Two Christmas movies (or at least movies set around Christmas) are pretty obscure:
1984’s Comfort and Joy, a sweet little film from the director of Local Hero starring Bill Patterson as a radio DJ whose girlfriend leaves him during the holidays.
The 1980 film Breaking Glass features one of the most depressing Christmases ever, on a strike-stalled train. Been years since I’ve seen it, but it captured the Thatcher era wonderfully well.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, with Loretta Swit, 1983. A very enjoyable movie.
~VOW
I adore Comfort and Joy. It’s my favorite Forsythe movie. I like it better than either Local Hero or Gregory’s Girl (although I really like those too). I have to admit that, even with the title, it never occurred to me as an Xmas movie. Thanks for reminding me of it. I have an old VHS tape of it somewhere, but now I want to find out if there’s a blu-ray version of it.
Until you brought this up, I would have said I didn’t have a favorite Xmas movie let alone an obscure one. Thank you for pointing out my error!
Love Comfort and Joy. Wish I had a copy.
Prancer is a good one that isn’t too popular.
Bernard and the Genie starring Lenny Henry and Alan Cumming, with a cameo by Rowan Atkinson. Sweet and funny little Xmas movie that almost nobody’s heard of. It’s rated at 7.5/10 on IMDB with under 800 votes.
Two that we watch every year:
A Christmas Memory (the bad reviews are primarily because of the copy quality): this was a made for TV film based on the story by Truman Capote, and narrated by him. It stars Geraldine Page and relates the story of a young boy growing up with his aunt in the rural South. It’s almost impossible to find a decent copy of this film, although it was remade with Patty Duke (which I haven’t seen).
A Midnight Clear: An excellent film, with a talented cast that includes Gary Sinise, Kevin Dillon and Arye Gross.
I always like to recommend The Cheaters (1945).
I watch it every year. It used to be hard to find but I see a seller on Amazon has it in stock currently.
For me, it’s one of those “hidden gems” of a movie. Not great, but definitely rewatchable.
All I Want For Christmas isn’t a great movie, but it’s got a great cast.
I loved that book, had no idea it was ever made into a movie! Thank you! 
::runs off to Amazon.com::
The Thin Man. Really.
But I do love Comfort and Joy. “Hello, folks!”
Rod Serling’s Carol for Another Christmas (1964). I finally had the opportunity to see this forgottem movie. Worth a look-see, but in my opinion it hasn’t aged well.
Two great WWII-era Barbara Stanwyck movies, both of them romantic and heart-warming (note: if your heart gets too warm, rub it with dry ice):
Remember the Night (1940), with her Double Indemnity costar Fred MacMurray; and the better-known Christmas in Connecticut (1945).
I’ve only seen A Cosmic Christmas a few times, when I was a kid. Only by describing it on Fark was I able to find out the title, and more about the animation house, Nelvana. Their cartoons have a gritty appeal, really stirs the emotions.
Off Season is a nice little made-for-TV movie with Sherilyn Fenn. Not too saccharine. It looks gorgeous- not just because of Sherilyn Fenn but it has an awesome palette. (It is set in a tacky motel/lounge and manages to be incidentally super saturated with deep reds and greens.
Sorry for the ugly url I always bugger vbcode on my phone:
Christmas in Connecticut is awesome - I loves me some Dennis Morgan (rowr!)
I also like Holiday Affair - with Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum.
UT
Not a movie, but “Seasons of Belief” from the 3rd season of Tales from the Darkside is a wonderful little antidote to too many Christmas movie sugarplums. 
Oh, that’s the title. I always referred to it as “A Child’s Christmas in Podunk.”…
