Bette Davis is a hostess at a nightclub that has recently switched its ownership to a notorious gangster. District Attorney Humphrey Bogart tries to get any of the hostesses to testify against their boss, but none of them are willing to until a series of circumstances give them no choice. Bogart’s role is a relatively small one for him, but Davis brings along her A-game. She’s tough-as-nails and streetwise, but capable of a soft vulnerability when necessary.
In a small Caribbean village, betrothed Judy Garland dreams instead of marrying a legendary pirate. Gene Kelly arrives with his traveling circus and immediately falls in love with Judy, deciding to impersonate the pirate to win her affections. Having a rather dull story with an overtly soundstage location, it’s not my favorite musical by a long mark, but I do enjoy Kelly and Garland’s general chemistry together. It is hard to go wrong with including Gene Kelly dancing, especially when he’s joined by the Nicholas brothers. 
Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture
When I was young, I avoided this film. It was one my father loved and I disregarded it as a crusty black and white film, though I did always enjoy the swimming pool scene. In high school, it was shown during a lesson about suicide and I was oddly taken with it to the point where it has become one of my favorites. The well-known and often-copied tale of a desperate but much-loved man who is shown what life would have been like if he had never existed is perhaps a perfect film. It’s well-acted, manages a delicate balance between its drama and comedy, and gorgeously incorporates a real sense of self in its Bedford Falls location. The pairing of James Stewart’s George Bailey hero with Lionel Barrymore’s villainous Potter is unmatched in cinema. 
Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Director; Best Sound, Recording; Best Film Editing
Casually working through Richard Pryor’s filmography, I stumbled upon this one where he is a con artist who attempts to get committed to a mental hospital to avoid jail. Instead he finds himself stuck at the hospital during a severe hurricane, impersonating a visiting doctor who was unable to make it in the storm. Pryor isn’t in top form here and the film mostly fails to connect, not really knowing if it wants to be a comedy or drama and deciding to stay in a safe , but boring, middle level. It’s by no means awful but it is entirely forgettable.
Naïve prep schooler Andrew McCarthy is encouraged by his new roommate, Rob Lowe, to find someone to first have sex with. Unfortunately the one person he finds is Lowe’s still-married mother Jacqueline Bisset. The relationship between McCarthy and Bisset is oddly sweet, a meeting of two individuals currently at odds with their current life situations. Unfortunately the rest of the film settles for being a fairly typical 80s sex comedy which results in a very disjointing tone trying to put those two parts together. Along with McCarthy, the film does mark the debuts of a number of the generation’s actors: Virginia Madsen, John Cusack, and Casey Siemaszko.
Growing up in Chicagoland, these three shorts heralded the Christmas season, airing on The Bozo Show every year. Watching now is just full of nostalgia. The mid-20th century plastic-aluminum Christmas aesthetic is one of those that I really dig and these are brimming with it. The story of Hardrock, Coco, and Joe is told through a jaunty, yodely tune about a Chinese Santa Claus and his three little helpers. Suzy Snowflake is a more haunting song about the fairy who brings winter to us all. The well-known story of Frosty the Snowman is presented here with a be-bopping, bouncy flair. The first two are rendered in wonderful, simple stop-motion, while Frosty is traditional animation that isn’t all that far from the popular Rankin-Bass version.
I imagine it’s hard to create a Christmas classic. Somehow Jon Favreau managed to capture the right magic with the story of Buddy the elf, played by Will Ferrell, an orphan who was accidentally brought as an infant to the North Pole by Santa and thus raised by an elf father. After Buddy learns he is actually a human, he journeys to the big city to meet his father who horror of horrors resides firmly on the Naughty List. Ferrell carries most of the load as he perfectly encapsulates the fish out of water innocence of a pure soul first encountering the ‘real world’ for the first time. I could probably do fine without the love interest or the younger brother, but it’s still quite endearing.
This is the absolute greatest Rankin-Bass special. What could easily be thought a sequel to Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, Mickey Rooney reprises his role as Santa: physically sick, tired, and feeling uncared for after giving his all for yet another year. On advice from his doctor, this year he decides to take a holiday and Mrs. Claus scrambles to find a way to still get the gifts delivered. Based on the book of the same title, it’s an entirely unique story that features delightful characters, most memorably the Heat and Snow Misers and their little minions. I don’t let a year go by without watching this one.
A faithful adaptation to the book by Lillian and Russell Hoban, this Jim Henson-produced special incorporates a new cast of Muppet characters to tell the tale of a poor otter family who use the inspiration from their deceased patriarch to separately enter a talent contest in the hopes of buying each other Christmas gifts they wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford. I wish I had seen this when I was younger because I absolutely love the presentation of these furry creatures and their riverside locale. Instead I just have to make sure that I don’t miss watching this warm-hearted little tale every year. 
After World War II, ex-Army comrades Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye team up and become successful theater producers. After they meet up with the sisters of an old-Army buddy, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney, the foursome travel from Florida to Vermont where they discover their old general trying to run a resort during an unusual winter heatwave. Set at a very similar looking inn, it’s somewhat of a companion piece to Holiday Inn. When the duo decide to host rehearsals at the resort to boost attendance, it offers the opportunity to present different renditions of the various songs from the earlier film. While it’s not one of my absolute favorite Christmas films, I watch it almost every year because the performers are really top notch and work well together. The fabulous VistaVision on the Diamond Edition DVD is gorgeous on my newer television. The colors look almost unreal.
Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song