A Holiday Tour de Force: Discovering Underrated Holiday Films

Something that irks concerning a lot of contemporary seasonal films is their excessive self-consciousness – the ostentatious decor, the predictable music tunes, and the stilted conversations about the true meaning of the festive period. Maybe because the style was not yet ossified into routine, films from the 1940s often tackle the holidays from more imaginative and far less neurotic perspectives.

The Fifth Avenue Happening

A favorite gem from exploring 1940s Christmas fare is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 semi-romantic farce with a great concept: a jovial drifter spends the winter in a unoccupied luxurious estate each year. One winter, he brings in new acquaintances to stay with him, including a veteran and a runaway who happens to be the daughter of the property's affluent landlord. Filmmaker Roy Del Ruth imbues the film with a makeshift family heart that numerous modern Christmas movies have to labor to earn. This story perfectly balances a socially aware story on shelter and a charming urban romance.

Godfathers in Tokyo

The late filmmaker's 2003 tragicomedy Tokyo Godfathers is a engaging, heartbreaking, and thoughtful take on the festive tale. Drawing from a classic Hollywood movie, it centers on a triumvirate of homeless souls – an alcoholic, a trans character, and a young throwaway – who discover an abandoned infant on Christmas Eve. Their quest to find the child's parents sets off a sequence of misadventures involving yakuza, foreigners, and apparently magical coincidences. The film doubles down on the magic of coincidence often found in holiday stories, presenting it with a cool-toned visual style that avoids cloying emotion.

The John Doe Story

While Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life deservedly gets plenty of praise, his other work Meet John Doe is a notable holiday tale in its own right. Starring Gary Cooper as a down-on-his-luck everyman and Barbara Stanwyck as a plucky reporter, the story kicks off with a fictional letter from a man promising to fall from a ledge on December 24th in frustration. The public's embrace compels the reporter to hire a man to play the fictional "John Doe," who subsequently becomes a national icon for neighborliness. The narrative serves as both an heartwarming tale and a brutal skewering of wealthy media magnates attempting to manipulate public feeling for political gain.

Silent Partner

Whereas seasonal slasher movies are now a dime a dozen, the holiday crime caper remains a relatively niche subgenre. This makes the 1978 feature The Silent Partner a novel delight. With a wonderfully menacing Christopher Plummer as a bank-robbing Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a mild-mannered bank teller, the film pits two varieties of morally ambiguous oddballs against each other in a stylish and unpredictable yarn. Mostly overlooked upon its first release, it merits a fresh look for those who like their Christmas stories with a dark atmosphere.

The Almost Christmas

For those who like their Christmas gatherings dysfunctional, Almost Christmas is a riot. Featuring a star-studded ensemble that has Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the story delves into the strain of a family compelled to spend five days under one house during the festive period. Private issues bubble to the top, leading to scenes of extreme humor, such as a confrontation where a shotgun is pulled out. Naturally, the narrative arrives at a heartwarming ending, offering all the fun of a seasonal disaster without any of the real-life consequences.

The Film Go

Doug Liman's 1999 film Go is a Christmas-set story that is a teen-oriented riff on interconnected stories. Although some of its humor may feel dated upon a modern viewing, the movie nonetheless boasts plenty elements to savor. These are a engaging turn from Sarah Polley to a captivating scene by Timothy Olyphant as a dangerous pusher who fittingly sports a Santa hat. It represents a specific brand of 1990s film attitude set against a festive setting.

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

The satirist's 1940s farce The Miracle of Morgan's Creek forgoes traditional holiday warmth in exchange for irreverent comedy. The film follows Betty Hutton's character, who discovers she is with child after a drunken night but cannot identify the father responsible. The bulk of the humor comes from her situation and the devotion of Eddie Bracken's hapless Norval Jones to marry her. While not explicitly a holiday film at the outset, the story culminates on the festive day, making clear that Sturges has created a satirical version of the Christmas story, packed with his characteristic sharp style.

Better Off Dead Movie

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