You have no idea how many great Christmas movies are out there on tape, disc, via streaming or download. I've picked 20 of my favorites, which span a wide range of aesthetic qualities.
The Apartment (1960) It's not every holiday movie that earns its creator (Billy Wilder) three Oscars (Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, shared with I.A.L. Diamond), but this comic drama about the office shnook (Jack Lemmon) who lends out his bed to his superiors at the Consolidated Life Insurance Co. was so brilliantly balanced between light and dark elements it's one of the best Hollywood holiday pictures. The highlight is a second-act scene where Lemmon's C.C. Baxter gets punched into the Christmas tree by the sorehead taxi-driver cousin of the girl he carries a torch for, elevator operator Fran Kubelick (scene-stealing Shirley MacLaine). A kind-hearted Jewish doctor (Jack Kruchen) has the great line, "Baxter, be a mensch! A human being!"
A Christmas Story (1983) Indiana-born humorist Jean Shepherd's short story "Duel in the Snow, or Red Ryder Nails the Cleveland Street Kid" gets a stellar nostalgia treatment from Bob Clark directing a pitch-perfect cast: Peter Billingsley as the kid who's warned he'll "shoot his eye out" if Santa brings him that Red Ryder BB gun; Darren McGavin as the hot-headed dad who blows his top every five minutes; Melinda Dillon as the soft-hearted mom; and Scott Schwartz as the grade-school bully. Watch it once and you'll know why it plays so often on TV. Highlight: the dogs from the hillbilly neighbors steal the family's Christmas roast.
A Christmas Carol (1951) British stalwart Alastair Sim is a humane Scrooge in a classic rendition of Charles Dickens' most famous tale. Skip the computer-colorized version for the pristine blacks and whites. A film this good can make you forget you've seen this old chestnut a dozen times.
Remember the Night (1940) Film noir pioneers Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray hatch a most improbable holiday romance. She's a veteran shoplifter caught red-handed, and he's the DA who's supposed to prosecute her but winds up taking her home to Indiana and his empathetic if oddball extended clan. Fans of 1940s screenwriter-director Preston Sturges may be surprised at the screwball maestro's soft side, but you'll realize why Stanwyck and MacMurray were paired three more times. MacMurray displays a side he never did for the tough-hearted Wilder.
Christmas in July (1940) Sturges' taut 70-minute screenplay features office worker Jimmy MacDonald (Dick Powell), who mistakenly thinks he's struck it rich winning the lottery. The story features the usual Sturges switcheroos and a terrific supporting cast including the incomparable Franklin Pangborn.
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) Stanwyck is a highly-paid columnist for a big-time housekeeping magazine who falls for a recovering wounded war vet (Dennis Morgan). It's a great setup, except that Barbara can barely boil an egg. Her comeuppance is just around the corner.
Holiday Affair (1949) Robert Mitchum plays furiously against type as a department store clerk who strenuously woos a confused comparison shopper/war widow (Janet Leigh), who's also dating an uptight DA (Wendel Corey).
Comfort and Joy (1984) Bill Patterson is amazing as lovesick Scottish disc jockey Dickie Bird, involved in an underground ice-cream war between rival gangs. A droll entry from director Bill Forsyth, known for crowd-pleasing comedies Gregory's Girl and Local Hero.
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) David Bowie and Tom Conti star in a test of wills between a Japanese POW camp officer and a British officer prisoner.
The Dead (1987) A dying John Huston directed this Christmas-in-Dublin tale from the pen of James Joyce.
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941) Monty Woolley steals the show as a bullying radio host who commandeers the home of a Midwestern family after slipping on their snow-covered steps and breaking his hip. Great supporting turns from Bette Davis, Jimmy Durante, Ann Sheridan, Billie Burke and Reginald Gardiner.
Bell, Book and Candle (1958) Kim Novak is a fetching witch with a Siamese cat who gets involved with a soon-to-be wed New York publisher (James Stewart). Based on John Van Druten's play, with a flamboyant supporting cast, bohemians mixing with witches and warlocks: Jack Lemmon, Janice Rule, Ernie Kovacs, Hermione Gingold and Elsa Lanchester.
Home Alone 1 & 2 (1990, 92) Macaulay Culkin aces his role as a boy left behind by his distracted family during the holidays. He's terrifyingly good as a smart-ass kid who foils a pair of bumbling home intruders in stunts worthy of a Road Runner cartoon.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Frank Capra's instant Christmas classic was a glorious return from the war for Jimmy Stewart, who works to save his family's savings & loan from the clutches of a blackhearted banker (Lionel Barrymore). Highlight: suicidal Stewart is saved by a guardian angel (Henry Travers). It's pure Capra-corn, and improves with each viewing.
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) Judy Garland steals this sentimental slice of Americana with ballads "The Boy Next Door," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "The Trolley Song."
The Shop Around the Corner (1940) Ernst Lubitsch brought his special touch to this tale of shop workers (James Stewart, Margaret Sullivan) who are secret pen pals. Remade as In the Good Old Summertime, She Loves Me and You've Got Mail.
Joyeux Noel (2005) Writer-director Christian Carion's poignant story of a Christmas Eve truce that unfolded between the trenches in WWI. Daniel Bruhl, Diane Kruger and Ian Richardson head up a fabulous international ensemble.
We're No Angels (1955) Humphrey Bogart stars in a rare comedy, the tale of three escapees from the French prison on Devil's Island. With Aldo Ray, Peter Ustinov, Joan Bennett, Basil Rathbone and Leo G. Carroll.
Gremlins (1985) Joe Dante helms this raucous comedy about creatures who tear apart a small town at Christmas.
About a Boy (2002) Paul Weitz puts Hugh Grant through his paces as a rotten narcissist who unexpectedly acquires a charge: a 12-year-old boy (Nicholas Hoult).