A Holiday Tour de Force: Discovering Overlooked Yuletide Pictures

Something that bothers concerning numerous modern Christmas movies is their insistent self-consciousness – the over-the-top ornaments, the formulaic soundtrack tunes, and the clichéd speeches about the real spirit of the festive period. Perhaps because the style was not yet solidified into tradition, movies from the 1940s often tackle the holidays from more inventive and not as neurotic angles.

The Affair on Fifth Avenue

One delightful discovery from exploring 1940s seasonal fare is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 semi-romantic farce with a clever premise: a jovial hobo takes up residence in a unoccupied posh mansion each year. During one cold spell, he invites fellow down-on-their-luck individuals to reside with him, including a ex-soldier and a young woman who is secretly the heiress of the property's wealthy owner. Filmmaker Roy Del Ruth infuses the film with a makeshift family warmth that numerous newer seasonal films have to labor to achieve. The film beautifully occupies the space between a socially aware narrative on shelter and a whimsical city fantasy.

Godfathers in Tokyo

Satoshi Kon's 2003 tragicomedy Tokyo Godfathers is a fun, poignant, and profound interpretation on the holiday tale. Loosely based on a classic Hollywood movie, it centers on a triumvirate of homeless people – an drinker, a trans character, and a adolescent runaway – who discover an discarded newborn on a snowy December night. Their mission to reunite the baby's parents sets off a sequence of hijinks involving yakuza, foreigners, and apparently fateful connections. The movie doubles down on the enchantment of coincidence frequently found in holiday flicks, presenting it with a cinematic animation that avoids overly sweet emotion.

Meet John Doe

Although Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life deservedly earns plenty of attention, his lesser-known film Meet John Doe is a notable holiday tale in its own right. With Gary Cooper as a handsome everyman and Barbara Stanwyck as a plucky writer, the story kicks off with a fabricated note from a man promising to fall from a rooftop on Christmas Eve in frustration. The people's embrace forces the journalist to find a man to play the fictional "John Doe," who later becomes a national figure for kindness. The film acts as both an inspiring story and a sharp indictment of wealthy publishers seeking to use public feeling for their own gain.

Silent Partner

Whereas seasonal slasher pictures are now commonplace, the Christmas thriller remains a relatively rare subgenre. This makes the 1978 gem The Silent Partner a unique discovery. With a delightfully vile Christopher Plummer as a thieving Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a unassuming bank employee, the movie pits two types of opportunistic characters against each other in a stylish and unpredictable yarn. Largely overlooked upon its first release, it deserves a fresh look for those who like their Christmas entertainment with a dark atmosphere.

The Almost Christmas

For those who like their Christmas gatherings dysfunctional, Almost Christmas is a hoot. Boasting a star-studded ensemble that has Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the film delves into the tensions of a family forced to endure five days under one home during the Christmas season. Private problems rise to the top, resulting in scenes of extreme farce, including a dinner where a shotgun is produced. Naturally, the film arrives at a satisfying conclusion, providing all the fun of a holiday catastrophe without any of the personal aftermath.

Go

The director's 1999 feature Go is a Christmas-adjacent caper that functions as a young-adult interpretation on crisscrossing narratives. Although some of its humor may feel of its time upon rewatch, the movie nevertheless contains many elements to enjoy. These range from a engaging role from Sarah Polley to a captivating scene by Timothy Olyphant as a charming drug dealer who amusingly wears a Santa hat. It embodies a very brand of fin-de-siècle cinematic energy set against a holiday setting.

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

Preston Sturges's wartime comedy The Miracle of Morgan's Creek skips traditional Christmas warmth in exchange for bawdy comedy. The film is about Betty Hutton's Trudy Kockenlocker, who finds herself pregnant after a drunken night but cannot identify the man involved. A lot of the comedy arises from her condition and the efforts of Eddie Bracken's simping Norval Jones to marry her. Although not immediately a holiday film at the outset, the narrative climaxes on the Christmas, showing that Sturges has created a playful interpretation of the nativity, filled with his signature satirical humor.

The Film Better Off Dead

This 1985 teen film with John Cusack, Better Off Dead, is a textbook example of its time. Cusack's