Yeah, the focus isn’t on him like it was in Episode I, when he played Anakin (or as some critics called him, “Mannequin”) Skywalker.
And even though it was a TV special, can anything else compare with Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol with the wonderful Jim Backus?
you, sir, are a GRINCH.
jingle all the way is my vote.
Another one I just remembered this morning is We’re No Angels, with Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray -1955.
They’re three convicts who escape from Devil’s Island and bring Christmas to the family of Leo G. Carroll. Basil Rathbone is the evil uncle.
(I’m having a deja vu. Maybe I already posted this… or maybe I posted it last year…)
Charming movie. I think there might have been a remake- don’t know anything about it.
If it’s obscure Christmas movies you’re looking for, don’t forget “The Cheaters” (1945).
A beautiful, funny Christmas story performed by a cast of excellent character actors, including Billie Burke, the Good Witch from “The Wizard of Oz.”
It’s a Wonderful Life
A Christmas Story
Scrooged
Elf
One that hasn’t been mentioned so far: Tokyo Godfathers. (Yes, they have Christmas in Japan, but this movie takes an unconventional look at it.)
I just thought of this today, as I read “Christmas,” and said in my head, “Ch-a-rist-MAS!” Then I said to myself, “How could I have forgotten Better Off Dead?!”
Oh yes, Tokyo Godfathers. It´s an animated movie about a homeless guy - a drunken, lying, spineless bastard, to be honest, but one with a heart of gold -, a drag queen way past her prime, and a pudgy girl on the run after stabbing her dad. They find a baby in an ally and decide to find its parents. The movie takes them on a wild ride through the weirder nooks and crannies of Tokyo and their own pasts. It´s not a depressing or difficult movie in any way, but you will cry a lot at the heartwarming end. If you don´t, you´re probably not human.
I’ll be the first to mention a Charlie Brown Christmas.
Then, Alistair Sim’s Scrooge.
Then, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Die Hard
Trading Places.
Home Alone.
Best wishes,
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Thank you for the tip! It’s going on my Netflix queue in time for Christmas. I missed that one.
I’m going to go a bit off the board here and go with The Ice Harvest, which is more of a mob related heist story, but which occurs during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There are too many good lines, like
“Ho ho fuckin’ ho.”
“Ho ho ho, mo fo!”
and
“Turkey Lurkey.”
as well as others. It’s a dark comedy, shot in a blue light, and is probably considered film noirish (I’m sure someone else with a higher movie IQ will correct this if I’m wrong).
But, I watch it ever year during Christmas. Hmm. I wonder what this says about me.
FTR, A Christmas Story is off my list for one reason. My mother. She loved this movie so much, she jammed it down our throats ever since she got her hands on the Video tape and now the dvd. She was TBS before TBS. And it wasn’t just one day, but all week.
Well, I don’t know what it says about either of us, but it’s on my list, too. Oliver Platt especially is hilarious when he gets drunk (“Man remains down!”)
My other choices are a mix of classic and twisted, I guess:[ul][]A Christmas Story[]Scrooge (Alistair Sim in the 1954 version of “A Christmas Carol”)[]Scrooged (Bill Murray)[]Elf[]Bad Santa[]It’s a Wonderful Life (yeah, I know, but I’m still a sucker for this one.)[/ul]Oh, and a new short I’m definitely adding to my list this year - an animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s poem “Nicholas Was” from 39 Degrees North (yeah, I don’t know who they are either, but this thing is fantastic).
This is what I came in to mention. I love this movie and seeing it really makes my Christmas.
So other ones I really enjoy: the original Miracle on 34th Street, the original Bishop’s Wife, Die Hard and the Santa Clause.
In no particular order:
White Christmas (the 2nd videotape i ever bought) w/Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. good fun and great tunes.
Home Alone
Die Hard* ‘yippee kay yay mo-fo-’* (makes me laugh every time)
It’s a Wonderful Life
Not available on Netflix. 
I’m NOT the only person on earth to have seen and love this movie?!??!?!?!!!?!?!
My mind is completely blown.
Great movie. I’ve seen it on TV in the US but not in over a decade.
It looks like Comfort and Joy is not available from Netflix. They have a movie by that title, but Nancy McKeon is in it and it’s not the right one. Rats.
The Lion in Winter I watch it every Christmas. It has the best quotes of any Christmas movie, and an all star cast.
I always watch lots of the above at Christmas, but add to that While You Were Sleeping. I think you can safely add it to the same genre as Love, Actually…I just have always been in the mood to watch it at the holidays.