A Festive Celebration: Uncovering Underrated Christmas Movies

A factor that irks me about numerous present-day Christmas films is their excessive meta-commentary – the ostentatious ornaments, the checklist music tunes, and the stilted conversations about the essence of the season. It could be because the genre was not solidified into formula, movies from the 1940s often approach Christmas from more inventive and far less neurotic perspectives.

The Fifth Avenue Happening

A delightful discovery from exploring 1940s seasonal films is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 semi-romantic comedy with a great concept: a happy-go-lucky hobo spends the winter in a empty Fifth Avenue mansion each year. During one cold spell, he invites fellow down-on-their-luck individuals to live with him, including a ex-soldier and a teenager who turns out to be the offspring of the home's affluent proprietor. Filmmaker Roy Del Ruth infuses the picture with a makeshift family heart that many contemporary Christmas movies strive to achieve. The film beautifully walks the line between a socially aware commentary on affordable living and a delightful urban fairytale.

The Tokyo Godfathers

Satoshi Kon's 2003 tragicomedy Tokyo Godfathers is a engaging, heartbreaking, and profound take on the Christmas tale. Loosely based on a western film, it tells the story of a trio of homeless people – an alcoholic, a trans character, and a teenage throwaway – who come across an abandoned infant on Christmas Eve. Their journey to locate the child's family unleashes a sequence of misadventures involving yakuza, immigrants, and seemingly serendipitous coincidences. The animation doubles down on the wonder of fate frequently found in seasonal tales, delivering it with a cool-toned aesthetic that sidesteps saccharine feeling.

Introducing John Doe

While Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life justifiably receives plenty of acclaim, his other work Meet John Doe is a notable seasonal 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 note from a man vowing to leap from a building on the holiday in despair. The people's reaction compels the journalist to recruit a man to play the invented "John Doe," who later becomes a popular icon for kindness. The narrative acts as both an uplifting story and a sharp skewering of wealthy media magnates seeking to manipulate popular sentiment for personal gain.

A Silent Partner

While Christmas horror movies are now a dime a dozen, the festive suspense film remains a somewhat rare style. This makes the 1978 film The Silent Partner a fresh surprise. Featuring a delightfully vile Christopher Plummer as a bank-robbing Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a mild-mannered bank clerk, the movie pits two kinds of morally ambiguous oddballs against each other in a stylish and twisty yarn. Mainly unseen upon its original release, it is worthy of a fresh look for those who like their Christmas films with a dark tone.

The Almost Christmas

For those who like their holiday get-togethers messy, Almost Christmas is a riot. Featuring a star-studded ensemble that has Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the story explores the tensions of a clan forced to spend five days under one home during the holidays. Hidden problems bubble to the forefront, resulting in moments of high comedy, such as a confrontation where a firearm is pulled out. Ultimately, the film finds a heartwarming resolution, offering all the enjoyment of a family mess without any of the actual aftermath.

The Film Go

The director's 1999 feature Go is a Yuletide-set caper that is a young-adult riff on crisscrossing plots. While some of its comedy may feel of its time upon revisiting, the picture nonetheless offers many aspects to enjoy. These include a cool performance from Sarah Polley to a captivating appearance by Timothy Olyphant as a dangerous supplier who appropriately dons a Santa hat. It captures a very style of late-90s cinematic attitude set against a Christmas backdrop.

Morgan's Creek Miracle

Preston Sturges's 1940s comedy The Miracle of Morgan's Creek skips traditional Christmas cheer in exchange for irreverent comedy. The movie centers on Betty Hutton's Trudy Kockenlocker, who finds herself with child after a hazy night but cannot remember the man responsible. Much of the fun stems from her condition and the attempts of Eddie Bracken's lovestruck Norval Jones to rescue her. While not obviously a Christmas film at the beginning, the narrative culminates on the Christmas, revealing that Sturges has refashioned a satirical take of the Christmas story, packed with his trademark witty style.

Better Off Dead

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