By Brian Smith

With the Christmas season upon us, it seems only logical to combine a classic Christmas carol (The 12 Days of Christmas) with classic Christmas movies. The Christmas movie has become one of the most revered and profitable genres in cinema. It’s also become home to some of the most recognizable and beloved titles in the history of American Cinema. Many Christmas films have become a part of our cultural vernacular and movies that should really be considered Christmas-adjacent (I’m looking at you, Die Hard), can raise the ire of otherwise normal people if you dare to suggest that they’re not Christmas movies.

One thing that separates the great Christmas movies from the average to less-than-average Christmas movies are the strong thematic elements held therein. That’s not a terribly bold statement to make since that’s the case with most movie genres, however with Christmas movies it’s deeper. We blogged a couple of weeks ago about Miracle on 34th Street and how the idea of faith and what you can accomplish when you have faith is the real lesson behind that film. That thematic element is why that movie is so fondly remembered while other classics of the same period have been forgotten. Strong themes and big ideas give the best Christmas movies their individual spines and the strongest spines produce the best films.

Like any genre, Christmas movies are subjective. However, many people have their individual favorites that they watch every year. I too have Christmas movies that, if they go unwatched, it feels like something was missing that particular Christmas season. With that in mind, the following is a group of films that should be on your list to help get you in the mood for the biggest holiday of the year.

• It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

I’m sure you would have guessed that this film would be on the list, so here it is at the top. It’s easy to say that this film has become a cliché since its release more than 70 years ago, but pay close attention to this film the next time you watch it. It’s a Wonderful Life is truly an extraordinary film. Its main character, George Bailey (James Stewart), is one of the great heroes of American cinema. No, he’s not John McLane shooting up terrorists and rescuing his wife from the evil clutches of Hans Gruber. He is heroic in a smaller, but no less important way in that he puts everyone else’s needs and desires ahead of his own. He could have gone to college and traveled the world. He could have gotten in on the ground floor of plastics and made a fortune. He could have done anything in the world, but he stayed behind in the small town that he thought he hated, running his father’s business that he thought he hated even more, and he made a positive impact on the people of his town, and made all their lives better. The great thematic twist to this is that in so doing, he made his own life better too.

• Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

I spent an entire blog on this film a couple of weeks ago, so please reference that post for more in depth thoughts. But suffice it to say that this is the prototypical Christmas movie that tells us that having faith and believing in fairy tales are what make life worth living.

• Holiday Inn (1942)

This film has been a staple in the Smith family home for a long time. While it celebrates all American holidays of the time, Christmas book ends the film. This film also gave us the iconic White Christmas song that is also a staple of the holiday season. And really, if the star power of Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire somehow aren’t enough to get you interested in this film, the comedic styling of Walter Abel as Astaire’s manager, adds a layer of depth and entertainment value to this film that make it essential holiday viewing.

• White Christmas (1954)

Another Bing Crosby Christmas classic, this time he teamed up with Danny Kaye, along with Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen to create one of the most iconic Christmas movies of all time. This is a terrific movie that has great singing, amazing dancing, is hilarious in parts, and is always touching. Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), this film has also become somewhat of a cliché. However, beyond those clichés it’s a movie about finding happiness and contentment in doing something wonderful for someone else.

• The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch and another holiday classic starring James Stewart, the storyline of The Shop Around the Corner will seem vaguely familiar to anyone who as seen You’ve Got Mail. Stewart plays Alfred Kralik, the top salesman in a Budapest gift shop, and has struck up a postal love affair with a woman he thinks he’s never met. Unbeknownst to him, the object of his affection is fellow shop worker Klara Novak (Margaret Sullivan) whom he cannot stand and who cannot stand him. Also starring the irascible Frank Morgan, this small and subtle film is about finding family and friendship in unlikely places, and how the Christmas spirit often motivates those discoveries.

• The Bishop’s Wife (1947)

Nominated for Best Picture, this underrated holiday classic is filled with laughs as well as heart. Cary Grant stars in this film as Dudley, a guardian angel helps people out in ways that they may not want, but desperately need. The Bishop’s Wife is a wonderful mix of comedy and drama that gives us a lesson we all need. That lesson is that we may think we know the path to happiness, but we’re usually proved to be wrong, and the path will come to us in ways we could have never expected.  

• Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Magazine writer Elizabeth Lane (Barbara Stanwyck) learns that being the perfect housewife is nothing like she imagined since it’s something she’s only written about and never experienced. She also learns that the best parts of Christmas, like the best part of ourselves, comes from what’s inside and not the superficiality of the outside.

• A Christmas Carol (1951) & A Christmas Carol (1938)

Charles Dickens first published his novella A Christmas Carol back in 1843. Since then there have been countless retellings of the story on stage and on the screen. The 1951 version is considered by many critics to be the best, but don’t sleep on the 1938 version. Both are faithful adaptations of the story, and are worth watching again because A Christmas Carol has become cliché as well. Seeing a faithful adaptation of it (or reading the novella) will remind you of why this has become such a timeless and iconic story.

• It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947)

A comedy with a serious point to make, It Happened on 5th Avenue looks at the serious problem of homelessness through a comedic lens. It also looks at the Christmas motif of sharing what you have with those who have far less than you. This is a fun and funny movie that on the outside looks like it’s a simple and shallow comedy, but on further inspection, has a deep and serious point to make.

• Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

This is a classic film that is probably more of a Christmas-adjacent film than a pure Christmas movie, but it does check a lot of the Christmas boxes. It’s also one of Judy Garland’s signature performances, so there are a couple of reasons to be familiar with this film if you’re a classic movie fan.

• A Christmas Story (1983)

Yes, this film comes from a different era, but it is set in the 1940’s and it’s become as iconic a Christmas movie as any other movie on or off this list. It’s hilarious and heartwarming. It’s a movie that anyone who has pined for a Christmas gift that they know they’ll never get can relate to. And it tells us that Christmas is more than the gifts and the turkey. It’s about family and the memories that will last long after the outgrown toys.These movies have more to offer than entertainment value. They’re all highly entertaining, but the real gifts that these Christmas movies provide are the lessons that we can take from them. As Dr. Seuss says in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, “And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! ‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!’”

1964 was a good year for cinema. Goldfinger, arguably the greatest James Bond film of all time, was released during the year, as were several other classics and borderline classics like A Fistful of Dollars, Marnie, Zulu, The Night of the Iguana, and A Hard Day’s Night. There were three films that were all nominated for Best Picture, that rise above every other film released that year. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is one of my personal favorite films, and the film that I would have voted for had I had a vote for Best Picture in 1964.

The other two films were musicals, and both are considered to be among the greatest musicals of all time. My Fair Lady had a very good Oscar night taking home eight statues out of 10 nominations, with wins for Best Picture, Best Actor (Rex Harrison), Best Director (George Cukor), and others. Mary Poppins wasn’t far behind with five Oscar wins, including Best Actress (Julie Andrews), Best Song (Chim Chim Cher-ee) and Best Music.

Yes, My Fair Lady won Best Picture, and yes, My Fair Lady is on the AFI list of the Top 100 movies of all time, coming in at #91 and Mary Poppins is not on that list. However, interestingly enough, Mary Poppins is ranked higher than My Fair Lady on AFI’s list of the Top 100 Musicals of all time, coming in at #6 vs. #8.

Agreeing with the latter assessment, I am here to tell you that Mary Poppins is a better movie than My Fair Lady and it was the best musical of 1964. Here are five reasons why that’s true.

5. Julie Andrews vs. Audrey Hepburn.

There is no question that in 1964 Audrey Hepburn was a huge star, having already starred in such  iconic films as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Roman Holiday and Sabrina. Julie Andrews had made a name for herself playing Eliza Doolittle in the Broadway version of My Fair Lady, but Jack Warner wanted a star for My Fair Lady, and Julie Andrews had not starred in a feature film at that point. There were few stars bigger than Audrey Hepburn, and her grace,charm and wit certainly helped make Eliza Doolittle into one of the most beloved and recognizable characters in the history of American musicals. The problem I have is that Hepburn didn’t do any of her own singing. She could sing and was reportedly furious when she was told that her voice was not strong enough to do the singing for the picture. While her overall performance is terrific, the fact that the studio wouldn’t let her sing is a major issue, in my opinion, since singing is such a huge component of her character.

On the other hand, making her big screen debut and earning a Best Actress Oscar in the process, Julie Andrews turned the role of Mary Poppins into one of the most iconic characters not only in the Disney roster, but in all of cinema. This role would also give Julie Andrews one of the most successful screen careers of the second half of the 20th Century. Walt Disney reportedly could not listen to her sing Feed the Birds without being moved to tears, and her renditions of Spoon Full of Sugar, Jolly Holiday, and Supercalifragilisticexpialodocious along with Feed the Birds showed a range of singing, acting and dancing that Hepburn simply could not match. Andrews could be equally charming and stern. Not only that, but the character of Mary Poppins is a stronger, more confident driver of the action, whereas Eliza Doolittle mainly reacts to things happening to her.

Give me Julie Andrews over Audrey Hepburn in 1964 every time.

4. George Banks vs. Professor Henry Higgins

Both films showed somewhat misogynistic men overcoming their old fashioned ways to discover their priorities had been completely askew. I would argue that the character growth of George Banks is more profound and more sincere than the growth and change of Henry Higgins. The thing is, Higgins starts out the film as a total cad. He is an arrogant, smug, cocky jerk who gets his kicks out of messing with people’s lives. By the time he gets his act together and realizes that he’s in love with Eliza, I personally couldn’t care less whether he ends up with her or not. Eliza, for her part does want him, but she deserves way better. Once the story is resolved, there is no emotional impact.

George Banks, on the other hand, doesn’t necessarily start out Mary Poppins as the most likable character, but he’s at least doing what he ought to be doing, or what he thinks he ought to be doing to take care of his family.  He later discovers that he’s missing out on the most important and most rewarding parts of being a father if he doesn’t change his ways. In what is some of the most emotionally impactful story-telling I’ve ever seen, George Banks becomes the father that he never knew he could be.

3. The Songs

My Fair Lady has some great and recognizable songs like The Rain in Spain, I Could have Danced All Night, and Get Me to the Church On time. The top songs from Mary Poppins were mentioned above, but there are other memorable numbers like Stay Awake, Sister Suffragette, Step in Time. . What separates the songs in Mary Poppins versus My Fair Lady is that the songs from the former do a better job of moving the story forward or showing character. In fact, Bert, the chiminey sweep (Dick Van Dyke) uses the Spoon Full of Sugar reprise to finally show George Banks how he’s missing his children’s childhood, creating a moment of catharsis for George. The same argument could be made that Henry Higgins has a similar epiphany when he sings I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face. But, I think, like almost everything else in this film, it takes too long and is too drawn out to the point where boredom overcomes any dramatic impact that’s being made.

2. The Story

Both of these films are long. Mary Poppins comes in with a running time of 139 minutes, so it’s a little more than two hours. My Fair Lady comes in at a whopping 170 minutes, just 10 minutes short of three hours, and  takes  too long to get moving.  While there is  a lot of singing and character exposition,  we’re a good 40 minutes in before the story really gets going. The length of the film has a negative impact on the drama in the story, and I find myself just not caring about the characters. Mary Poppins, on the other hand, is 30 minutes shorter and has a much tighter story that is paced better and doesn’t give us the same kind of long gaps in story points that cripple the story in My Fair Lady.

1. Entertainment Value

Piggybacking on the previous point, Mary Poppins is just a more entertaining film than My Fair Lady. It has a better story-line, it has better songs, and it has better pacing. It also has characters that we care about more than we care about the characters in My Fair Lady. It has better art direction, and it casts a much wider net in terms of cinematic techniques and language. Mary Poppins is a veritable smorgasbord of film making styles and techniques, using animation and cutting edge special effects to help enhance the story. Mary Poppins is a feast for the eyes as well as for the heart.