Christmas movies: the best of the rest

Bill Knight column for 12-19, 20 or 21, 2019

I’ve been enamored with Christmas movies for decades, writing about them in newspapers and my book “Video Almanac,” so I have favorites, mostly the predictable, traditional gems. So when the Hallmark and Lifetime channels decided to air some 70 Christmas movies, I was intrigued – then disappointed. They’re so contrived, they make marginal “Christmas movies” such as “Die Hard,” “Gremlins” and “Lethal Weapon” seem almost Biblical.

(CBS’ “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert satirized this crass exploitation by proposing titles including “Christmas Barista,” “The Eggnog Mysteries,” “Santa Goes Hawaiian” and “A Very Puppy Christmas.”)

For those who like Christmas films beyond the usual ones, here are 10 neglected titles:

            1. “All That Heaven Allows” (1955): A wealthy widow (Jane Wyman) has a love affair with a younger gardener (Rock Hudson) during the holidays, when her snooty kids and 1-percenter friends disapprove. The cast features Agnes Moorehead and Conrad Nagel, plus Charles Drake and Gloria Talbott.

2. "Carol for Another Christmas" (1964). If you watch one film from this list, CHOOSE THIS. Rod Serling's modern version of Dickens' “Christmas Carol” is provocative, moving and timeless, about power and profits, fear and loss, and love and war. Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, it stars Peter Sellers,  Sterling Hayden, Ben Gazzara, Eva Marie Saint, Robert Shaw, Pat Hingle, Steve Lawrence, Britt Ekland, Barbara Ann Teer, James Shigeta, Percy Rodrigues, Joe Santos and (only in a portrait since his scenes were cut) Peter Fonda. Henry Mancini wrote the score.

3. “The Fourth Wise Man” (1985): Martin Sheen stars as Artaban, the forgotten Magi who spends his life looking for Jesus after missing the “Three Kings” caravan to Bethlehem. Forever a step behind, Artaban exhausts his time, talent and treasure in his quest, which ends at Cavalry. The cast also includes Alan Arkin, Ralph Bellamy and Eileen Brennan, plus Adam Arkin and Sheen’s sons Charlie Sheen and Ramon Estevez.

4. “Mary, Mother of Jesus” (1999). Pernilla August has the title role in this serious depiction of the mother of God, from before His earthly conception to after the Crucifixion. Geraldine Chaplin is Elizabeth, Melinda Kinnaman the young Mary, and John Light as the angel Gabriel, with Christian Bale as the adult Jesus.

5. “The Nativity” (2010). Set in Judea when B.C. was becoming A.D., this four-part series has three overlapping plots revolving around Jesus’ birth: the Nazarene carpenter Joseph courting young Mary, a shepherd in rural Bethlehem coping with Herod’s taxes, and Magi in the East discussing signs in the stars indicating a major event. Filmed in Morocco, the U.K. production features mostly European actors.

6. “The Nativity Story” (2006): Director Catherine Hardwicke (“Lords of Dogtown,” “Twilight”) focuses this more narrowly than “The Nativity,” stressing the challenges faced by pregnant Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Joseph (Oscar Isaac) en route to Bethlehem. It comes across realistic as well as earnest, with terrific depictions of the Magi, shepherds and the evil Herod as well as a worried couple behaving as most people would. (By coincidence, the lead actors both appeared in “Star Wars” films.)

7. “Prancer” (1989): A girl needs a restoration of faith as she deals with her mother’s death and her dad’s failure to cope with the loss beyond the temptation of the bottle. She finds it in a wounded reindeer she decides is one of Santa's team. Rebecca Harrell Tickell stars as the youngster, with Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman, Michael Constantine and Abe Vigoda.   

8. “The Preacher’s Wife” (1996): Denzel Washington stars as a handsome angel in this remake of 1947’s “Bishop’s Wife,” with Courtney B. Vance as the distracted pastor and Whitney Houston as his wife (instead of the original’s Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young, respectively). The new version also features Lionel Richie and Gregory Hines.

9. “Remember the Night” (1940): This romantic comedy has a shoplifter (Barbara Stanwyck) helped by a sympathetic prosecutor (Fred MacMurray) on Christmas Eve, when they embark on a long trip to his mom’s for the holiday. Feelings of family and love warm the heart – characters and viewers alike.

10. “Santa vs. the Snowman” (2002): A lonesome snowman feels left out of the holidays and decides to impersonate Santa, inadvertently sparking a war with the North Pole. The animated spoof of various Christmas yarns features igloos launching snowball artillery and rocket-propelled reindeer. It stars the inimitable Jonathan Winters, lawyer/speech writer/columnist/screenwriter Ben Stein, former “SNL” cast member Victoria Jackson, and legendary voiceover narrator Don LaFontaine.