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11 Greatest Christmas Films (1935-1950)

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Along with the history of Christmas that marks the birthday of Jesus, these top Christmas films, from 1935 to 1950 are great DVD gifts for the season’s holidays.

Resources, facts and information include the year the film was released, film director, writers, brief summary, and the film leading stars.

Greatest Christmas Films, Years 1935 to 1950

1. Scrooge (1935)

Based on the famous novel by Charles Dicken, A Christmas Carol

Director: Henry Edwards,
Screenplay writer: H. Fowler Mear
Film Stars: Sir Seymour Hicks, Maurice Evans, Robert Cochran

Scrooge, the consummate Victorian miser, hasn’t anything good to say about Christmas. On the contrary, his impoverished clerk Cratchit and new Fred are full of the spirit of what the season means. The story is about his transformation and value the meaning of sharing and giving, journey to self-redemption. It all happened after the supernatural visitations of Jacob Marley (his dead partner) and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future.

2. A Christmas Carol (1938)

Based on the famous novel by Charles Dickens, same title

Director: Edwin L. Marin
Screenplay writer: Hugo Butler
Film stars: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, Leo G. Carroll

On Christmas Eve, a old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his former partner. A Christmas Carol is about the transformation of Scrooge and the meaning of sharing and giving. It all happened after the supernatural visitations of Jacob Marley (his dead partner) and the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Future. A message of self-transformation for goodness.

3. Beyond Tomorrow (1940)

Director: A. Edward Sutherland
Story writers: Mildred Cram and Adele Comandini
Film stars: Richard Carlson, Harry Carey, C. Aubrey Smith, Jean Parker, Charles Winninger

Three ghosts try to help two young lovers whom they knew when they were alive.

4. Holiday Inn (1942)

Director: Mark Sandrich
Film Idea by Irving Berlin
Film adaptation: Elmer Rice
Film stars: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds

There’s an inn which is only open on holidays. A Crooner and a hoofer vie for the affection of a beautiful up-coming performer.

5. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)

Director: Peter Godfrey
Screenplay writer: Lionel Houser and Adele Comandini
Film stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Reginald Gardiner, Sydney Greenstreet, S.Z. Sakall, Dennis Morgan

The story is about a food writer (Barbara Stanwyck) who has lied about being a perfect housewife. She needs to cover up her deception when her boss and a returning war hero invite themselves to her home for a traditional Christmas get-together.

6. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Director: Frank Capra
Screenpaly writers: Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
Film stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore

A caring angel teaches a businessman the value of self-worth, by showing him what life would be like if he never existed.

7. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Director and screenwriter: George Seaton
Story writer: Valentine Davies
Film stars: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood, John Payne

When a good old man (Edmund Gwenn) claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer (Payne) decides to defends him by arguing in court he is the real Santa.

8. The Bishop’s Wife (1947)

Director: Henry Koster
Screenplay writer: Robert E. Sherwood and Leonardo Bercovici
Film stars: Cary Grant, Loretta Young, David Niven

A bishop is trying to get a new cathedral built and prays for guidance. An angel (Cary Grant) arrives, but his “guidance” is not about fund-raising.

9. The Miracle of the Bells (1948)

Director: Irving Pichel
Novelist: Russell Janney
Film stars: Fred MacMurray, Alida Valli, Frank Sinatra, Lee J. Cobb

A Hollywood press agent brings the dead body of an actress back to her hometown for burial. She died after making her first and only film. The agent is acting on a final request from the actress. And more, he asks the local churches to ring their bells for three days, if only to get the reluctant studio head to release her film.

10. Holiday Affair (1949)

Director: Don Hartman
Screenplay writer: Isobel Lennart, Story writer: John D. Weaver
Film stars: Robert Mitchum, Janet Leigh, Harry Morgan

It’s a romantic Christmas for a young widow and a sales clerk who is unemployed.

11. A Christmas Wish (a.k.a. The Great Rupert) (1950)

Director: Irving Pichel
Screenplay writer: Laszlo Vadnay
Film stars: Jimmy Durante, Terry Moore, Tom Drake

Two poor, down-but-certainly-not-out families are helped by a little squirrel overcome their obstacles.

These Christmas films, considered greatest in Hollywood from 1935-1950, are timely for the festive season entertainment. They can be rented out at video rental stores or online video rentals.

Resource of the Best Christmas Films from 1935 to 1950

The Internet Movie Database (IMDB)

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