Christmas watching?

Updated on December 23, 2011 By Ken Begg 13 Comments

Can’t add much that is original. But then, that’s not what Christmas movies are about. Here’s the films that will be in the mix:

The Cheaters (My personal obscure favorite; stars Eugene Pallette, one of my all time favorite character actors)

Santa Claus (the Mexican favorite)

The Bishop’s Wife

A Christmas Carol (Sims version; I also own the Patrick Stewart TV movie; he’s great, but they REALLY freuded up the story so that we ‘understand’ Scrooge)

Miracle on 34th Street (the real one, of course)

A Charlie Brown Christmas

It’s a Wonderful Life (well, duh)

For those who don’t, as I do, have a personal library of Christmas movies on the shelf, TCM helps with the following schedule (all times Central Standard):

Friday Late Night Cult Movies

1:00 You Better Watch Out
2:45 New Year’s Evil

Saturday

11:30 AM It Happened on 5th Avenue
1:30 PM Holiday Affair
5:00 PM Meet Me in St. Louis
7:00 Miracle on 34th Street
1:30 AM The Bishop’s Wife

Sunday

8:30 AM Ben-Hur
12:15 PM Greatest Story Ever Told
4:00 King of Kings
7:00 Going My Way
11:00 Duck Soup (OK, not a Christmas movie, but hey, it’s Duck Soup)

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  • Monoceros4

    The best Christmas movie will always be The Lion in Winter.

  • Anonymous

    Mr. Magoo has got Sims et al beat by a mile, that’s the version I always watch.

    And Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas, of course.

    My kids have yet to see the charm in either one after all these years, but that don’t matter to me; they’re getting played!

  • Anonymous

    “What shall we hang; the holly, or each other?”

  • Rock Baker

    Hey! Where’s A Christmas Story?!! (On the other hand, it’s quite heart-warming to see TCM will be airing Jesus movies this year. I’m impressed -and a little sad I can’t tune in, as I haven’t seen either film since I was a wee lad!)

    I have a shelf of Christmas movies/specials myself (although it might not be considered the greatest such selection). Starting around the 8th or so, I kick off the season with Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and work my way to A Christmas Story on the big day. In my slate, you’ll find:
    Donovan’s Reef
    Santa Claus is Coming to Town
    The Year Without a Santa Claus
    The Bob Hope Show (1958 USO Christmas special)
    The Bob Hope Christmas Special
    Around the Globe with the USO
    Bob Hope’s Christmas Cheer in Saudi Arabia
    The Colgate Comedy Hour 1952 Christmas episode with Abbott and Costello
    Ernest Saves Christmas
    Christmas Lost and Found (a Davey and Goliath special)
    The MST3K Santa Claus, only because I haven’t gotten the uncut version yet.
    Home Alone 2, don’t have the first one.
    The Honeymooners Christmas episode.
    Alf’s Special Christmas
    The Christmas episode of ALF
    A tape I made of old (circa 1992) commercials and TV spots I was able to collect off some old tapes recorded from TNT back during the 100% Weird days, and it just happened to be during the Christmas season.
    And whatever else I’m able to scare up.

  • Beckoning Chasm

    How about Die Hard?

  • Toby Clark

    That’s on my list- all four of them between now and Boxing Day.

    I’m also making time for the Doctor Who Christmas special on Monday night here, ‘The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe.'” Written by Steven Moffat, guest starring Bill Bailey and Claire Skinner, adapted from the Chronicles of Narnia – this can only be good. That will be followed by the Outnumbered Christmas special, which should likewise be awesome.

    In between I have a few Doctor Who serials lined up – the Sea Devils, the Masque of Mandragora and Warrior’s Gate – as well as the last few episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

  • Rock Baker

    Also Lethal Weapon. Funny to think the two biggest action hits of the 80’s also happen to be Christmas movies!

  • Rock Baker

    On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (“Merry Christmas, 007…”)
    How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the real one, natch, from 1966)

  • Rock Baker

    Bozo, Gar, & Ray (seasonal doc about the classic WGN Chicago kiddie shows Bozo’s Circus, Garfield Goose and Friends, and The Ray Rayner Show. I love this special)

  • Anonymous

    Thanks BC- can’t believe it took that many posts for someone to mention ‘Die Hard’!

    I’ll probably get flogged for this but the Sims version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ is great I still prefer the George C. Scott version which I try to watch every year.

    I think I’ll pass ‘Santa Claus Conquers the Martians’ this year. Will probably watch ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ and ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ again though I’ve seen both a zillion times (and will watch them a zillion more.

    Have watched ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardroom’ the last few years since it’s sorta kinda Christmasy. The Doctor Who special seems well sorta strange to me, since you remove the Christian elements from Lewis’s story I’m not sure much is left.

    And I have to work Christmas day so I’ll have to skip ‘Ben-Hur’, ‘King of Kings’, and ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ though to me they’ll always be more Easter movies. Guess they work either way though ;)

  • Anonymous

    And if I may put in a plug for ‘The Christmas Noun I-IV’ over at Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter Nation. All of them are as funny as hell though if your politics lean to the left you will probably be offended.

    Wish I could post a direct link but both ‘Christmas Noun’ and ‘Monster Hunter Nation’ come up with a websearch.

  • I just read about the Mexican Santa Claus; I will be watching that ASAP. A contender for T-Fest?

  • The Rev.

    It’s not quite as awesome as that Red Riding Hood/Tom Thumb one we watched a couple of years ago, but pretty much any Mexican kids’ movie would be a contender for T-Fest, from what I’ve seen of them.

    We introduced Chelsea to A Miracle on 34th Street this year.  Naturally, she enjoyed it very much.  We also watched A Christmas Story again, and the girls re-watched Love, Actually.