Christmas Films Worth Watching...

ohiopup

ohiopup

Well-known member
The Bishop's Wife
~ An angel comes to help the Bishop
,,, Cary Grant (the angel - Dudley)
... David Niven (the Bishop - Henry)
... Loretta Young (the wife - Julia)
... supporting roles: Monte Woolley (the professor) / James Gleason (taxi driver - Sylvester) / Elsa Lanchester (maid - Matilda)

will air on TCM twice ~ Sat. Dec 19, 6 PM / Christmas Eve Thu. Dec 24 8 PM

remade in 1996 as 'The Preacher's Wife' w/ Denzel Washington & Whitney Houston

- - - - - -

A Holiday to Remember 1995 made for TV (CBS)
with Connie Sellecca & Randy Travis / also Rue McClanahan



The Holiday

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EagleGuy

EagleGuy

Well-known member
ohiopup said:
The Bishop's Wife
~ An angel comes to help the Bishop
,,, Cary Grant (the angel - Dudley)
... David Niven (the Bishop - Henry)
... Loretta Young (the wife - Julia)
... supporting roles: Monte Woolley (the professor) / James Gleason (taxi driver - Sylvester) / Elsa Lanchester (maid - Matilda)

will air on TCM twice ~ Sat. Dec 19, 6 PM / Christmas Eve Thu. Dec 24 8 PM

remade in 1996 as 'The Preacher's Wife' w/ Denzel Washington & Whitney Houston

- - - - - -

A Holiday to Remember 1995 made for TV (CBS)
with Connie Sellecca & Randy Travis / also Rue McClanahan



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I pretty sure I saw The Bishop's Wife last year. lol
Have not seen Holiday to Remember. Thx!
 
Zunardo

Zunardo

Well-known member
ohiopup said:
The Bishop's Wife
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Great movie! I first saw that when I got my first apartment and treated myself to Cinemax on cable. Was entranced by it.

In The Good Old Summertime (1949) - despite the title, most of the plot takes place at Christmas time. Van Johnson, Judy Garland, S. Z. Sakall, and Buster Keaton. I missed this on TCM over the weekend, got the DVR programmed for Dec 23.
 
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KingKong24

Well-known member
Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, Bad Santa, Jingle All the Way, Gremlins, just to name a few.
 
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irish_buffalo

Well-known member
Christmas Vacation
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Uncle Buck
Die Hard
Die Hard 2
A Christmas Story
Miracle on 34th Street (original & remake)
Eight Crazy Nights
Home Alone
Home Alone 2
Office Christmas Party
Its a Wonderful Life
 
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eastisbest

Well-known member
In the "it's a reach" category, I like to watch Going My Way and Bell's of St Mary in the holiday season.

Probably a different thread but there was a Night Court and a West Wing episode I remember really liking, though I can't remember exactly what they were about. Night Court I can imagine, probably an arrested Santa.
 
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Mr. Slippery

Well-known member
irish_buffalo said:
Christmas Vacation
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Uncle Buck
Die Hard
Die Hard 2
A Christmas Story
Miracle on 34th Street (original & remake)
Eight Crazy Nights
Home Alone
Home Alone 2
Office Christmas Party
Its a Wonderful Life
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What excellent taste you have!

My traditional Christmas Eve movie watchlist is: Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, and Invasion U.S.A. Sometimes I make it through all 5, and sometimes I get too late of a start to watch all 5.

Christmas was the holiday that Married With Children put a lot of effort into each season. I could have a pretty good day just watching all of MWC's Christmas episodes. By contrast, Roseanne was big into Halloween.
Invasion U.S.A. is a cheesy mid-'80s Chuck Norris movie in which he plays an ex-CIA agent who's coaxed out of retirement when it's determined that his Soviet rival has surfaced in the U.S. and is leading a terrorist operation. It's not really a Christmas movie save for 3 scenes:
- Norris disrupts the terrorists' bid to detonate a bomb at a mall full of Christmas shoppers.
- He foils a bid to blow up a church holding a late night service, possibly Midnight Mass.
- The terrorists destroy a few random homes with a rocket launcher while people are putting the finishing touches on their outdoor Christmas decorations.
 
ohiopup

ohiopup

Well-known member
It's A Wonderful Life

Carl Switzer (AKA ~ Alfalfa) scene

Did you know 'Alfalfa' had a very small non-speaking part (but
necessary to the story line) in Christmas classic White Christmas...
The next time you watch it, see if you can spot him.

White Christmas...
The 'Sisters' number with Crosby & Kaye was not scripted but a prank
pulled by the two actors to break-up the crew...


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ohiopup

ohiopup

Well-known member
eastisbest said:
In the "it's a reach" category, I like to watch Going My Way and Bell's of St Mary in the holiday season.

Probably a different thread but there was a Night Court and a West Wing episode I remember really liking, though I can't remember exactly what they were about. Night Court I can imagine, probably an arrested Santa.
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I was going to post this closer to Christmas

both clips from season 1 ~ Episode 10 / 'In Excelsis Deo' aired December 15, 1999

from wiki...

While the senior staffers discuss the preparations for the Christmas celebration at the West Wing, Toby receives a telephone call from the office of the local coroner, and he responds by meeting a detective of the Metro PD at Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall to identify a body who had been found wearing a jacket that had Toby's business card in the pocket. Toby becomes emotionally and actively involved with the death of the man, who he discovers was a homeless veteran had served as a lance corporal in the US Marine Corps in the Korean War, and works to find out the man's identity and next of kin. President Bartlet jovially chats with a group of grade-school students around a White House Christmas tree, while C.J. tries to push for hate crime legislation after a deadly assault on a young gay man but receives little support amongst senior staff, and Mrs. Landingham reveals to Charlie why she’s sad during the holidays. Danny and C.J. continue to discuss the pros and cons of a first date. The President and his entourage sneak out for a short shopping trip. Sam and Josh, against Leo's wishes, visit Laurie to try and get dirt on Lillienfield and his allies, but she refuses to tell them anything and reminds them to behave as the good guys; Josh gives Donna a special gift with a touching inscription. The President and various staffers attend a concert of carols by a boys choir in the Mural Room, while Toby and Mrs. Landingham accompany the veteran's brother to his burial at Arlington National Cemetery with an honor guard.

Note: The episode title refers to the hymn "Gloria in excelsis Deo", which translates to "Glory to God in the highest."



"I got better treatment in Panmunjom."
- Toby apparently served in Korea -

"I can only hope so."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While we enjoy our families this season, there are those that
are in far off lands and those that are standing the 'watch'.
(this includes our front line health care workers)

Bless them all.

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NewOldBlood

Well-known member
Christmas Vacation is not just my favorite Xmas movie but also one of my favorite movies of all time. My family watches it every Thanksgiving after everyone is settled in to kick off the Xmas season. I watch A Christmas Story every Xmas Eve. I also really like the animated version of Christmas Carol starring Jim Carrey, as well as the older version with George C. Scott. Another of my all time favorites is Scrooged with Bill Murray, a nice comedic twist on the Christmas Carol story. Also like Elf, Four Christmases, and Christmas with the Kranks. I always try to catch Rudolf, The Grinch that Stole Christmas (original) and Frosty when I can too.
 
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SC10EHS15

Well-known member
Have always loved Scrooged. Wasn't even born when it came out, but have always enjoyed it.
As a kid, I was always watching the claymation Rudolph movie. Didn't matter the time of year, I was always watching haha still enjoy it today and have always liked The Year without a Santa Claus, as far as claymation goes.
Re-watched The Santa Claus with Tim Allen last week and it still holds up. The CGI, though, does not. My wife and I got some good laughs at how bad the CGI was.
 
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Purplemojo

Well-known member
Ok, the most off beat Christmas movies of all is The Curse of the Cat People (1944). A film with a dead woman's ghost who, when alive, turned into a panther when she was sexually aroused, or angered, a terrified little girl, a confused old woman and her homicidal daughter makes for a great Christmas movie.... really, no kidding.

 
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Qcity

Well-known member
# 1 - It's a Wonderful Life

Others: Miracle on 34th Street; A Christmas Carol; A Christmas Story; Trading Places.
 
thavoice

thavoice

Well-known member
I am surprised. I just figured you would rattle off every Hallmark movie....
irish_buffalo said:
Christmas Vacation
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Uncle Buck
Die Hard
Die Hard 2
A Christmas Story
Miracle on 34th Street (original & remake)
Eight Crazy Nights
Home Alone
Home Alone 2
Office Christmas Party
Its a Wonderful Life
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Zunardo

Zunardo

Well-known member
irish_buffalo said:
www.cosmopolitan.com

The Absolute Best Hallmark Christmas Movies to Watch This Year

Yes, they all pair perfectly with a mug of hot cocoa.
www.cosmopolitan.com www.cosmopolitan.com
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With one exception, I haven't been impressed with this year's crop of Hallmark holiday flicks. The writers are focusing even less on interesting dialogue and plot lines, and more on ensuring diverse characters.

This year's exception: "A Timeless Christmas". In 1903, a young successful factory innovator buys a unique Christmas clock, is transported to 2020, his mansion now a museum hosting tours led by a beautiful tour guide. He is able to prove to her who is, but the mysterious clock is nowhere to be found ......

Here are some of the ones I actually enjoy seeing again (thanks to Mrs. Zunardo commandeering the remote):

"A Royal Christmas" (2014) - Philly seamstress falls in love with prince and heir to the throne of a British-like country. He takes her home to meet Queen (Jane Seymour), hoping his mother will accept her as his fiance. The snooty Queen may have other plans .....

"Just In Time For Christmas" (2015) - Small-town girl is torn between staying home to marry her long-time boyfriend or travel to the other side of the country to accept the big job teaching at a top school. Mysterious carriage driver sends her 3 years into the future to show her how big job option turns out. How is this possible? Her grandfather (Christopher Lloyd) has a theory ......

"Family For Christmas" (2015) - remake of Nicholas Cage's "The Family Man" - Successful, single, but shallow career-driven women who gets huge promotion. Santa encourages her to make a MORE sincere Christmas wish. She goes to bed, then wakes up in strange house, now married to the college boyfriend she regretted leaving behind. What has happened to her? Santa knows, but isn't telling .....

"I'm Not Ready For Christmas" (2015) - remake of Jim Carrey's "Liar Liar". Successful advertising executive Holly tells lies, disappoints niece. Niece asks Santa to make her stop lying. Now Holly has no filter. Can she find true love with handsome music teacher and redeem herself with her niece, and still land big account with rich arrogant client on the make?

"The Christmas Train" (2017) - Cynical war reporter traveling on a holiday-themed train from DC to LA, looks for inspiration to write book. Unfortunately his ex-fiance is a passenger, along with several other people who conveniently interact with him - and now the weatherman is forecasting a mountain blizzard along the route ......
 
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ohiopup

ohiopup

Well-known member
Triple Header today....

Noon: The Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Northwestern Wildcats

As mentioned earlier 2 films in the thread (back-to-back) on TCM
6:00 PM: The Bishop's Wife
8:00 PM: Were No Angles

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eastisbest

Well-known member
For me, football as long as I can find it. Weather's supposed to suck, I've got rahman noodles and ice cream to get by. I'm sitting in, looking for games. If I can find a Toledo B-Ball game, that will find a slot.
 
Zunardo

Zunardo

Well-known member
ohiopup said:
The Bishop's Wife~ An angel comes to help the Bishop
,,, Cary Grant (the angel - Dudley)
... David Niven (the Bishop - Henry)
... Loretta Young (the wife - Julia)
... supporting roles: Monte Woolley (the professor) / James Gleason (taxi driver - Sylvester) / Elsa Lanchester (maid - Matilda)
will air on TCM twice ~ Sat. Dec 19, 6 PM / Christmas Eve Thu. Dec 24 8 PM
Click to expand...
Thanks to ohiopup's timely mention, I DVR'd this yesterday and watched it last night - gets better every time I see it. With the advent of large hi-def TV's, I'm noticing more the portrayal of Old World upper-caste life in America - the huge medieval houses with grand staircases and elaborate woodwork, multiple servants in the bishop's house, etc.

Interestingly, this film was almost a failure, and the first half of the film had to be entirely re-shot. Because of that, Cary Grant's salary was boosted from $300K to $400K - the highest ever actor's fee at the time. In addition, the movie fared poorly at the box office - until mogul Sam Goldwyn temporarily retitled it "Cary and The Bishop's Wife", with Grant's mug prominently displayed by the new title in promos and posters.

Niven nails his role. Monty Wooley stays for dinner. Loretta Young's lips and eyes never quit. But Cary Grant is the money in the bank.

http://www.carygrant.net/articles/tookhollywood.htm
 
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Purplemojo

Well-known member
Two of my favorites, although, probably not for everyone: Battle of the Bulge (1965) and The Crossing (2000) (made for TV). They depict the two most critical Christmases in US history. Both are well acted by Henry Fonda in the former and Jeff Daniels in the latter. The Crossing is a bit more historically accurate, but both of them set the tone and tell the big story well.
 
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