I still have a soft spot for the 1962 Mister Magoo version. :-)
Not only is it a surprisingly good rendering of the classic story, but it was my first introduction to it as a child.
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Posted on 11/30/2004 7:18:48 AM PST by nypokerface
Good news, holiday movie shoppers: Some great Christmas pictures are coming your way this month.
The bad news is they're coming to your TV set and they're the same ones that have been coming for decades — "It's a Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street," "A Christmas Carol."
The last new member added to the Pantheon of Exalted Holiday Classics was Bob Clark's "A Christmas Story" — released 21 years ago! Last year's gentle Will Farrell comedy "Elf" may charm its way into the hall, and the current "The Polar Express" certainly expresses all the right messages. But most of Hollywood's recent Christmas movies have been lumps of something worse than coal — including this season's dumb and dumber entries, "Surviving Christmas" and "Christmas with the Kranks."
These cynical, slapstick confections mock holiday tradition, then tack on redemptive endings that are without a whit of conviction. If the filmmakers don't believe in their material, how can they expect us to?
The answer is, we don't.
"Surviving Christmas" with Ben Affleck, released in late October, barely survived Thanksgiving. It will end its run with less than $15 million in ticket sales. "Christmas with the Kranks" opened Wednesday to some of the year's most pained reviews and did a less-than-stellar $31.2 million over the long Thanksgiving weekend.
These movies could stand on each other's shoulders and still not be able to see the classics — even if they used a boost from Ron Howard's' labored "Dr. Seuss's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" and Billy Bob Thornton's bawdy, drunk, filthy-mouthed "Bad Santa." So, what's up? If Americans are still desperate for holiday movies — and people who bought tickets to "Surviving Christmas" and "Christmas With the Kranks" were nothing if not desperate — why can't Hollywood make 'em like them like they used to?
The answer, in a roasted chestnut-shell, is that the film business and American culture aren't what they used to be.
With the exception of "A Christmas Story," the movies we regard as evergreens were made before the breakup of the studio system and the cultural revolution. Through the 1930s and '40s and into the '50s, Hollywood made one-size-fits-all products, movies conceived and created with the entire family in mind.
In the pre-TV era in which so many classic holiday movies were made, the local Bijou was the family attraction, and filmmakers took into account the age range and interests of their audiences.
Take Henry Koster's 1947 "The Bishop's Wife," starring David Niven as a distressed bishop, Loretta Young as his neglected wife and Cary Grant as an angel who responds to his prayer for guidance.
The couple has a small child for kids to identify with, and the angel whips up some mighty entertaining miracles — like decorating the Christmas tree with the wave of his hands.
But what makes "The Bishop's Wife" a classic is the romantic tension between the wife and the smitten angel, and the growing insecurity of the bishop. It's mature stuff that doesn't get in the way of the kids' enjoyment — such as when the bishop gets his butt glued to a chair.
Frank Capra's 1946 "It's a Wonderful Life" is a dark movie with many bright spots and one of the greatest endings. And it, too, is laced with sexual tension.
The scene where James Stewart's George Bailey throws away his dreams of travel for Donna Reed's Mary Hatch after becoming intoxicated by the smell of her hair, is one of the most powerful romantic moments in film — and way, way over kids' heads.
Look how the culture has changed. "Family movies" are now those that appeal to adults and to pre-pubescent children. Teenagers are now a separate category, as are young adults without kids.
Instead of making movies with overlapping content appealing to each age group, we have separate classes of movies organized by the 36-year-old ratings system. Each rating has its commercial advantages and limitations, and it's the rare exception that has across-the-board appeal.
The closest that modern films come to having the double layers of content for family audiences is in animated features like "Shrek" and "Shark Tale," where kids are mesmerized by the colors, characters and action and their parents are kept alert by the pop references.
The business of distributing films has changed, too. Though a good Christmas movie can still make it into holiday TV syndication, that's not where the big money is. A movie has to have a video afterlife these days, and films that people are likely to buy or rent only during the holidays don't have great prospects. Video chains aren't going to stock them in large numbers year-round.
Finally, we are still living in the Age of Irony. Thus, we get the sourness of "Grinch," "Bad Santa," and Richard Donner's 1988 "Scrooged," the Madison Avenue version of "A Christmas Carol" starring Bill Murray at his smarmiest.
Even the seemingly gentle "The Santa Clause" movies began with Tim Allen's suburban dad accidentally killing the real Santa, And now there's "Surviving Christmas" and "Christmas With the Kranks," glib and soulless comedies made only because of their studios' unwarranted faith in the drawing power of Ben Affleck and Allen.
In case they need help understanding the message shared by every holiday classic, I'll spell it out: When telling stories about the spirit of Christmas, put your faith in the stories, not in the stars.
Jack Mathews' Pantheon of Exalted Holiday Classics
"A CHRISTMAS STORY" (1983) Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Peter Billingsley
"MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET" (1947) Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne
"IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE" (1946) James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
"HOLIDAY INN" (1942) Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds
"THE BISHOP'S WIFE" (1947) Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven
"SCROOGE" (1951) Alastair Sim
"A CHRISTMAS CAROL" (1938) Reginald Owen
"CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT" (1945) Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, Sydney Greenstreet
"WHITE CHRISTMAS" (1954) Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen
It may be a great movie but it has the worst stereotype of a librarian that I've ever seen. I'm a librarian and I truly hate the portrayal of the fate of George Bailey's wife had George not existed. It's disgusting.
And overall the movie is depressing. George in reality is a frustrated, unfulfilled dreamer who has carried self-sacrifice to an extreme to please others. The uplifting ending is the only thing that saves it.
But the article is mostly correct. Other than this movie, Christmas Story and maybe A Santa Claus, there hasn't been a decent Christmas movie released in decades.
The dark hues are what it give it texture and the unique place it holds. It really is just as much of a film moir as anything else.
I have the "lamp" in my home office. My oldest son gave it to me and My wife's reaction to it is the same as the wife in the movie.
I still have a soft spot for the 1962 Mister Magoo version. :-)
Not only is it a surprisingly good rendering of the classic story, but it was my first introduction to it as a child.
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Another true classic. Not only was this "the first Waltons movie", but it was just a standalone TV movie originally (not a pilot, and not a movie "special" spun off from a series). But it touched so many people that the public wanted to spend more time with this special family, in that special time and place, and the Waltons TV series was subsequently made in order to fill it.
The couple has a small child for kids to identify with, and the angel whips up some mighty entertaining miracles — like decorating the Christmas tree with the wave of his hands.
My favorite miracle Dudley pulls is the automatically refilling brandy decanter. And all ladies know- if we ever did see an angel, he'd look just like Cary Grant!
I saw it too, and it is just wonderful no matter how many times they show it. They just don't make "em like that anymore!
Just thinking about the scene where young George sees the telegram saying Mr. Gower's son has died, then realizing the old man has accidently put poison in the prescription.
How he tries his hardest to do the right thing, and then withstands being beaten by Mr. Gower while trying to tell him. And how poor old Mr. Gower realizes his mistake, and how he and George embrace emotionally, sobbing together...
One of several outstanding, poignant scenes.
Don't forget, "We're no Angels" with Bogart, and Aldo Ray
as escaped Devil's Island prisoners with hearts of gold.
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