A Holiday Showcase: Discovering Underrated Yuletide Films

A factor that bothers concerning numerous contemporary seasonal films is their excessive self-consciousness – the ostentatious decorations, the formulaic music selections, and the clichéd dialogue about the real spirit of the season. It could be because the genre hadn't yet solidified into tradition, films from the 1940s often explore Christmas from more creative and less anxious viewpoints.

The Affair on Fifth Avenue

One cherished discovery from sifting through 1940s holiday films is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 romantic tale with a great premise: a jovial vagrant takes up residence in a unoccupied luxurious estate each year. That season, he invites strangers to live with him, including a ex-soldier and a young woman who is secretly the daughter of the mansion's rich landlord. Filmmaker Roy Del Ruth infuses the picture with a surrogate family coziness that most modern holiday movies have to labor to achieve. It perfectly occupies the space between a class-conscious commentary on housing and a whimsical city romance.

The Tokyo Godfathers

The late filmmaker's 2003 animated film Tokyo Godfathers is a engaging, heartbreaking, and profound version on the holiday narrative. Drawing from a classic Hollywood movie, it centers on a triumvirate of displaced individuals – an alcoholic, a trans woman, and a adolescent runaway – who discover an left-behind newborn on a snowy December night. Their journey to reunite the child's mother triggers a sequence of misadventures involving yakuza, foreigners, and ostensibly magical encounters. The movie celebrates the enchantment of coincidence typically found in holiday tales, delivering it with a cinematic visual style that sidesteps overly sweet emotion.

Introducing John Doe

While Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life rightly receives plenty of praise, his earlier picture Meet John Doe is a compelling holiday story in its own right. Featuring Gary Cooper as a down-on-his-luck drifter and Barbara Stanwyck as a clever writer, the movie kicks off with a fictional missive from a man promising to jump from a ledge on Christmas Eve in protest. The people's response compels the reporter to find a man to play the fictional "John Doe," who later becomes a popular symbol for kindness. The movie functions as both an uplifting story and a sharp critique of ultra-rich businessmen trying to manipulate public feeling for personal gain.

Silent Partner

While holiday slasher movies are now a dime a dozen, the festive suspense film remains a relatively underpopulated category. This makes the 1978 gem The Silent Partner a fresh discovery. With a superbly menacing Christopher Plummer as a criminal Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a unassuming bank employee, the story sets two varieties of opportunistic individuals against each other in a sleek and surprising tale. Mainly overlooked upon its initial debut, it is worthy of new attention for those who enjoy their holiday films with a chilling edge.

Almost Christmas

For those who prefer their holiday get-togethers chaotic, Almost Christmas is a blast. With a stellar group that has Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the story examines the tensions of a household compelled to share five days under one roof during the Christmas season. Private issues bubble to the top, culminating in scenes of high farce, such as a confrontation where a weapon is produced. Naturally, the story reaches a satisfying conclusion, providing all the fun of a seasonal disaster without any of the actual aftermath.

Go

The director's 1999 feature Go is a Christmas-adjacent story that functions as a teen-oriented interpretation on interconnected narratives. Although some of its humor may feel product of the 90s upon rewatch, the movie still offers many aspects to enjoy. These include a cool performance from Sarah Polley to a memorable performance by Timothy Olyphant as a dangerous drug dealer who amusingly wears a Santa hat. It embodies a very kind of late-90s movie attitude set against a holiday backdrop.

Miracle at Morgan's Creek

The satirist's 1940s film The Miracle of Morgan's Creek rejects typical holiday cheer in favor for irreverent fun. The movie centers on Betty Hutton's character, who ends up pregnant after a hazy night but cannot identify the man involved. The bulk of the comedy stems from her condition and the devotion of Eddie Bracken's lovestruck Norval Jones to rescue her. Although not obviously a holiday film at the beginning, the narrative winds up on the holiday, making clear that Sturges has created a satirical take of the birth narrative, packed with his trademark sharp edge.

Better Off Dead

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