranking of Scrooge. And you forgot to say that the Bishop’s Wife had a remake with Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston called the Preacher’s Wife.
Backed 100%! It's the finest, imo.
Easily the best version of "A Christmas Carol" and should be in anybody's top 3 favorite Christmas movies.
I’ve been watching the Alastair Sim Christmas Carol since I was a child, every Xmas eve I watch it alone while I wrap presents. I also watch It’s a Wonderful Life every year. These are not just two of my favorite Xmas movies, but two of my favorite movies period
If you haven't seen it, don't miss Remember the Night (1940), the first teaming of Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. With a great script from Preston Sturges, good holiday atmosphere and skeptical sentiment, it's easily my favorite Christmas film. I promise it will make your next top ten!
Thank you very much for your recomandation....I will certenly try it out
Thank you for the recommendation! Merry Christmas ❤
Right off the bat, the Alistair Sim Christmas Carol film is my favorite Christmas movie. Every time I watch it, I end up crying. The same goes for Miracle On 34th Street, my number two.
I'm glad the Bishop's Wife made your list. I first saw it only a few years ago, and really enjoyed it.
I can’t understand why The Bishops Wife isn’t more popular than it is. It’s such a great film.
It's at the top of my must see list!!!!
I've all ready watched it.
Can't beat Cary Grant's Dudley.
Pretty standard list but I can't find fault with it. One addition I might suggest is "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (1942) starring Monty Wolley and Bette Davis. Set at Christmas in the Midwest, Wooly play an obnoxious celebrity author and radio personality who trips on the steps of a wealthy couple's house and insinuates himself into the household for the Holidays. Fans of "The Bishop's Wife" will remember him as the Professor. Here, he's the star of the show and chews the scenery with a ferocity that I've seldom seen in a Christmas movie. I think Davis is probably a little miscast as his long suffering secretary but she does well enough.
*Correction-"It Happened on 5th Avenue" isn't set during the depression, which was over by 1947. It's about an era that most people don't talk about-the post-war period where the economy was booming and GIs were coming back from the war, only to find that there simply wasn't enough housing for everyone and landlords were raising the rents because demand was so high they could get away with anything (sound familiar). The movie kind of touches on that as the Jim Bullock character tries to buy an abandoned military base to convert it to housing. This is when housing developments started going up all over the country, creating a massive construction boom. My grandfather owned a construction company in NJ during this period and he made enough money just building houses to retire early
It Happened on Fifth Avenue and The Bishop's Wife came out in 1947, WWII ended the Great Depression.
Scrooge was always a family tradition every Christmas season. Great Christmas classic!
Same for me too 🙂
The 1951 carol is so rewatchable, and the visual effects and cinematography are really great
Don't forget HOLIDAY INN with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Its the film that first introduced WHITE CHRISTMAS, the film of which is a partial remake. Made in 1942, its a period piece, but lots of fun.
Thin man is great film that emphasizes their relationship over the mystery. Super fun show and one of my favorite!
Christmas in Connecticut is my #1. It is hilarious, romantic and kind of risque.
'A toast to my big brother George, the richest man in town' 😭Gets me every time.
Great list. Sim's Scrooge is excellent. My favorite version of A Christmas Carol is Albert Finney's version of Scrooge 1971. It's a musical, and I am not a huge musical fan, but I love this one. Certainly the best performance of Scrooge, IMHO anyway...
I'm so glad I came across this channel! So many vids I'm interested to watch. Also your Christmas decor and outfit are nice! 🌹🎄
Thank you so much!! My wife actually made me the scarf and hat. 😊
Wonderful Life ... also the movie that first made me love Gloria Grahame "a third of a dance? a third of a dance?"
Very well done! It's not black and white but my favorite A
Christmas Carol was portrayed by Jim Bacchus as Mr. J. Quincy Magoo. It's a musical from 1962 and the most delightful Christmas confection you can imagine.
1951 Scrooge or Christmas Carole is the best. I would list it lower than Christmas in Connecticut. Its A Wonderful Life isnt just the best, most stirring holiday movie, its one of the top 20 movies ever made.
A lot of these are on my list too! But I have to mention the Great Rupert! 😊 I can't believe I've never seen the Bishop's Wife. I'm watching it this week.
The Bishops Wife is a real grown up movie. It was a post WW2 film and spoke to the rapid commercialization of Christmas after the privations of the war. My fave!
Hi Daniel! Great list as usual, not surprised at no.1 as it's my favourite as well. If you enjoyed Stewart and Sullavan together you should watch a movie I love watching this time of year called "The Mortal Storm". Not sure if you're familiar with it. Though it's not a Christmas movie at all, it does take place in Germany and Austria during the winter so it does have a Christmas vibe, even though it isn't. It's a dark movie but it has a strong message and is incredibly thought provoking and enlightening. Always makes me emotional, especially the ending. The performances by both leads are magnificent. Cannot reccomend this movie enough! Would love to hear your thoughts on it sometime.
Take care.
THE MORTAL STORM is so good. Dark stuff in that movie too.
The Mortal Storm ❤ : wonderful movie, not only Sullavan and Stewart but also Maria Ouspenskaya, Robert Young, Frank Morgan and Bonita Granville…
About Margaret Sullavan, I am fond of her first movie : Only Yesterday (1933 - remade as Letter from an Unknown Woman in 1948).
Greetings from France 🇫🇷
Thank you for putting together this list - I have a suggestion for you now that Veteran's Day is on its way...
There are lots of good suggestions in the comments below including several Bing Crosby movies that are near the top of my Christmas list. One big comment below is that 1947 was not the Great Depression (which begun with the stock market crash in the fall of 1929. Most of the US had climbed out of the depression by the late 1930s. Many of the movies were filmed while we were at war or were dealing with the post war era which saw returning GIs searching for work and a housing shortage. Thousands of young boys left high school, went to Europe or the Pacific and returned young men, forever changed and needing a job that might have been performed by their sisters, mother, wife or fiancé while they were gone. Situations like this are covered in almost half of the movies on your list.
I too love The Bishop's Wife and if you have not done so already, you should watch the trailer for that film which is shot outside at the Samuel Goldwyn studios and mentions the previous year's academy award winner, The Best Years of Our Lives. This is my favorite movie to watch around Veteran's Day. It deals with 3 service members (Army, Navy and Airforce) from the same town that never knew each other before the war and meet on a flight back home at the war's end. The movie shows the real-life experiences of veterans returning from war and trying to return to a "normal" life while combating a changing world, tragic wounds (both physical and psychological) and their families that have grown while they were gone. An amazing movie with award winning performances!
Thank you for recognizing The Bishop's Wife - so under rated.
If you can hunt down "It's a Wonderful Life" the May 8, 1949 radio drama with Arthur Q. Bryan as Clarence is a treat!
I've been working on getting the ghost stories back for Christmas, usually it's only a couple people that'll participate.... Hmmmm that gives me an idea!
Happy Christmas, Cobwebs!
Merry Christmas!! I haven’t heard that radio show, but I’m very intrigued.
It's prolly one of my favourite things to listen to this time of the year!
Nice!!
Great picks! There is no Scrooge like Alastair Sim for sure. If you want to see a hugely funny Christmas film give "The Man Who Came to Dinner" a spin...it's comedy is often snarky and surprisingly modern. There are more than a few quotable lines here.
The Bishop's Wife is one of my all-time favorites!!
My favorite on-screen Santa Claus will always be Art Carney from The Night They Saved Christmas. If you don't remember that movie, I don't blame you. It was a TV movie from 1984, and it's definitely a product of the times. But it's a dearly loved favorite of mine, and as I've said, this version of Santa Claus is and always has been how I envision the real Santa Claus. ❤️🎄
I know you usually do the older, more vintage movies, but I really think you and the viewers would enjoy an 80s Christmas movie video.
Things like The Night They Saved Christmas (which I know you can find here on UA-cam), A Muppet Family Christmas (also go for the UA-cam version, as the physical media versions cut a lot out due to copyright laws), One Magic Christmas, Santa Claus: The Movie.
All cheesy and sweet and fun and nostalgic. I think it would be really fun!
William Powell and Myrna Loy are also splendid in "Libeled Lady" and "Love Crazy."
I’m not big on Love Crazy, but I’m a huge fan of Libeled Lady. Another 5/5!
Love Crazy- the elevator and dog scene.... Gold.
The 1951 version of A Christmas Carol (aka Scrooge) gets better at each viewing. There are so many subtle details that you see something new no matter how many times you have seen it. The next time you watch it, you might note Sim's reply to the two men collecting money for the poor. "Why?" is said so cold-bloodedly that it sends chills down my spine. Sim is, of course, magnificent in the role but there isn't a bad performance anywhere. I love Mervyn John's Bob Cratchit.
For decades, the ashes of Edmund Gwinn went unclaimed in a storage room at the Chapel in the Pines Cremetorium in California. Arthur Dark of Hollywood Graveyard discovered them during one of his video tours & raised funds to purchase a niche for him, so that his fans would have a place to pay their respects. The video of his recent internment is very touching - it was attended by many "Santas" & they sang "Here Comes Santa Claus" as his urn was walked down the aisle to its final destination.
Great list! Thanks for making the post. Have you seen a British Xmas film called THE HOLLY AND THE IVY? Been watching B&W Xmas flicks my whole life and only found this one a couple of years ago, which makes me think it's one that a lot of people may not have seen. It's an intense family drama that is also a quintessentially Christmas flick. It's very good. Another one I like is REMEMBER THE NIGHT with Fred MacMurry and Barbara Stanwyck. So glad you rediscovered THE BISHOP'S WIFE, one of my absolute favorites. Fantastic list of films (though I would have put the 1951 CHRISTMAS CAROL with Sim much higher!). I would have the exact same top three, for sure. :)
@user-ki2xc6ns3w Yes!! I have grown to love "The Holly and the Ivy" and watch it every Christmas season. It's a beautiful little film. And I was surprised Daniel didn't include "Remember the Night," but maybe he hasn't seen it.
I only saw The Holly and the Ivy for the first time last year and it knocked me out--such a powerful film! Maybe too bleak to become as popular as some of the others? Agree too about the Alistair Sim Christmas Carol--it is for me the definitive film version!
Great list! Great breakdown! I'm inspired.
Many of these are on Max and prime
Bishop's Wife is my favorite, but your choice of It's a Woderful life is a terrific one, truly always a difficult choice. You didn't mention Carey Grant's other worldly quality in the film which was magical. I thought I was a film nut when I was your age, but you had I few I hadn't seen. How on earth did I miss Robert Mitchem and Janet Lee teaming up? Also, a Peter Cushing film I haven't seen!?!? This is the second count down I've seen of yours, you are fun. Thanks so much! Happy holidays and may love and peace find you, you're family and friends this season.
Really like your channel!!!! Great list too!!!! Of course 'It's a Wonderful Life' is number one, for you and me and for most film buffs I think. Thanks for a couple of surprises on this list! Particularly the robert Mitchem on and the Peter Cushing one (yeah, Hammer rules!!!!) I've also enjoyed your Witch and VAmpire and especially your haunted house lists. I do like Film Noir and your list and video helped broaden this genre for me. One comment you made caused me to pause and reflect. It's when you said something like 'It's a Wonderful Life' had a deep influence on you, on how you believe people should live, treat others, etc. What made me pause about that is that I feel the same way not about Its a Wonderfu Life, but about 'A Man for All Seasons.' I saw that by myself one afternoon shortly after I had watched it win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Something about the movie pulled at me. So, one afternoon after school, I biked to a nearby movie house and watched it. Was blown away because up to then (that spring of 1967 I was in the 8th grade) I did not know who Thomas More was or what had happened to him. I was stunned that Henry had him beheaded. His standing for what he believed to be right, good and true in opposition to the King, to the government, to those in power, made a deep, deep impression on me that was only deepened as I grew to maturity during the years of Vietnam, of LBJ, then Nixon, Ford and Carter. That movie hit me at a perfect time to make a super big impression on me. Movies are THE persuasive entertainment & influencer in young people's lives. Other people have had to have experienced being deeply touched/influenced by a film that left such a big impact it really influenced their lives. Why not solicit thru your channel some feedback about this, and then make a video listing the most often cited films and why they exerted such a deep influence on some. What do you think?
The 1984 Clive Donner version of "A Christmas Carol" (starring George C. Scott) is one of my favorite movies of all time. Not B&W, but...amazing atmosphere with a much darker vibe.
Thanks for the list! I haven't seen four of those so I added It Happened on 5th Avenue, Cash on Demand, The Shop Around the Corner and Holiday Affair to my list of Christmas films to watch. The rest I have watched in the past few years and I loved them all. I agree with #1, It's a Wonderful Life really is about as perfect a film as I have seen. I might have added a few more Barbara Stanwyck films, such as Remember the Night and Meet John Doe.
Oh yes! I meant to add REMEMBER THE NIGHT to my comments. I just watched it and HOLIDAY AFFAIR again yesterday.
You nailed the best Christmas movie list, Daniel. I had the same reaction when I saw The Bishop's Wife. I felt it so deeply, and such a great script and message. My favorite feel-good is Christmas in Connecticut, and of course It's A Wonderful Life is the best movie ever made. Frank Capra is amazing. Merry Christmas!
Wow, wasn't expecting to see Cash On Demand mentioned. It's a really interesting, unique film with a good life lesson. Peter Cushing gives an excellent performance. Nice choice and great list! ☃️🦇👌
I’m a huge Hammer fan, so I’ll take any opportunity to talk about them. haha
@@cobwebschannelHi Daniel, I'm a huge Hammer fan as well. I own the same box set you referenced. I'm really enjoying all of your Classic Horror content. You do an awesome job with your channel! Happy Holidays! ☃️🦇👌
Thank you so much! Happy Holidays to you!
Your top 3 matches my top 3. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is my favorite movie of all-time. James Stewart as George Bailey is my favorite performance of all-time. George and Mary walking home from the dance is my favorite scene in any movie all-time. In addition to the top 3, I also watch HOLIDAY AFFAIR, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER and CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT every year. A couple more I would throw in are THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, which is based on a zany Broadway play, and MEET JOHN DOE, which is another Capra Christmas tale. It is dark. Also, though it's not specifically a Christmas movie, it begins and ends on separate Christmases, and introduced the most popular recording of all-time. The movie is HOLIDAY INN, and the recording was "White Christmas". It was originally written for HOLIDAY INN.
I love this list.... I appreciate any list with James Stewart and Peter Cushing on it . I would also recommend 'Beyond Tomorrow' (1940) to anyone who hasn't seen it. Three rich men throw their wallets out of the window to see if there are any good people left in the world. Ghosts, romance and friendship make that one a nice little feel good Christmas movie 😊
I might swap out Holiday for It Happened on 5th Avenue, or Scrooge. I'm going to be watching Cash on Demand tonight. i'm excited to see something new! Thanks!
Ahhh, we're different generations, Daniel. I'll always go for my Alastair Sim version of Scrooge.
A Miracle On 34th Street with Edmund Gwenn
Cary Grant in The Bishop's Wife
It's A Wonderful Life. Can't go wrong with that.
Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck in Meet John Doe
And, of course, for me, Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus Of Nazareth. I'm Irish, what can I say.
Thanks Daniel. By the way, your sweater is top notch.
If you don't post again before the big day, a Happy Christmas to you and your family.
Oh, is Meet John Doe a Christmas movie? I forgot that! I do love that movie.
And Merry Christmas!
Holiday Inn is a good one to watch at Christmas, it's got Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire
One of my favorites,....but the black face is cringe worthy at the least. I like the song,..but. I do think it should not be removed. It should be there as a reminder of how things were and why the changes still needed are taking too long.
I used to watch the Thin Man movies with my family when they would come on channel five at 8pm. I have three of the blu-rays. They’d be good to watch at Xmas
TCM has “Christmas in CT” & “It Happened on 5th Ave.” on their home page.🎄🎅 “The Bishop’s Wife is my favorite.❤ Love your Christmas vibe!💚
Christmas in Connecticut is one of my favorites! Another great Barbara Stanwyck Christmas movie is Meet John Doe. Amazing movie.
Yes! Great Capra film.
As always I love the ones you mentioned that I know (Wonder Life IS one of the greatest films of all time) and I'm curious about the ones I don't know. 10/10 fricheks
If you want to see more Alastair Sim I suggest "The Belles of St. Trinnian's" and "School for Scoundrels."
Thanks!
Another one to mention and recommend is the man who came to dinner.. Also holiday inn.
In The Good Old Summertime with Judy Garland is also a musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner.
Nice fun video for the Christmas season. A lot of great movies in this list 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it!
I really like " Scrooge " and " Shop around the corner " . "Cash on demand " was a great discovery some years ago ( I also believe that Cushing has been one of the best actors ) . For me the best Christmas movie, in B/W or color, will always be the spanish " Placido " by Luis Garcia Berlanga. Although it is also more bitter, there is no denying that it is a Christmas movie, and a masterpiece that does not pass the time.
Another good Christmas film is Christmas Eve (1947) with George Raft, George Brent, Ann Harding. Loretta Young did a remake of Christmas Eve (1986).
I just picked up that blu ray of Miracle on 34th Street, but haven't seen it in about 40 years. Looking forward to see what I think of it as an adult. I haven't seen The Bishop's Wife, but I have seen the remake from the 90s starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. It's a pretty good movie in its own right, if you haven't seen it.
You might check out the 1938 MGM version of A Christmas Carol, if you like a little cheese with your Christmas meal. A great comedy to check out which is firmly entrenched with Christmas vibes is the 1942 Warner Bros. film, The Man Who Came to Dinner, with Monty Woolley, Bette Davis, Billie Burke, Mary Wickes, Jimmy Durante, and Ann Sheridan. Also, one film I watch at Christmas every year is the 1944 WWII era melodrama Since You Went Away with Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Monty Woolley (in a Christmas 2-fer with The Man Who Came to Dinner, above), Hattie McDaniel, Jennifer Jones, and teenaged Shirley Temple. While it's not "Christmas themed", it does culminate at Christmas eve.
My new co-workers asked me what my favorite Christmas movies were, keep in mind that my youngest co-worker is 27 and I'm 15 years older than my next oldest co-worker, and I mentioned Holiday Affair and Remember the Night. They had to look them up.
At the beginning of this video i said 'He beeter have Scrooge' 1951." My fav christmas movie. The best!
Great list, thank you very much !
About Lionel Barrymore, the antidote to Potter is dear Grandpa Martin Vanderhof in You Can’t Take It with You (hope you have seen it !)
Greetings from France 🇫🇷
So true! I LOVE him in that movie, he’s the most lovable guy ever. haha
I really enjoyed the Alastair Sims Scrooge. I need to check out The Thin Man. Christmas In Connecticut is another I should check out. The original Miracle on 34th Street is one of my favorites. It's a Wonderful Life is amazing. I really appreciate this list and I have a lot I need to add to the collection.
You should watch the "Scrooge" with Reginald Owen, also the musical one with Albert Finney.
Great list, id add The Lemon Drop Kid to it. It a black and white Bob Hope christmas move. I you do a classic color xmas movie list id recommend Were No Angels staring Bogart, its about 3 convicts that escape a french prison at xmas
Monster movies don’t get enough respect! I didn’t realize you had an interest in films other than horror films. If that’s the case I would like to encourage you to do other “Best of” movie lists. I’m a fan of older films. Besides monsters and science fiction I like older detective films such the Thin Man, Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto, Sherlock Holmes, the Falcon, Perry Mason, Bulldog Drummond, and Detective Dee. And what about old westerns and comedies? And oh my God, serials. What about serials? Some of the greatest action I have ever seen. You know the classic Flash Gordon, but what about Tim Tyler, Manhunt in the African Jungle, Terry and the Pirates, Don Winslow of the Navy, Daredevils of Red Circle, The Perils of Pauline, Gangbusters, and Adventures of Captain Marvel to name a few. Non stop action with cliffhangers, always. You’ve got to watch and share them. Thanks for your time.
Have you not seen Remember the Night (1940)?
Elbow rubbing anecdote: I met Janet Leigh at a celebrity gathering at the flagship restaurant at Universal Studios and she was sitting with Charlton Heston and I approached their table and said, "Touch of Evil!" And Mr. Heston said, "Not many people remember that movie." And I said, "Well, I do. I can't forget it." And Ms. Leigh looked at my face with indescribable appreciative beautiful eyes and smiled and beamed so brightly that I almost fell backwards.
I have seen Remember the Night, and I’m sad to say I was disappointed by it. Maybe a rewatch one day will change things.
That anecdote is LOVELY though. Thanks for sharing! And imagine thinking people don’t remember Touch of Evil, holy cow!!
@@cobwebschannel , really? I absolutely love that film. And yes, lovely is the word.
So I rented a few of these thanks buddy ❤
Awesome! I hope you enjoy!
You are an evangelist for The Thin Man, haha -- I need to finally watch this movie.
Holiday Inn? Anyone? Anyone?
What no Bells of St. Mary's!
A+ video!
LOVE IT! Always great recommendations!
If it were my list, I would have made room for another comedy that would have earned its place as a stretch in the manner of the The Thin Man. And that would be Preston Sturges' The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944). One of the funniest movies of all time, as well as a surgical skewering of the Nativity Story.
Very cool video, great movies, Congratulations for your work 😁🏆👌👍🥇🎖🏅🥳
Thank you!!
I loved the Thin Man movies. Years ago I read the original book by Hammett, it was leaden, grim and gritty. Much better movie than book.
i've always enjoyed laurel and hardy's version of " babes in toyland " 1934
It’s my Thanksgiving go to and starts the holiday movie season for me. B&W version of course!
I don't consider The Thin Man a Christmas movie, however it's one of my top 5 movies overall.
We love old BW Christmas movies. I’d encourage you to give a good look at the riotous The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Cheaters, I’ll be Seeing You, Never Say Goodbye and Remember the Night. These are all up there with the ones you mentioned but few watch them. (The best of this lot being The Man Who Came to Dinner). Strongly suggest giving these a view.
Alistair sim is my favourite Scrooge This and Its a wonderful life are my Number one Christmas movies
The Thin Man yes!!!
x I am a huge fan of It's A Wonderful Life, actually recommended that film to a friend yesterday.
o She does not like Christmas movies that much but was very impressed with that film.
o I really like The Shop Around The Corner also, I just sent that recommendation to her (also noted that is was from this channel).
x I played a comedy version of Tiny Tim at the assisted living (The Waterford) that I used to work at for the Christmas program there.
o Somewhat similar to the version of Tiny Tim gymnastic-like girl in the film Scrooge (similar in its outlandishness).
x Just wrote down Miracle on 34th Street and The Bishop's Wife on my December Watch List (to watch before Christmas), actually haven't seen either of them before!
o I am trying to find the right time to watch Christmas In Connecticut, there is another film called Twas The Text Before Christmas (it is a Hallmark film) that also takes place in Connecticut.
Easy top ten to make here’s my top 10
1st Miracle on 34th Street
2nd It’s a wonderful life
And that’s it
Bishops wife ? Not sure….. I’ll place it 18th
Sorry, but the 1951 version of a Christmas Carol is, by FAR, the best version of the story and ought to be close to number one on the list. Sim's Scrooge is definitive. And it's a truly British version of the film, which illustrates an understanding of Scrooge's three dimensional character. Sim makes him even more so by his nuanced performance. No one has ever delivered a performance of Scrooge as good. So you missed the boat on that one man.
TOTAL agreement on Christmas in Connecticut. Funny and likeable, and Stanwyck carries the movie. But Morgan is not well-cast as a partner for her.
Happy with the inclusion of the original version of The Bishop's Wife. THAT'S a Christmas movie.
And... It's a Wonderful Life. Well, there was a time when I too would have placed this movie at number one. (And not a lot of younger people know that this film was a flop when it was released--which was not at Christmas, BTW, as it wasn't considered a Christmas film per se originally) and was pretty much ignored and thought of as one of Capra's lesser films until PBS got a hold of it in the 1980s, as I believe the copyright on it had gone out or some such thing... and PBS stations across the country aired the hell out of it during the Christmas pledge drive season. That's the origin of the film's latter day success, and when most of us first saw it, and why it came to be considered THE Christmas movie). And while I still think it's a very good movie (but no, nowhere near the best movie ever made, come on) it's become too sentimental for me. It kind of represents the excesses of Frank Capra as a director for me now. But I get it. This is the big one for a lot of people.
1947 was not during The Great Depression.
I love your Top 10 videos. Good stuff! I had the chance to watch The Shop Around The Corner in a theater yesterday. I'd never seen it before so I took the opportunity and it was awesome. The same theater will be playing Rear Window next month and I can guarantee I will be there.
That’s awesome! And thank you!
How did you miss The Man Who Came to Dinner? It should be top five on the list.
Hadn’t come across it before reading all the comments on this video. Looking forward to checking it out!
I was expecting Curse of the Cat People to be on here.
Oh wow, is that a Christmas movie? I haven’t seen it in a few years, and didn’t remember that.
Wonderful list of classic Hollywood Christmas films! Many are my favorites as well. When talking about The Bishop's Wife, I'm surprised you didn't make mention of its remake, The Preacher's Wife (w/ Whitney Houston). That, too, is a great film, although I realize it couldn't be included in your list of black & white Christmas films. Enjoying the channel, Daniel. Thanks😊
It's a Wonderful Life has the best ending ever.
Also « Love Affair » and its remake « An Affair to Remember » (on a Christmas eve too !)
@@francoisevassy6614 Ooo! Gotta check those out!
If you’ve never seen The Man Who Came to Dinner you need to
Check out All Mine to Give 1957.
Wow. Cash on Demand! Deep cut. Props. Personally I find the female lead in Shop Around the Corner INCREDIBLY annoying! I think it's a great movie that I watch almost every year but Carole Lombard should have played the part. A better actor would have elevated that movie to mythic status. I also don't agree with your assessment that Gary Cooper would have been better in the part for Christmas in Connecticut. I may be alone but I find Cooper lacks any charisma of any kind. That's why he played so many stoic parts. Definitely can't see him singing by the piano. I would add Remember the Night to this great list. I also enjoy Stalag 17 and The Apartment around this time of year.
What are your favorite Christmas horror movies? Mine are Black Christmas, Christmas Evil, Gremlins, Krampus, and Violent Night
Honestly, that’ll probably be my Christmas video next year. haha But my list would be similar to yours, along with some others like Silent Night Deadly Night 1 & 5, and Dial Code Santa Clause.
This was the first time that I ever caught your channel. I loved your choices and have seen all of them numerous times except for “Cash on Demand”. Many years ago I was a den mother for my now 51 year old son. On the meeting just before Christmas, I used the concept of “what if it never happened?” to explain the meaning of Hanukkah to the boys. One of the boys was Jewish and usually felt a bit awkward at Christmas. Since Hanukkah fell very close to Christmas that year, I recounted how Judah Maccabee had asked God to help him save the temple under attack by the Greeks. Their aim was to obliterate the concept of “the one true God” and replace it with their polytheistic concept. Their plan was to destroy all of the records of the Old Testament so that the people of Israel would have no knowledge of their history or of their heritage.However their prayers were answered when God provided them with enough oil to keep the flame (light) going so that they could fight off the enemy. But if the Greeks had succeeded,the prophecies about Jesus’ birth in the Old Testament would have been lost and it would have been as though the birth of Jesus couldn’t have been perceived. It was similar to George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” not being there to save his brother from falling through the ice because he (George) had wished that he’d never been born.
This incident resulted in the Jewish boy’s mother calling me later that evening to thank me for helping her son and his friends to feel a real bond that didn’t usually happen at that time of the year. Just one more reason the film should be at the top of the list of the best Christmas movies.
That’s a beautiful story, thank you for sharing.
Not the Great Depression. It refers to the post-WWII period characterized by high unemployment and housing shortages among returning veterans. Did you actually watch this movie?
You’re right. Sometimes I have a tendency to just think of all economic problems in this general time period as part of the depression, and that’s not necessarily accurate. I need to brush up on economic history. lol
I film that might be up your alley (you may have already seen it) is Curse of the Cat People (1944) - It's a Christmas Movie!. It's the sequel to Cat People (1942) in name only. It features Simone Simon and Kent Smith from the first film, but it's so far from a horror movie and has virtually nothing to do with the first movie. It somehow blends fairy tale vibes with spooky vibes *and* Christmas vibes to create a perfect oddball film. I swear it's a Christmas movie.
In the Good Old Summertime with Judy Garland and Van Johnson is the first remake of Shop Around the Corner.