That’s pretty well liked and well known in my social circle.
As for TV specials, i would nominate Ziggy’s Gift featuring the comic strip character Ziggy.
Typical 1960s sitcom fare. McGiver played the head of the Returns department at a large department store. I don’t recall much beyond that.
I saw another one this evening on TCM, called Remember the Night, 1940, Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck, 4 years before they committed murder and (gasp!) insurance fraud. The whole middle part of the film depicts the kind of loving American family that everyone is nostalgic for, and also how it feels to be among such a family but not part of it – a feeling that I am a sucker for in any movie. It was written by Preston Sturges, and what I absolutely love about it is that there is no magically contrived happy ending, a difficult thing is going to happen and maybe it’s for the best in the long run.
I’ve seen it on TCM before, I don’t know if it was at Christmas last time but it probably was. So you may need to either wait until next year to see it, or you can probably find it online somewhere. Highly recommended; Sterling Holloway in a featured role sings beautifully.
I first saw this film when I was at the height of my puberic (sp?) pubescent (?) period. It was also at the height of a tremendous crush that I had with Barbara Feldon that lasted for many, many years. (Yes. I did see that “Mad About You” episode and I loved it.)
She seemed to me to be the single most sexy lady in this world and I would have done anything at that time just for a whiff of her perfume.
I could not have imagined feeling that way about any other lady and I still feel that way about her. What a beautiful lady! I always imagined her to be the epitome of God’s most perfect creations.
I once wrote her a very passionate love letter and signed my name.
She wrote me back but misspelled my name. I was crushed.
Three Days Of The Condor, the film based on the novel Six Days Of The Condor (WTF is up with that?) takes place during xmas. It’s weird. Xmas is not in any way integral to the story. Nobody ever directly mentions xmas. But over and over again there are reminders; xmas decorations, a bell ringer, etc, all in the background.
In the lesser known category I’ll throw out Holiday Affair. Kind of a run of the mill common Christmas story similar to Miracle on 24th Street. It stars Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh, two big stars, and the kid is played by Gordon Gebert. I happen to know Gordon which is the only reason I know about this movie, although it does show up on TCM every year.
Not unknown but possibly underrated: The Muppet’s Christmas Carol is far better than one might expect for a goofy children’s show take on a classic story.
My SiL brought The Man Who Invented Christmas to our family celebration this past weekend. Excellent cast, very well done movie about Charles Dickens trying to write A Christmas Carol.
Not a movie, but a 15min comedy sketch:
Watching Dinner for One is an established festive season institution in Germany and some other European countries, but it’s virtually unknown in the US and UK - despite being in English. It’s a comedy short made in 1963.
LOVE this movie! The grandpa and his old reindeer are hilarious.
Rotten Tomatoes has a list of 55 best Christmas Movies of All Time:
https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-christmas-movies/
Danny Boyle’s Millions is an overlooked Christmas movie. It was a critical success but I don’t think it ever had a chance of commercial success outside of the UK because of the accents.
Thank you for sharing this! It was hilarious.
Same procedure next year.
Bell, Book, and Candle is my favorite Christmas movie. I watch it every year without fail.
This is an amazing movie! We just watched it this weekend. Highly, highly, highly recommended. I can’t say enough good things about it.
This was also pretty good, as a kid-friendly/adult relatable Santa Claus origin story: Klaus (2019) - IMDb
I agree. I rented it based on this thread’s recommendations and loved it. I think it’s now in the annual rotation. Christopher Plummer was outstanding.
This is what I was going to mention. We found it on DVD at the library when my oldest was a toddler and she liked it so much we bought a copy. It’s become a holiday tradition in our house.
Oh, I thought it was that one. Loved it, too. I’m a big fan of Barbara Stanwyck. She even looks a lot like my mom.
For a less sentimental Christmas story, The Ref is a lot of fun. “Slipper socks. Medium.”
Eh, I kept waiting to laugh. It’s 15 minutes, but like 10 seconds of comedy repeated endlessly so that it seemed much longer.