A Festive Tour de Force: Uncovering Underrated Holiday Pictures

A factor that irks me about numerous present-day seasonal features is their insistent self-awareness – the gaudy decor, the formulaic soundtrack selections, and the clichéd speeches about the essence of the festive period. It could be because the genre hadn't yet ossified into formula, movies from the 1940s often tackle Christmas from far more imaginative and less neurotic perspectives.

The Affair on Fifth Avenue

One favorite gem from delving into 1940s holiday comedies is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 lighthearted farce with a great concept: a cheerful hobo takes up residence in a unoccupied posh estate each year. During one cold spell, he invites strangers to live with him, among them a veteran and a runaway who happens to be the heiress of the property's wealthy proprietor. Filmmaker Roy Del Ruth infuses the picture with a surrogate family warmth that numerous modern Christmas movies have to labor to achieve. The film expertly occupies the space between a socially aware story on housing and a charming urban fairytale.

The Tokyo Godfathers

The acclaimed director's 2003 tragicomedy Tokyo Godfathers is a fun, heartbreaking, and deeply moving version on the Christmas narrative. Loosely based on a John Wayne movie, it centers on a group of down-and-out individuals – an alcoholic, a trans woman, and a young runaway – who find an discarded baby on Christmas Eve. Their quest to locate the child's family unleashes a series of hijinks involving yakuza, immigrants, and seemingly magical encounters. The movie celebrates the magic of chance often found in Christmas flicks, delivering it with a cool-toned animation that avoids overly sweet feeling.

The John Doe Story

While Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life justifiably earns much attention, his earlier picture Meet John Doe is a notable Christmas film in its own right. Featuring Gary Cooper as a handsome everyman and Barbara Stanwyck as a resourceful writer, the movie begins with a fake letter from a man threatening to leap from a rooftop on December 24th in frustration. The public's reaction compels the reporter to recruit a man to impersonate the invented "John Doe," who then becomes a national symbol for neighborliness. The narrative acts as both an inspiring tale and a brutal critique of powerful businessmen attempting to manipulate grassroots feeling for personal ends.

Silent Partner

While Christmas horror films are now plentiful, the festive suspense film remains a relatively niche subgenre. This makes the 1978 film The Silent Partner a unique surprise. Featuring a wonderfully sinister Christopher Plummer as a criminal Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a unassuming bank clerk, the movie pits two varieties of morally ambiguous characters against each other in a well-crafted and twisty narrative. Largely ignored upon its original debut, it deserves new attention for those who like their festive films with a chilling edge.

The Almost Christmas

For those who prefer their holiday get-togethers dysfunctional, Almost Christmas is a hoot. Boasting a impressive ensemble that includes Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the movie explores the strain of a household compelled to endure five days under one home during the holidays. Hidden issues come to the top, culminating in situations of over-the-top humor, including a dinner where a firearm is produced. Naturally, the narrative finds a touching ending, giving all the entertainment of a family catastrophe without any of the actual cleanup.

The Film Go

Doug Liman's 1999 feature Go is a Christmas-adjacent caper that functions as a young-adult interpretation on crisscrossing narratives. Although some of its comedy may feel of its time upon revisiting, the movie still boasts several aspects to appreciate. These include a engaging performance from Sarah Polley to a captivating appearance by Timothy Olyphant as a laid-back drug dealer who appropriately wears a Santa hat. It embodies a very brand of fin-de-siècle film attitude set against a holiday backdrop.

Miracle at Morgan's Creek

Preston Sturges's wartime film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek rejects traditional seasonal cheer in return for irreverent humor. The film follows Betty Hutton's Trudy Kockenlocker, who discovers she is pregnant after a drunken night but cannot recall the man responsible. Much of the fun arises from her situation and the efforts of Eddie Bracken's hapless Norval Jones to rescue her. Although not obviously a Christmas film at the beginning, the story culminates on the Christmas, revealing that Sturges has refashioned a playful interpretation of the birth narrative, filled with his characteristic satirical edge.

The Film Better Off Dead

This 1985 adolescent comedy with John Cusack, Better Off Dead, is a prime specimen of its time. Cusack's