My favorite classic christmas movies
I have expanded this list from 30 to an infinite number of entries of films that are recommended to watch every year around christmas time to get in the right yuletide spirit. All of them are great classic movies with stories that are either centered around christmas or just have the true spirit of christmas. Most of them I remember from way back since my childhood, and some I have found later in life. Some are available on DVD, while others astoundingly enough are still unavailable on DVD. Unless you want to pay extreme prices for second hand copies on Amazon.com or E-bay, which most likely will be copies knocked over directly from VHS tapes. The studios should make all these great films available on new restored copies on BluRay and DVD. I really think there would be an audience for them. Judging by how many people have viewed my list, they are still very popular. These classics are loved and will be watched forever, when much of the garbage that are released these days will be forgotten. I have just included a few newer movies from the last decades, which I think have the right atmosphere and in time probably will reach status as classics. There are also a few animated short films on the list, but I have left out the very short 5-7 minutes christmas cartoons, since I have made a special list for those. So...check out my "Classic Christmas Cartoon" list too.
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- DirectorRonald NeameStarsAlbert FinneyAlec GuinnessEdith EvansA musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about an old bitter miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.Many great movies have been made from Charles Dickens loveable story, but this musical version is the best ever. The music is great with a lot of catching songs, Albert Finney is an extraordinarie Scrooge, and it has all the best of british acting and music hall traditions.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsCary GrantLoretta YoungDavid NivenA debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.Good humoured and warm movie with Cary Grant at his best and a superior suporting cast lead by a very funny David Niven.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.This one always brings tears to my eyes, no matter how hard I fight it
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsEdmund GwennMaureen O'HaraJohn PayneAfter a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsBing CrosbyIngrid BergmanHenry TraversAt a big city Catholic school, Father O'Malley and Sister Benedict indulge in friendly rivalry, and succeed in extending the school through the gift of a building.Nobody croons like good old Bing !
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsBing CrosbyBarry FitzgeraldFrank McHughWhen young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.Just as good as The Bells of St. Mary, maybe even better ?
- DirectorDon HartmanStarsRobert MitchumJanet LeighWendell CoreyA young widow is torn between a boring attorney and a romantic ne'er-do-well.Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh and Wendell Corey this cast have the promise of a perfectly good noir flick, but actually it`s a very good christmas movie. I only discovered it a few years ago, probably because I`ve never seen it on TV, and it is only released on DVD in region1.
- DirectorPeter GodfreyStarsBarbara StanwyckDennis MorganSydney GreenstreetA food writer who has lied about being the perfect housewife must try to cover her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional family Christmas.Barbara Stanwyck and Sydney Greenstreet another unorthodox casting for a holiday movie.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsSpencer TracyKatharine HepburnGig YoungTwo extremely strong personalities clash over the computerization of a television network's research department.One of Hepburn & Tracys finest movies. Intelligent, witty and great acting.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsBette DavisAnn SheridanMonty WoolleyAn acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a Midwestern family.
- DirectorMark SandrichRobert AllenStarsBing CrosbyFred AstaireMarjorie ReynoldsAt an inn which is open only on holidays, a crooner and a hoofer vie for the affections of a beautiful up-and-coming performer.First time Bing sings Irving Berlins White Christmas on the screen.
- DirectorJimmy T. MurakamiDianne JacksonStarsDavid BowieRaymond BriggsMel SmithOn Christmas Eve, a young boy builds a snowman that comes to life and takes him to the North Pole to meet Father Christmas.
- DirectorJohn CromwellEdward F. ClineTay GarnettStarsClaudette ColbertJennifer JonesJoseph CottenWith her husband away to fight in World War II, a housewife must care for their two daughters alone.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsJudy GarlandMargaret O'BrienMary AstorYoung love and childish fears highlight a year in the life of a turn-of-the-century family.Wonderful moment when Judy Garland sings "Have yourself a merry little Christmas".
- DirectorJeannot SzwarcStarsDudley MooreJohn LithgowDavid HuddlestonThe legend of Santa Claus is placed into jeopardy when an unscrupulous toy manufacturer attempts to take over Christmas.Has the potential to become a classic.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsOlivia HusseyKeir DulleaMargot KidderDuring their Christmas break, a group of sorority girls are stalked by a stranger.Okay, this is different, but I think it`s refreshing with a little christmas horror too !
- DirectorA. Edward SutherlandStarsHarry CareyC. Aubrey SmithCharles WinningerThe ghosts of three elderly industrialists killed in an airplane crash return to Earth to help reunite a young couple they initially brought together.
- DirectorClive DonnerStarsGeorge C. ScottFrank FinlayAngela PleasenceA bitter old miser who rationalizes his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.Not one of the best versions of Dickens great tale of Scrooge but still have it`s moments.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsDeanna DurbinGene KellyRichard WhorfA young femme fatale-type woman realizes that the man she married is an incorrigible wastrel.
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsJimmy DuranteTerry MooreTom DrakeA little squirrel with lots of charm accidentally helps two poor, down-but-NOT-out families overcome their obstacles.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartPeter UstinovAldo RayThree Devil's Island escapees hide out in the house of a kindly merchant and repay his kindness by helping him and his family out of several crises.Bogart as one of the wise men. A truly classic moment !
- DirectorEdward BennettStarsDavid SuchetPhilip JacksonVernon DobtcheffThe tyrannical patriarch of a dysfunctional but wealthy family summons his adult children for a Christmas reunion, but prior to the holiday his throat is slashed apparently by one of them.My favorite christmas whodunnit.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsBill MurrayKaren AllenJohn ForsytheA selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorRichard CurtisStarsHugh GrantMartine McCutcheonLiam NeesonFollows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.Yes this one is very new but with a lot of good british actors and a great holiday theme, it is surely destined to become a classic among romantic yuletide films.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsMargaret SullavanJames StewartFrank MorganTwo employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsLoretta YoungCeleste HolmHugh MarloweTwo nuns arrive unannounced in the small New England town of Bethlehem, where they recruit various townspeople to help them build a children's hospital.This one has never made it to DVD as far as I know at least not in region2 maybe in region1 ?
- DirectorHenry EdwardsStarsSeymour HicksDonald CalthropRobert CochranEbenezer Scrooge is a mean old miser who wants nothing to do with Christmas. The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come visit Scrooge on Christmas Eve, taking him on a journey into the very spirit and magic of Christmas itself.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsDon DeForeAnn HardingCharles RugglesTwo homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.Another one we aren`t allowed to buy on DVD in Europe
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsBarbara StanwyckFred MacMurrayBeulah BondiLove blooms between a sympathetic attorney and the comely shoplifter he has taken home for the Christmas holiday.Real fine feel-good christmas movie with the couple from the noir classic Double Indemnity.
- DirectorGeorge More O'FerrallStarsRalph RichardsonCelia JohnsonMargaret LeightonA heartwarming tale of an English minister and his family reunited at Christmas time. Their story includes a remembrance of their World War II trials.Extremely rare british christmas movie based on a theatrical production with a superior cast.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsGeorge RaftGeorge BrentRandolph ScottTo save her fortune from a designing nephew, Matilda Reed must locate her three long-lost adopted sons in time for a Christmas Eve reunion.Another one who hasn`t been released on DVD and can only be viewed thanks to TCM and Youtube.
- DirectorJoseph KaneStarsJoseph SchildkrautBillie BurkeEugene PalletteAn eccentric wealthy family facing bankruptcy schemes to steal an inheritance, but an alcoholic ex-actor they take in for Christmas charity complicates their plan.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleGeorge CukorStarsGinger RogersJoseph CottenShirley TempleA soldier suffering from combat fatigue meets a young woman on Christmas furlough from prison and their mutual loneliness blossoms into romance.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldFrank TashlinStarsBob HopeMarilyn MaxwellLloyd NolanA New York City swindler has until Christmas to come up with the $10,000 he owes a gangster, prompting him to go into scamming overdrive.
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsFred MacMurrayAlida ValliFrank SinatraA press agent brings a dead actress home for burial. To promote her one film, he asks churches to ring bells for 3 days, hoping to get the studio head to release it.Frankie boy as a priest ? Okay, maybe a little far fetched.
- DirectorRandal KleiserStarsEdward AsnerMaureen StapletonRebecca BaldingA dying father pulls his torn family back together for a last Christmas.
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsJason RobardsJulie HarrisDon FrancksA widower not wanting to face his first Christmas alone responds to an ad for "social introductions".
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsDick Van DykeBarbara FeldonJohn McGiverA butler and the staff of an eccentric aged philanthropist whose family wealth is exhausted engage in larceny and crimes to maintain her lifestyle and provide funds for her charitable activities.
- DirectorAllen ReisnerStarsGlynis JohnsCameron MitchellRex ThompsonAn immigrant family in 1850's Wisconsin prospers until tragedy strikes.
- DirectorDave UnwinStarsMel SmithA down-to-earth Father Christmas recounts a vacation he took around the world and a typical Christmas Eve workload, from his small house in contemporary Britain.Funny and very british look at father christmas.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksChris CoppolaMichael JeterOn Christmas Eve, a young boy embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express, while learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas.
- DirectorJuha WuolijokiStarsHannu-Pekka BjörkmanOtto GustavssonJonas RinneThe touching story of how Santa Claus came to be Santa.This is a very remarkable Finnish movie that I got to know a few years ago, and it is a great santa movie with a little different approach than the traditional american santa claus movies. Please do yourself a favor and watch it around christmas time with some kleenex within reach.
- DirectorPreston SturgesStarsDick PowellEllen DrewRaymond WalburnAfter the co-workers of an ambitious clerk trick him into thinking he has won $25,000 in a slogan contest, he begins to use the money to fulfill his dreams. What will happen when the ruse is discovered?Okay this one doesn`t take place around christmas, but it has that special holiday feeling and atmosphere like most of Preston Sturges movies have.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsGary CooperBarbara StanwyckEdward ArnoldA penniless drifter is recruited by an ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.Not strictly a christmas movie either, but the plot is centered around new years eve, and Frank Capra is a master of that special type of story that I just love to watch around christmas.
- DirectorBrian Desmond HurstStarsAlastair SimJack WarnerKathleen HarrisonEbenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly, miserly businessman, has no time for sentimentality and largely views Christmas as a waste of time. However, this Christmas Eve, he will be visited by three spirits who will show him the error of his ways.Probably the second best Scrooge portrayed by Alastair Sim only bested by Albert Finney (in my humble opinion).
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsPeter BillingsleyMelinda DillonDarren McGavinIn the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsDanny ElfmanChris SarandonCatherine O'HaraJack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.Tim Burton`s weird animated story has become a modern classic for the more ghoulish taste.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantDoris NolanA young man in love with a girl from a rich family finds his unorthodox plan to go on holiday for the early years of his life met with skepticism by everyone except for his fiancée's eccentric sister and long-suffering brother.Great screwball comedy centered around the time of christmas and new Year (mostly), but it`s a great funny and warm movie to be watching during the holidays.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBing CrosbyDanny KayeRosemary ClooneyA successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.Not nearly as good as Hollywood Inn, but still some great moments from Bing Crosby and the sometimes funny Danny Kaye.
- DirectorGus MeinsCharley RogersStarsStan LaurelOliver HardyVirginia KarnsOpposing the evil Barnaby, Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum try and fail to pay-off Mother Peep's mortgage and mislead his attempts to marry Little Bo. Enraged, Barnaby's Bogeymen are set on Toyland.No christmas without Laurel & Hardy
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsJune HaverGordon MacRaeJames BartonAn Irish horsecar driver's daughter meets New York showman Tony Pastor and goes into vaudeville.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsEddie FisherDebbie ReynoldsAdolphe MenjouAfter finding a baby outside an orphanage, a salesgirl receives sympathy from those around her, including her boss' son, as they all assume the baby is hers.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEddie MurphyDan AykroydRalph BellamyA snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.Very funny christmas movie with Eddie Murphy at his best, and also introducing a very lovely young Jamie Leigh Curtis to partake in the christmas shenanigans.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartJune AllysonHarry MorganBiography of bandleader Glenn Miller from his beginnings to his death over the English Channel in December 1944.
- DirectorFrank TashlinStarsDick PowellDebbie ReynoldsAnne FrancisA Hollywood screenwriter takes in a runaway girl who's more woman than he can handle.
- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsHugh LaurieStephen FryEmma ThompsonSix former college friends, with two new friends, gather for a New Year's Eve weekend reunion at a large English countryside manor after ten years to reminisce about the good times now long gone.Includes some of the best british actors from this generation in a very warm, touching and funny christmas/new year film.
I mean where do you get Stephen Fry, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Imelda Staunton and Hugh Laurie at the same time ? - DirectorJohn KortyStarsMichael LearnedJohn HousemanRamon BieriA divorced woman moves to a new city, trying to rebuild her life. She joins the choir of a local church and is inspired by the choirmaster, a curmudgeonly old gentleman who will accept nothing but perfection from his group. As Christmas approaches and the choir practices for a performance of Handel's "Messiah', issues of racism and ageism, accusations against a young choir member, and the director's health issue threaten to undermine the performance.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsGreer GarsonWalter PidgeonFelix BressartAfter losing her young son, Edna Gladney opposes the unfair laws discriminating against children whose parents are unknown, and opens an orphanage for those children.
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsSonja HenieJohn PayneGlenn MillerAfter Phil Corey's band arrives at the Idaho ski resort, its pianist Ted Scott is smitten with a Norwegian refugee he has sponsored, Karen Benson. Later, soloist Vivian Dawn quits and Karen stages an ice show as a substitute.
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsMargaret O'BrienAngela LansburyGeorge MurphyWhile a man was in prison, a little girl who is very close to him was told that he was traveling the world. What will happen if she discovers the truth?
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsEdward G. RobinsonMargaret O'BrienJames CraigA Norwegian farmer lovingly raises his daughter in rural World War II-era Benson Junction, Wisconsin.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsIrene DunneBarbara Bel GeddesOscar HomolkaA young writer recalls her ups and downs of growing up as one of four children to Norwegian immigrant parents in 1910s San Francisco.
- DirectorKen AnnakinStarsLeslie PhillipsStanley BaxterWilfrid Hyde-WhiteForsdyke, a pathological petty thief subjects himself to a strict correction course run by a wealthy ex-con Widdowes and his Crooks Anonymous organization. Forsdyke's young and innocent girlfriend Babette, holds the hopes for his recovery and promises that she'll marry him if he'll reform. However, Forsdyke loses control when he's locked in a department store over Christmas.Very funny british film with a gang of...santa clauses !
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsMacaulay CulkinJoe PesciDaniel SternAn eight-year-old troublemaker, mistakenly left home alone, must defend his home against a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorJack SherStarsDan DuryeaJan SterlingPatty McCormackA publicity man tries to hide a child film star's brattiness from a magazine writer, who happens to be his ex-wife.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsLloyd BridgesShirley JonesLynn CarlinOver the Christmas holidays in a small New England college town, a man and a woman share a brief interlude. He is there to visit his wife, who is a mental patient at the university, and she is there visiting her son, who is a student, after discovering her husband's infidelity.
- DirectorArnaud DesplechinStarsCatherine DeneuveJean-Paul RoussillonMathieu AmalricThe troubled Vuillard family is no stranger to illness, grief, and banishment, but when their matriarch requires a bone-marrow transplant, the estranged clan reunites just in time for Christmas.
- DirectorStuart CooperStarsLoretta YoungArthur HillRon LeibmanA well-to-do elderly woman who befriends the homeless and volunteers her time with children learns that she has an incurable illness. She desperately wants to reunited her three grown grandchildren, now scattered across the U.S. living their own lives, with their estranged father, her son. She hires a private detective to search for them to try to get everyone together on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsReginald OwenGene LockhartKathleen LockhartAn elderly miser learns the error of his ways on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorRoger YoungStarsJames GarnerJulie AndrewsPatricia CharbonneauTwo strangers take refuge in a small cabin during a stormy winter night and, despite their differences, or perhaps because of them, they are undeniably drawn to one another in this holiday classic.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsEthel BarrymoreMaurice EvansAngela LansburyMary Herries (Ethel Barrymore) has a passion for art and fine furniture. Even though she is getting on in years, she enjoys being around these priceless articles. One day she meets a strange young painter named Harry Springer Elcott (Maurice Evans), who uses his painting skill to enter into her life. Little does she expect that his only interest in her is to covet everything she has.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsRobert CummingsBrian DonlevyMarjorie ReynoldsAn angel is sent to earth to help save the soul of a saloon and gambling house owner.
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsMonty WoolleyIda LupinoCornel WildeKathy lives in a cramped New York flat with her father Madden Thomas, a celebrated actor brought down by drink. Lame from an early age and feeling trapped with her father in her small world, Kathy is delighted to meet fellow tenant Robert. When Madden is offered the lead in a new King Lear and Robert lands a composing job in Hollywood, better times seem to beckon.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsAnn BlythEdmund GwennJohn McIntireSally O'Moyne, a good-natured but awkward school-girl lives with her extended and eccentric Irish-American clan. One day at school, unable to find her lunch bucket, Sally says a prayer to St. Anne in hope of heavenly assistance. When Sally finds her lunch, she believes a miracle has happened, convincing her of a special relationship with the saint. Meanwhile, some animosity between the O'Moyne family and a neighbor grows and manifests itself in various comic situations. The plot develops as Sally, firm in her belief in St. Anne, emerges from adolescence an attractive young woman, and discovers the opposite sex. The feud, along with Sally's personal life, works itself to resolution in this light, nostalgic look at growing up Catholic in the 1940s and 1950s.