A Holiday Showcase: Discovering Underrated Holiday Pictures

One thing that irks me about a lot of contemporary Christmas features is their excessive self-awareness – the ostentatious decorations, the formulaic music selections, and the stilted conversations about the essence of the festive period. It could be because the style was not yet hardened into tradition, movies from the 1940s often approach the holidays from far more creative and not as neurotic angles.

The Affair on Fifth Avenue

An favorite discovery from sifting through 1940s holiday comedies is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 romantic farce with a brilliant premise: a jovial vagrant takes up residence in a unoccupied Fifth Avenue estate each year. One winter, he brings in new acquaintances to reside with him, among them a former GI and a runaway who turns out to be the offspring of the property's wealthy landlord. Filmmaker Roy Del Ruth gives the picture with a surrogate family coziness that numerous modern holiday movies strive to attain. The film expertly occupies the space between a thoughtful story on housing and a whimsical metropolitan fairytale.

Godfathers in Tokyo

The late filmmaker's 2003 feature Tokyo Godfathers is a entertaining, sad, and profound interpretation on the holiday tale. Loosely based on a classic Hollywood movie, it follows a triumvirate of displaced individuals – an alcoholic, a transgender woman, and a teenage throwaway – who come across an abandoned newborn on a snowy December night. Their quest to reunite the baby's family triggers a series of unexpected events involving gangsters, immigrants, and ostensibly serendipitous encounters. The animation celebrates the enchantment of coincidence often found in holiday tales, offering it with a stylish aesthetic that steers clear of cloying feeling.

Introducing John Doe

Although Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life rightly receives much praise, his other film Meet John Doe is a compelling seasonal film in its own right. Featuring Gary Cooper as a charismatic drifter and Barbara Stanwyck as a plucky reporter, the story starts with a fake missive from a man vowing to fall from a ledge on December 24th in protest. The nation's embrace leads the journalist to find a man to impersonate the invented "John Doe," who later becomes a national symbol for neighborliness. The movie acts as both an heartwarming story and a sharp critique of wealthy media magnates attempting to exploit public sentiment for their own gain.

Silent Partner

Whereas seasonal slasher movies are now commonplace, the Christmas thriller remains a relatively niche style. This makes the 1978 gem The Silent Partner a fresh delight. Featuring a wonderfully vile Christopher Plummer as a bank-robbing Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a clever bank employee, the film sets two varieties of opportunistic individuals against each other in a stylish and unpredictable narrative. Largely ignored upon its original release, it is worthy of rediscovery for those who prefer their holiday films with a dark atmosphere.

The Almost Christmas

For those who like their family reunions chaotic, Almost Christmas is a riot. Boasting a stellar ensemble that features Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the story examines the tensions of a clan gathered to endure five days under one home during the festive period. Hidden dramas come to the top, leading to situations of over-the-top farce, including a dinner where a weapon is produced. Of course, the story finds a heartwarming resolution, offering all the enjoyment of a seasonal mess without any of the personal consequences.

Go Movie

Doug Liman's 1999 movie Go is a Yuletide-themed story that functions as a young-adult take on interconnected plots. Although some of its edginess may feel product of the 90s upon rewatch, the film nonetheless boasts many things to appreciate. These include a engaging performance from Sarah Polley to a captivating performance by Timothy Olyphant as a charming drug dealer who appropriately dons a Santa hat. It embodies a very kind of fin-de-siècle cinematic vibe set against a festive backdrop.

Miracle at Morgan's Creek

The famed director's 1940s comedy The Miracle of Morgan's Creek rejects typical Christmas cheer in return for irreverent fun. The story centers on Betty Hutton's Trudy Kockenlocker, who finds herself with child after a hazy night but cannot remember the soldier involved. The bulk of the humor stems from her situation and the attempts of Eddie Bracken's simping Norval Jones to marry her. Although not immediately a Christmas film at the start, the plot climaxes on the festive day, revealing that Sturges has refashioned a clever version of the birth narrative, filled with his characteristic sharp edge.

The Film Better Off Dead

This 1985 adolescent comedy starring John Cusack, Better Off Dead, is a quintessential specimen of its decade. Cusack's