Today my wife sent meet the program schedule for TCM, Turner Classic Movies, in December. TCM is running Christmas double features each Sunday. TCM is featuring movies that you may not consider Christmas movies. Here's the schedule with the descriptions off the TCM site, (better than mine would be.)
December 2: The Shop Around the Corner / In the Good Old Summertime
Ernst Lubitsch, Hollywood's master of sophisticated comedy in the continental manner, surprised movie audiences with The Shop Around the Corner (1940), a sentimental, homespun story of combative coworkers in a Budapest leather-goods store who do not realize that each is the other's secret pen-pal sweetheart. Responding to the famed "Lubitsch touch," James Stewart as Alfred and Margaret Sullavan as Klara play the star-crossed pair with great warmth and sensitivity. The romantic complications are ironed out touchingly on Christmas Eve, with a heavy snow falling as the couple sits alone together in the darkened store and Alfred at last tells Klara that he is her "Dear Friend." read on
The original title of MGM's musical remake of The Shop Around the Corner (1940) was The Girl From Chicago, with June Allyson and Frank Sinatra announced as its stars. By the time it went into production as In the Good Old Summertime, however, Allyson had become pregnant and was replaced by Judy Garland, with Van Johnson stepping in as leading man. Reset from a leather-goods shop in Budapest to a music store in turn-of-the-century Chicago, the story once again tells of pen pals who fall in love without realizing they are coworkers with a disagreeable on-the-job relationship. As in the original, the climax comes during the Yuletide season, providing Garland with the opportunity to sing a lovely song called "Merry Christmas." read on
December 9: A Christmas Carol (1938) / Meet John Doe
Ebenezer Scrooge is an embittered old soul who gains rest and renewal after just one night's sleep - the eve of Christmas. Given the opportunity to reflect on his past, present and future collectively, the mean old miser undergoes a radical change of heart and is "awakened" on Christmas morning a changed man.
Although there have been many screen adaptations of the novel by Charles Dickens, this was the first American film version and probably the most memorable. read on
Eventually, their first venture under the Warner Bros. umbrella would be Meet John Doe (1941). The film was meant as a warning against homegrown fascism, the cousin of the kind that was spreading across Europe in the form of Hitler's Third Reich. Even in America, Bund leaders were appearing, and pseudo-intellectual talk about "the wave of the future" had its fashionable proponents. With just such a hard-hitting story, Capra wanted to prove his considerable weight as a director of serious, message-laden films. read on
December 16: Meet Me in St.Louis / Love Finds Andy Hardy
Although only the climactic scenes of its year-long story span focuses on the winter holiday, Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) regularly shows up on lists of "Favorite Christmas Movies." That's probably because no one can forget Judy Garland's delivery of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to her screen sister, Margaret O'Brien, who is distraught at the prospect of leaving her beloved hometown. Also likely to remain in the memory is the scene that follows, as little O'Brien, with shocking intensity, destroys a group of "snow people" she has created to represent her once-happy family. read on
Who will be Andy's date at the Christmas Eve country club dance in good old Carvel, U.S.A? That's the crux of the plot in Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), with irrepressible Mickey Rooney in his fourth of 16 outings as the quintessential small-town American teenager. The Hardy pictures were a regular showcase for up-and-coming young actresses at MGM, and in this case there was Lana Turner as a teenage temptress invited to the dance by Andy. Trouble is, he also has invited his girlfriend, Polly Benedict, played throughout the series by Ann Rutherford. read on
December 23: Christmas in Connecticut (1945) / Holiday Affair
Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan star in Christmas in Connecticut (1945), a romantic comedy set during the holidays at wartime. Stanwyck plays Elizabeth Lane, a columnist for "Smart Housekeeping," THE magazine for aspiring homemakers. Every month she details her domestic triumphs from the idyllic setting of her farm in Connecticut. Touted as the "greatest cook in the country," she seems to have it all - a beautiful home, a happy husband, an adorable baby and of course, plenty of livestock. Elizabeth Lane is a role model to millions of readers who turn to her every month for guidance and inspiration. read on
Like It's a Wonderful Life (1946), another Christmas favorite released through RKO Studios, Holiday Affair (1949) was a box-office failure that went on to become a hit through repeated television airings. Though Holiday Affair has hardly achieved the cult status of the other film, it continues to charm audiences with its tale of a war widow (Janet Leigh) torn between her button-down fiance (Wendell Corey) and a free spirit (Robert Mitchum). read on
A couple of quick thoughts. Judy Garland singing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is one of the highlights of my Christmas season. (See previous post). The 1938 is my favorite Christmas Carol because Reginald Owen is my favorite Scrooge and it gives the best look at 19th century life as Ebenezer misers about his freezing cold business and home begrudgingly stoking his inadequate fires.
Merrily,
Danatello
I forgot about Christmas in Connecticut! What a great film! She's absolutely awful! In a good way... Since you blogged about it, does that mean you'll watch it with me?
Posted by: your wife | 01 December 2007 at 06:51 AM
Yeah, Sheila, you bring up a good point here. Growing up in the Midwest there were some shows that we looked forward to watching this time of year. The Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are two. Before cable these tv shows aired once per year and every family watched. Thanks Sheila.
Posted by: Danatello | 30 November 2007 at 04:06 PM
what about the wizard of oz, or is that more traditionally easter?
Posted by: sheila | 30 November 2007 at 10:06 AM