A Festive Showcase: Discovering Underrated Holiday Movies

A factor that bothers concerning many present-day Christmas features is their insistent self-awareness – the ostentatious decor, the checklist score choices, and the clichéd speeches about the real spirit of the season. Perhaps because the category hadn't yet hardened into tradition, movies from the 1940s often approach Yuletide from increasingly creative and far less obsessive angles.

The Affair on Fifth Avenue

A delightful gem from delving into 1940s holiday fare is It Happened on Fifth Avenue, a 1947 semi-romantic tale with a brilliant concept: a happy-go-lucky hobo winters in a empty luxurious mansion each year. One winter, he brings in fellow down-on-their-luck individuals to reside with him, among them a ex-soldier and a young woman who turns out to be the daughter of the home's rich landlord. Filmmaker Roy Del Ruth gives the picture with a surrogate family warmth that many contemporary seasonal films strive to achieve. This story beautifully balances a thoughtful story on housing and a charming city fairytale.

The Tokyo Godfathers

The acclaimed director's 2003 animated film Tokyo Godfathers is a fun, heartbreaking, and thoughtful take on the Christmas story. Loosely based on a western movie, it follows a trio of homeless individuals – an alcoholic, a trans character, and a teenage throwaway – who find an discarded newborn on the night before Christmas. Their journey to reunite the baby's family triggers a series of hijinks involving crime lords, immigrants, and seemingly serendipitous encounters. The animation doubles down on the enchantment of coincidence often found in holiday stories, offering it with a cinematic aesthetic that steers clear of overly sweet feeling.

Meet John Doe

While Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life rightly gets a lot of acclaim, his lesser-known picture Meet John Doe is a notable holiday tale in its own right. Featuring Gary Cooper as a down-on-his-luck everyman and Barbara Stanwyck as a plucky writer, the film starts with a fake note from a man vowing to leap from a ledge on Christmas Eve in protest. The nation's response compels the reporter to hire a man to impersonate the fictional "John Doe," who subsequently becomes a country-wide icon for kindness. The film acts as both an heartwarming tale and a pointed critique of powerful media magnates trying to exploit grassroots feeling for their own ends.

A Silent Partner

Whereas Christmas slasher films are now a dime a dozen, the holiday crime caper remains a somewhat underpopulated style. This makes the 1978 film The Silent Partner a unique discovery. With a superbly menacing Christopher Plummer as a thieving Santa Claus and Elliott Gould as a unassuming bank clerk, the story pits two kinds of amoral characters against each other in a well-crafted and twisty yarn. Mostly ignored upon its original release, it merits a fresh look for those who like their holiday films with a cold atmosphere.

Christmas Almost

For those who like their holiday gatherings chaotic, Almost Christmas is a blast. Featuring a impressive group that includes Danny Glover, Mo'Nique, and JB Smoove, the story delves into the tensions of a clan gathered to endure five days under one home during the festive period. Secret problems come to the forefront, leading to scenes of high comedy, including a dinner where a firearm is produced. Ultimately, the story reaches a touching ending, giving all the enjoyment of a seasonal disaster without any of the real-life consequences.

Go

The director's 1999 film Go is a Christmas-themed tale that functions as a teen-oriented riff on crisscrossing plots. Although some of its edginess may feel product of the 90s upon rewatch, the movie nonetheless offers several aspects to enjoy. These are a cool turn from Sarah Polley to a captivating performance by Timothy Olyphant as a laid-back drug dealer who appropriately wears a Santa hat. It embodies a specific brand of late-90s film vibe set against a holiday setting.

Morgan's Creek Miracle

Preston Sturges's 1940s farce The Miracle of Morgan's Creek skips conventional seasonal warmth in favor for irreverent comedy. The movie follows Betty Hutton's Trudy Kockenlocker, who finds herself with child after a hazy night but cannot recall the father responsible. The bulk of the fun stems from her condition and the efforts of Eddie Bracken's lovestruck Norval Jones to help her. While not explicitly a holiday film at the beginning, the plot culminates on the Christmas, making clear that Sturges has created a playful take of the nativity, packed with his characteristic sharp style.

Better Off Dead Movie

This 1985 adolescent comedy starring John Cusack, Better Off Dead, is a quintessential artifact of its era. Cusack's