A Seasonal Showcase: Discovering Underrated Yuletide Films

Something that irks concerning many contemporary Christmas films is their overly meta-commentary – the over-the-top ornaments, the formulaic music selections, and the stilted speeches about the real spirit of the holidays. It could be because the genre was not yet ossified into tradition, pictures from the 1940s often explore Christmas from far more inventive and far less neurotic viewpoints.

The Fifth Avenue Happening

An favorite find from exploring 1940s Christmas fare is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 semi-romantic comedy with a great concept: a happy-go-lucky drifter takes up residence in a unoccupied posh mansion each year. During one cold spell, he brings in strangers to stay with him, among them a former GI and a runaway who turns out to be the daughter of the home's rich proprietor. Helmer Roy Del Ruth infuses the film with a found-family heart that many contemporary Christmas films strive to earn. This story perfectly balances a class-conscious narrative on housing and a charming urban fairytale.

The Tokyo Godfathers

Satoshi Kon's 2003 feature Tokyo Godfathers is a engaging, heartbreaking, and profound take on the Christmas tale. Inspired by a John Wayne movie, it tells the story of a group of homeless people – an drinker, a trans character, and a teenage runaway – who come across an abandoned infant on a snowy December night. Their journey to locate the infant's mother unleashes a chain of unexpected events involving yakuza, immigrants, and apparently fateful coincidences. The film doubles down on the enchantment of fate often found in seasonal flicks, delivering it with a cinematic aesthetic that sidesteps cloying emotion.

The John Doe Story

Although Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life deservedly receives plenty of praise, his other work Meet John Doe is a compelling holiday story in its own right. With Gary Cooper as a handsome "forgotten man" and Barbara Stanwyck as a resourceful journalist, the film starts with a fabricated missive from a man threatening to jump from a building on Christmas Eve in despair. The people's embrace forces the journalist to hire a man to portray the fictional "John Doe," who later becomes a national figure for neighborliness. The film functions as both an uplifting story and a pointed critique of wealthy publishers attempting to use grassroots sentiment for personal ambitions.

The Silent Partner

Whereas holiday horror movies are now commonplace, the holiday crime caper remains a relatively underpopulated style. This makes the 1978 gem The Silent Partner a unique surprise. Starring a delightfully vile Christopher Plummer as a thieving Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a clever bank employee, the film pits two kinds of opportunistic oddballs against each other in a stylish and twisty narrative. Mostly ignored upon its original debut, it is worthy of rediscovery for those who enjoy their holiday stories with a cold atmosphere.

Christmas Almost

For those who enjoy their Christmas gatherings messy, Almost Christmas is a blast. Featuring a stellar cast that includes Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the movie delves into the strain of a clan compelled to share five days under one roof during the festive period. Secret dramas rise to the forefront, culminating in moments of high farce, including a showdown where a weapon is pulled out. Ultimately, the film arrives at a heartwarming conclusion, giving all the enjoyment of a seasonal disaster without any of the personal cleanup.

The Film Go

The director's 1999 film Go is a Christmas-adjacent caper that serves as a teen-oriented riff on woven stories. Although some of its comedy may feel dated upon revisiting, the movie nevertheless offers several things to savor. These range from a engaging turn from Sarah Polley to a captivating performance by Timothy Olyphant as a laid-back pusher who fittingly wears a Santa hat. It represents a very style of fin-de-siècle film energy set against a festive setting.

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

The satirist's 1940s comedy The Miracle of Morgan's Creek rejects traditional holiday cheer in exchange for irreverent humor. The film follows Betty Hutton's character, who ends up pregnant after a wild night but cannot remember the soldier responsible. The bulk of the comedy comes from her predicament and the attempts of Eddie Bracken's hapless Norval Jones to marry her. Although not obviously a Christmas movie at the outset, the story winds up on the festive day, showing that Sturges has created a satirical version of the birth narrative, loaded with his trademark witty style.

The Film Better Off Dead

This 1985 adolescent movie featuring John Cusack, Better Off Dead, is a textbook artifact of its time. Cusack's