It's beginning to
look a lot like...
...by
Jerome A. Holst
Each year, the signs of Christmas slowly
reveal themselves. There are, for instance,
the retail stores who merchandise their
Halloween candy and costume stock at the same
time they are filling their aisles with the
latest toys and decorations for the upcoming
Xmas season. Or the first Christmas tree
strapped to the roof a passing car that
reminds us we have to get a tree in a couple
of weeks; and finally, the industrious
neighbors down the block who just can't wait
to put up their Christmas lights [and forget
to take them down until March].
Yes, all these signs call for the
anticipation and comfort that is Christmas.
But, for me, Christmas isn't Christmas without
the special stories that emanate from the TV
screen from late November through December
25th. From the umpteenth broadcast of It's
a Charlie Brown' Christmas and It's a
Wonderful Life, viewers can once again
celebrate the magic of the season as the TV
tube's flickering lights remind us of another
time when we were children, when the world
seemed a much simpler place and there was
never a doubt that we were loved and that
Santa was on his way.
To prepare for this Christmas season,
let's take a glimpse at some classic seasonal
specials that will soon visit our living rooms
this Yuletide.
A Charlie Browns'
Christmas (1965)
This delightful holiday highlights Charlie
Brown's disgust with all the commercialism
during the Christmas season. To get his mind
off his woes, Charlie's friend Lucy suggests
that he become director of the school
Christmas pageant but the endeavor proves to
be frustrating. In the meantime, Charlie
adopts a pathetic little fir Christmas tree
["It just needs a little love,'] and his pal,
Linus helps everybody learn what the real
meaning of Christmas is.
|
[Sally's
letter to Santa] |
|
"Dear Santa
Claus, How have you been? Did you have a
nice summer? How is your wife? I have
been extra good this year, so I have a
long list of presents that I want.
Please note the size and color of each
item, and send as many as possible. If
it seems too complicated, make it easy
on yourself: just send money. How about
tens and twenties?" |
Rudolph the Red-nosed
Reindeer (1964)
Burl Ives lends his voice and countenance to
Sam the snowman who tells us the story of a
young red-nosed reindeer who get kicked out of
all the reindeer games for being different.
Even Santa Claus shows his prejudice and shuns
Rudolph. Saddened by his exclusion from the
group, Rudolph and another alleged misfit
Hermey the elf, an aspiring dentist, leave the
North Pole in search of a new life. Along the
way, they meet a boisterous prospector named
Yukon Cornelius, they encounter the Abominable
Snowman and an island filled with misfit toys.
But, in the end, Rudolph grows up, Santa asks
Rudolph and his red nose to act as a beacon to
get through the storm of the century, Hermey
becomes a dentist and Santa finds home for all
the misfit toys. I love happy endings.
|
Head Elf: |
Why weren't
you at elf practice? |
|
Hermey: |
Just fixing
these dolls' teeth. |
|
Head Elf: |
Just
fixing...? Now listen, we have dolls
that cry, talk, walk, blink and run a
temperature. We don't need any chewing
dolls. |
|
Hermey: |
I just
thought I'd find a way to fit in. |
|
Head Elf: |
You'll never
fit in! Now you come to elf practice,
learn how to wiggle your ears and
chuckle warmly and go hee-hee and ho-ho
and important stuff like that. A
dentist. Good grief! |
How the Grinch Stole
Christmas (1966)
Boris Karloff narrates the timeless tale of a
bitter Grinch who tries to destroy Christmas.
Dressing as Santa Claus, the Grinch steals all
the toys, food and decoration in Whoville in
hopes of ending Christmas for good. Instead,
he discovers that Christmas is more that just
toys. It is a celebration of love.
|
Boris Karloff as Narrator |
|
"All the
Whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a
lot, but the Grinch, who lived just
north of Whoville, did not. The Grinch
HATED Christmas -- the whole Christmas
season. Oh, please don't ask why, no one
quite knows the reason. It could be,
perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
Or maybe his head wasn't screwed on just
right. But I think that the best reason
of all may have been that his heart was
two sizes too small." |
Christmas Story
(1983)
This slice of life Yule time movie follows the
attempts of a youngster named Ralphie who
dreams of the ultimate present -- Red Ryder
Carbine Action, 200 Shot, Range Model Air
Rifle. Problem is, all the adults in his life
are telling him that air rifles are dangerous
and he will "shoot his eye out." Will he get
his rifle? Let's hope so.
|
Ralphie:
|
Oooh fuuudge!
|
|
Ralphie as
Adult: |
Only I
didn't say "Fudge." I said THE word, the
big one, the queen-mother of dirty
words, the "F-dash-dash-dash" word!
|
|
The Old
Man: |
What did you
say? |
|
Ralphie:
|
Uh, um...
|
|
The Old Man:
|
That's...
what I thought you said. Get in the car.
Go on! |
|
Ralphie:
|
It was all
over -- I was dead. What would it be?
The guillotine? Hanging? The chair? The
rack? The Chinese water torture? Hmmph.
Mere child's play compared to what
surely awaited me. |
It's a Wonderful Life
(1946)
George Bailey has a wonderful life. He married
to a great wife, has three kids and a town
filled with people who love him. But now
George is facing financial bankruptcy and
turns to a scheme of killing himself and using
the insurance money to solve his families
problems. Luckily, in steps a guardian angel
named Clarence who hears George's wish of "I
wish I was never born" and fulfills it. Now
stuck in a dark reality of "Potterville"
Clarence shows George what his town of Bedford
Falls would have looked like if it hadn't been
for all his good deeds over the years. Will
Clarence be able to convince George to return
to his family and forget about suicide ?
|
Clarence:
|
Your
brother, Harry Bailey, broke through the
ice and died at the age of nine.
|
|
George:
|
That's a
lie! Harry Bailey went to war! He got
the Congressional medal of honor, he
saved the lives of every man on that
transport! |
|
Clarence:
|
Every man on
that transport died! Harry wasn't there
to save them because you weren't there
to save Harry! |
Miracle on 34th
Street (1947)
Doris Walker is a Macy's executive responsible
for coordinating the Macy's Thanksgiving Day
Parade. When the man hired to play Santa on
the parade's float is found intoxicated, in
walks a geriatric patient from a near by
retirement home named Kris Kringle. Desperate
for a sober Santa, Doris hires the charming
bearded little man for the parade and them
hires him as the Macy's store Santa Claus.
When Kris's identity as the real Santa Claus
is challenged, he goes to court to exonerate
himself. Will the court rule in his favor and
will the skeptical Doris and her little
daughter start believing in the magic of
Christmas?
|
Charles
Halloran advising the judge:
|
|
"All right,
you go back and tell them that the New
York State Supreme Court rules there's
no Santa Claus. It's all over the
papers. The kids read it and they don't
hang up their stockings. Now what
happens to all the toys that are
supposed to be in those stockings?
Nobody buys them. The toy manufacturers
are going to like that; so they have to
lay off a lot of their employees, union
employees. Now you got the CIO and the
AF of L against you and they're going to
adore you for it and they're going to
say it with votes. Oh, and the
department stores are going to love you
too and the Christmas card makers and
the candy companies. Ho ho! Henry,
you're going to be an awful popular
fella. And what about the Salvation
Army? Why, they got a Santa Claus on
every corner, and they're taking a
fortune. But you go ahead Henry, you do
it your way. You go on back in there and
tell them that you rule there is no
Santy Claus. Go on! But if you do,
remember this: you can count on getting
just two votes, your own and that
district attorney's out there."
|
Christmas Vacation
(1989)
It's Christmas time and the Griswold's are
preparing for a family seasonal celebration.
But suddenly Clark discovers he's not getting
his much hoped for Christmas bonus and on top
of that, he is inundated by a bunch of
obnoxious relatives who dropped in for the
holidays. Will the Griswold's survive the
season?
|
Chevy Chase
as the irritated Clark W. Griswold |
|
" Where do
you think you're going? Nobody's
leaving. Nobody's walking out on this
fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No,
no! We're all in this together. This is
a full-blown, four-alarm holiday
emergency here! We're gonna press on,
and we're gonna have the hap, hap,
happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby
tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye! And
when Santa squeezes his fat white ass
down that chimney tonight, he's gonna
find the jolliest bunch of assholes this
side of the nuthouse!" |
Scrooge (a.k.a. Christmas Carol)
(1951)
Based on Charles Dickens's "A Christmas
Carol," this perennial favorite tells the tale
of a miserably, miserly old businessman named
Scrooge who gets visited by the the ghost of
his former partner Marley who arranges three
more ghostly visits from The Ghosts of
Christmas, Past, Past and Future. Will Scrooge
change his ways and find redemption?
|
Alastair Sim
as Ebenezer Scrooge |
|
"Every idiot
who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' on
his lips, should be boiled with his own
pudding, and buried with a stake of
holly through his heart." |
Look for these equally entertaining specials
on TV this season:
Emmett Otter’s Jug
Band Christmas (1977)
Frosty the Snowman
(1969)
Jack Frost
(1979)
Little Drummer Boy
(1968)
Mickey’s Christmas
Carol (1983)
Mr. Magoo's Christmas
Carol (1962)
A Muppet Family
Christmas (1987)
Rudolph's Shiny New Year
(1975)
Santa Claus is Comin' to
Town (1970)
Twas the Night Before
Christmas (1974)
Year Without a Santa
Claus (1974)
