My Favorite Films for Holidays
by DaveGarber1975 | created - 16 Jul 2013 | updated - 23 May 2014 | PublicHere's a list of my favorite films that are particularly appropriate for holidays that include Groundhog Day, St. Patrick's Day, Passover Week and/or Easter Sunday, Independence Day, Utah's Pioneer Day, Constitution Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving Day, and especially Christmas Day.
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1. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Not Rated | 118 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
A Brooklyn writer of books on the futility of marriage risks his reputation after he decides to tie the knot. Things get even more complicated when he learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are habitual murderers.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson
Votes: 74,952
Here's a great Halloween comedy.
2. A Christmas Story (1983)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Family
In 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.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz
Votes: 168,595 | Gross: $20.61M
Here's a great Christmas comedy.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
On the outskirts of Whoville lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans to ruin Christmas for all of the citizens of the town.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Kelley, Jeffrey Tambor
Votes: 291,409 | Gross: $260.04M
Here's a great Christmas film.
4. 1776 (1972)
G | 141 min | Drama, Family, History
A musical retelling of the American Revolution's political struggle in the Continental Congress to declare independence.
Director: Peter H. Hunt | Stars: William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard, Donald Madden
Votes: 10,303 | Gross: $6.10M
Here's a great Independence Day musical.
5. Groundhog Day (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky
Votes: 684,738 | Gross: $70.91M
Here's a great Groundhog Day film.
6. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An 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.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 498,943
Here's a great Christmas drama.
7. The Nativity Story (2006)
PG | 101 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A drama that focuses on the period in Mary and Joseph's life where they journeyed to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke | Stars: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass
Votes: 12,354 | Gross: $37.63M
Here's a great Christmas film.
8. Hocus Pocus (1993)
PG | 96 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A teenage boy named Max and his little sister move to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.
Director: Kenny Ortega | Stars: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz
Votes: 155,871 | Gross: $44.34M
Here's a great Halloween comedy.
9.
The Magical World of Disney (1954–1997)
Episode:
The Thanksgiving Promise
(1986)
Unrated | 90 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A teenage boy is torn between his love for an injured Canadian goose that he has found and his agreement to fatten and kill it for an approaching Thanksgiving dinner for his neighbors.
Director: Beau Bridges | Stars: Beau Bridges, Millie Perkins, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Ed Lauter
Votes: 188
Here's a great Thanksgiving drama.
10. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
After 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.
Director: George Seaton | Stars: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart
Votes: 54,901 | Gross: $2.65M
Here's a great Christmas film.
11. A Christmas Carol (1951)
TV-PG | 86 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Ebenezer 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.
Director: Brian Desmond Hurst | Stars: Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns
Votes: 25,723
Here's a classic Christmas film.
12. One Magic Christmas (1985)
G | 89 min | Family, Fantasy
An angel must show a mother the true meaning of Christmas. It's not just presents and materialistic things, but the people she cares about too.
Director: Phillip Borsos | Stars: Mary Steenburgen, Gary Basaraba, Harry Dean Stanton, Arthur Hill
Votes: 4,451 | Gross: $13.68M
Here's an okay Christmas film.
13. Scrooged (1988)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover
Votes: 116,404 | Gross: $60.33M
Here's a great Christmas comedy.
14. Christmas Vacation (1989)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy
The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik | Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki
Votes: 220,075 | Gross: $71.32M
Here's a great Christmas comedy.
15. The Santa Clause (1994)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
When a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.
Director: John Pasquin | Stars: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd
Votes: 133,392 | Gross: $144.83M
Here's an okay Christmas film.
16. Far and Away (1992)
PG-13 | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
A young Irish couple flee to the States, but subsequently struggle to obtain land and prosper freely.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Thomas Gibson, Robert Prosky
Votes: 68,298 | Gross: $58.88M
Here's a great St. Patrick's Day film.
17. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
Approved | 34 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
In a small town, a brewing romantic rivalry with a local tough and a school-teacher culminates in a terrifying ride in the night.
Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney | Stars: Bing Crosby, Billy Bletcher, Pinto Colvig, Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires
Votes: 5,817
Here's a classic Halloween tale for children.
18. Liberty! The American Revolution (1997– )
360 min | History, War
Six-hour documentary on the American Revolution, from the passage of the Stamp Act (1765) through the ratification of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights (1789). In addition ... See full summary »
Stars: Stephen Lang, Donna Murphy, Edward Herrmann, Victor Garber
Votes: 420
Here's a great Independence Day documentary.
19. Elf (2003)
PG | 97 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
Raised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn't know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.
Director: Jon Favreau | Stars: Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel
Votes: 310,713 | Gross: $173.40M
Here's an okay Christmas comedy.
20. Monster House (2006)
PG | 91 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
Three teens discover that their neighbor's house is really a living, breathing, scary monster.
Director: Gil Kenan | Stars: Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Ryan Whitney
Votes: 138,082 | Gross: $73.66M
Here's a great Halloween tale for children.
21. The Ten Commandments (1956)
G | 220 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Moses, raised as a prince of Egypt in the Pharaoh's household, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people from slavery.
Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson
Votes: 77,803 | Gross: $93.74M
Here's a classic Easter film.
22. Legacy (1993)
53 min | Drama, History, Western
The story of the Mormon pioneers from the 1830's to the 1890's. The movie follows the experiences of Eliza Williams from New York to Missouri to Illinois to Utah. Eliza endures sickness, ... See full summary »
Director: Kieth Merrill | Stars: Kathleen Beller, Benton Jennings, Steve Abolt, Marcus Gilbert
Votes: 528
Here's a great Pioneer Day film.
23. 17 Miracles (2011)
PG | 113 min | Adventure, History
The Willie Handcart Company treks across America to the Salt Lake Valley, experiencing many trials and deaths, as well as 17 miracles.
Director: T.C. Christensen | Stars: Jasen Wade, Emily Wadley, Jason Celaya, Natalie Blackman
Votes: 1,670
Here's a great Pioneer Day film.
24. A More Perfect Union: America Becomes a Nation (1989)
111 min | Drama, History
It showed the process it took to write the Constitution of the United States.
Director: Peter N. Johnson | Stars: Craig Wasson, Michael McGuire, Morgan White, Bruce Newbold
Votes: 227
Here's a decent Constitution Day film.
25. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
G | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
The Muppets present their own touching rendition of Charles Dickens' classic tale.
Director: Brian Henson | Stars: Michael Caine, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson
Votes: 70,629 | Gross: $27.28M
Here's a good Christmas film.
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