Season’s Screenings — A Tour of Classic Christmas Movies

Watching a holiday movie is a great way to get into the spirit of the season and has become an annual tradition for many families. But what exactly makes a Christmas movie, a Christmas movie, what are some of the best ones ever made, and what makes these gems so classic?

Here to answer these questions and take us on a tour of the highlights of the holiday movie canon is Jeremy Arnold, a film historian and the author of Christmas in the Movies: 35 Classics to Celebrate the Season. Today on the show, we talk about what defines a Christmas movie, why we enjoy them so much, and why so many classics in the genre were released during the 1940s. Jeremy offers his take on the best version of A Chirstmas Carol, whether Holiday Inn or White Christmas is a better movie, why he thinks Die Hard is, in fact, a Christmas movie, what accounts for the staying power of Elf, and much more. At the end of the show, Jeremy offers several suggestions for lesser-known Christmas movies to check out when you’re tired of watching A Christmas Story for the fiftieth time.

Movies Mentioned in the ShowSanta Claus (1898)Scrooge (1901)Scrooge (1935)Miracle on Main Street (1939)Remember the Night (1940)The Shop Around the Corner (1940)Holiday Inn (1942)The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)It’s a Wonderful Life (1947)Scrooge/Christmas Carol (1951)We’re No Angels (1955)Cash on Demand (1961)Die Hard (1988)Home Alone (1990)Home Alone 2 (1992)The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)Elf (2003)