MOVIES THAT ARE/SHOULD BE A MUST AT CHRISTMASTIME!
by Tony-Scheinman | created - 13 Dec 2013 | updated - 21 Dec 2015 | PublicThere are certain films (traditional and otherwise) that are and should be a must to watch at Christmastime. This list contains my personal selections for the Yuletide and are not in any particular order.
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1. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965 TV Movie)
TV-G | 25 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Depressed at the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find a deeper meaning to Christmas.
Director: Bill Melendez | Stars: Ann Altieri, Chris Doran, Sally Dryer, Bill Melendez
Votes: 44,087
Of all the Christmas must-sees, this one should be at the top of any list!
2. A Christmas Carol (1951)
TV-PG | 86 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Ebenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly, miserly businessman, has no time for sentimentality and largely views Christmas as a waste of time. However, this Christmas Eve, he will be visited by three spirits who will show him the error of his ways.
Director: Brian Desmond Hurst | Stars: Alastair Sim, Jack Warner, Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns
Votes: 25,724
The greatest, most famous and certainly most loved of all the Scrooge movies! No Christmas would be complete without it!
3. A Christmas Carol (1971 TV Short)
28 min | Animation, Short, Drama
An old bitter miser is given a chance for redemption when spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.
Director: Richard Williams | Stars: Alastair Sim, Michael Redgrave, Melvyn Hayes, Michael Hordern
Votes: 1,924
This is another ABSOLUTE MUST for Christmas time! Alistair Sim and Michael Hordern reprise their classic roles from the 1951 film and they haven't lost a step! This is a triumph for animating genius Chuck Jones and director Richard Williams. Dickens himself would love this animated version!
4. A Christmas Carol (1984 TV Movie)
PG | 100 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A bitter old miser who rationalizes his uncaring nature learns real compassion when three spirits visit him on Christmas Eve.
Director: Clive Donner | Stars: George C. Scott, Frank Finlay, Angela Pleasence, Edward Woodward
Votes: 18,337
Next to the Alistair Sims version, this is the absolute best (and is my personal favorite of all the Christmas Carols)!
5. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
After a divorced New York mother hires a nice old man to play Santa Claus at Macy's, she is startled by his claim to be the genuine article. When his sanity is questioned, a lawyer defends him in court by arguing that he's not mistaken.
Director: George Seaton | Stars: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Gene Lockhart
Votes: 54,904 | Gross: $2.65M
A true Christmas classic!
6. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
PG | 114 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A lawyer and a little girl must prove that a man claiming to be Santa Claus is the real thing.
Director: Les Mayfield | Stars: Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, J.T. Walsh
Votes: 43,871 | Gross: $17.19M
While my opinion is that not many classics should be re-made or updated, this one stands on its own and hits the Christmas spot!
7. Ebbie (1995 TV Movie)
TV-G | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy
In this updated retelling of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," ruthless businesswoman and shop owner Elizabeth "Ebbie" Scrooge is taught the true meaning of Christmas by three Spirits who visit her.
Director: George Kaczender | Stars: Susan Lucci, Wendy Crewson, Ron Lea, Molly Parker
Votes: 759
The first and best of all the female Scrooges! And it stays true to its source!
8. A Different Kind of Christmas (1995 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Although admitting, if confronted with the information, that he is also known by the name Robert George, a man moves into the town of Greendale in June purporting to be Santa Claus, ... See full summary »
Director: Tom McLoughlin | Stars: Shelley Long, Barry Bostwick, Nathan Lawrence, Nancy McLoughlin
Votes: 459
One of the better feel-good Christmas movies.
9. The Christmas Card (2006 TV Movie)
84 min | Drama, Romance
US soldier visits the town from where an inspirational Christmas card was sent to him by a church group that mails cards out to servicemen as a goodwill effort.
Director: Stephen Bridgewater | Stars: Edward Asner, John Newton, Alice Evans, Lois Nettleton
Votes: 4,525
Although this film starts out with Gulf War situations, once the action relocates stateside there are lots of things to make you smile (although you can't help wondering why only the two romantic leads never really realize that Edward Asner's character is deliberately pushing them together). Another modern Christmas gem.
10. A Christmas Visitor (2002 TV Movie)
100 min | Drama
A father struggles with the past. A daughter fights for the future. A mother searches for answers. The Boyajians have not celebrated Christmas in 11 years. They lost their faith when they ... See full summary »
Director: Christopher Leitch | Stars: William Devane, Meredith Baxter, Dean McDermott, Reagan Pasternak
Votes: 1,286
A smallish cast and a well-written screenplay with a touching story make this one of the better modern Christmas TV movies, especially when you're dealing with the aftermath of modern war.
11. Christmas Lilies of the Field (1979 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama
Homer Smith returns to the chapel which, years before, he helped to build to find that the nuns have taken in a group of homeless/unwanted/runaway children. Once again, he is inspired by ... See full summary »
Director: Ralph Nelson | Stars: Billy Dee Williams, Maria Schell, Fay Hauser, Lisa Mann
Votes: 112
A wonderful successor to the original LILIES OF THE FIELD (even though Billy Dee Williams plays the role of "Homer Smith" a little too hip for my taste) ... even directed by the original film's director!
12. Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus (2004 TV Movie)
96 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Santa's son and successor is looking for a suitable Mrs. Claus before he can take over the family business.
Director: Harvey Frost | Stars: Steve Guttenberg, Crystal Bernard, Dominic Scott Kay, Thomas Calabro
Votes: 1,591
There've been a number of Santa-offspring films made, but this one gets it more right than wrong.
13. Christmas Angel (2009)
PG | 87 min | Drama, Romance
Ashley feels alone at Christmas as she searches for a job. Her neighbor Nick offers her a job as his assistant in the best work: helping others. There's one catch she can't tell anyone that her new boss is a sort of Secret Santa.
Director: Brian Brough | Stars: K.C. Clyde, Kari Hawker-Diaz, Bruce Davison, Elisa Brough
Votes: 1,803
Slight spoiler: sometimes a Christmas movie doesn't have to end with everyone happy to show the real spirit of Christmas.
14. The Night They Saved Christmas (1984 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 92 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Santa's home is threatened when an oil company blasts in the North Pole.
Director: Jackie Cooper | Stars: Jaclyn Smith, Art Carney, Paul Le Mat, Mason Adams
Votes: 1,709
15. A Christmas Story (1983)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Family
In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz
Votes: 168,603 | Gross: $20.61M
Not personally one of my favorites, but it's become another true Christmas classic and deserves respect.
16. The Road to Christmas (2006 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 88 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
It's a few days before Christmas. As they have always done, widowed schoolteacher Tom Pullman, his 13-year-old daughter Hilly, and their dog Toby are driving from their Chicago home to Vail... See full summary »
Director: Mark Jean | Stars: Jennifer Grey, Megan Park, Clark Gregg, Barbara Gordon
Votes: 1,446
A cute film, although the way Jennifer Gray's character comes across makes you want to give her a smack upside the head for her snooty attitude toward working-class people and situations.
17. Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962 TV Movie)
Approved | 53 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
This musical adaptation of the classic tale by Charles Dickens stars Magoo as the cold-hearted old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge.
Director: Abe Levitow | Stars: Jim Backus, Morey Amsterdam, Jack Cassidy, Royal Dano
Votes: 3,262
Another must-see for Christmas!
18. One Magic Christmas (1985)
G | 89 min | Family, Fantasy
An angel must show a mother the true meaning of Christmas. It's not just presents and materialistic things, but the people she cares about too.
Director: Phillip Borsos | Stars: Mary Steenburgen, Gary Basaraba, Harry Dean Stanton, Arthur Hill
Votes: 4,452 | Gross: $13.68M
19. The Bishop's Wife (1947)
G | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A debonair angel comes to Earth to help an Episcopalian bishop and his wife in their quest to raise money for the new church.
Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven, Monty Woolley
Votes: 20,899
I've rarely seen Cary Grant so charming!
20. Christmas in Connecticut (1992 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 93 min | Comedy, Romance
Elizabeth, the star of a successful cooking show, is set to do a live show on Christmas, where she'll cook a Christmas dinner. But what no one knows is that she can't cook.
Director: Arnold Schwarzenegger | Stars: Dyan Cannon, Kris Kristofferson, Tony Curtis, Richard Roundtree
Votes: 1,599
Another feel-good Christmas movie and one of Kris Kristofferson's better performances.
21. White Christmas (1954)
Not Rated | 120 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen
Votes: 51,123 | Gross: $30.00M
Crosby and Kaye ... what more to say?
22. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 499,010
Another true Christmas classic, but over-shown on television around the Christmas season; should be used a bit more sparingly.
23. The Santa Clause (1994)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
When a man inadvertently makes Santa fall off his roof on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.
Director: John Pasquin | Stars: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd
Votes: 133,403 | Gross: $144.83M
The best of all the "Replacement Santa" films.
24. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964 TV Movie)
TV-G | 47 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A young reindeer Rudolph lives at the North Pole. His father is one of Santa's reindeer and it is expected that Rudolph will eventually be one too. However, he has a feature which is a setback and causes him to be ostracized: his red nose.
Director: Larry Roemer | Stars: Billie Mae Richards, Burl Ives, Larry D. Mann, Paul Soles
Votes: 37,466
The best and most-beloved (in my opinion) of all the Rankin-Bass animated TV films, if only for Burl Ives as the snowman narrator!
25. How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 26 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
A grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.
Directors: Chuck Jones, Ben Washam | Stars: Boris Karloff, June Foray, Dal McKennon
Votes: 59,013
Absolutely NO Christmas would be complete without this classic!
26. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
On the outskirts of Whoville lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans to ruin Christmas for all of the citizens of the town.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, Kelley, Jeffrey Tambor
Votes: 291,445 | Gross: $260.04M
I heard Jim Carrey suffered for this role, but it was worth it! Almost the equal of the classic it was based on!
27. Scrooge (1970)
G | 113 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about an old bitter miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
Director: Ronald Neame | Stars: Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans, Kenneth More
Votes: 12,585 | Gross: $3.70M
Another must-see for Christmas! The songs (including "December the 25th", "I Like Life", "Thank You Very Much" and most particularly "You, You, You" performed by Albert Finney) and performances are wonderful!
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