Favorite Christmas Movies Revisited

After my last post, my friend Bill Spicer asked why “Miracle on 34th Street” was not on my list. I had not watched it for over 10 years, and well, to be honest, it was not on my radar. So, Elizabeth and I watched it tonight. And Bill, you were right. It is now in my top 10.

Released in 1947, it was nominated for best picture, and won Oscars for Best Writing, Original Story, Best Writing, Screenplay, and actor Edmund Green won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Kris Kringle. The film also won several Golden Globes. So, it is a film with chops.

It has a great story line, good writing, and excellent acting. Of note, Natalie Wood plays the little girl who does not believe in Santa Clause, and Maureen O’Hara, whose film credits include “How Green Was My Valley”, a 1941 film that was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won 5, including Best Picture, plays the doubting girl’s mom.

This movie has also made me realize how much I adore many of the movies made between 1938 and 1948, a period that includes the release of classics such as “Wuthering Heights”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “Of Mice and Men”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “Goodbye Mr. Chips”, “Gone with the Wind”, “The Philadelphia Story”, “Our Town”, Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”, “The Grapes of Wrath”, “The Maltese Falcon”, “Citizen Kane”, “How Green Was My Valley”, “Mrs. Miniver”, “The Ox-Bow Incident”, “Casablanca”, “Double Indemnity”, “Going My Way”, “The Best Years of Our Lives”, and two of my now favorite Christmas movies, “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street”.

If you have not seen some of the aforementioned films, you should. I shall write about this period of Hollywood in a future blog. Oh yes, thanks again Bill for pointing me back to a true Christmas Classic – a movie that embodies faith, hope and love.