Christmas movies, from old classics to new streaming options, have become a tradition for many. Some of my favorite Christmas themed movies are the older classics: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), White Christmas (1954), The Bishop’s Wife (1947) Christmas in Connecticut (1945), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), and Meet Me in St. Louis (1944).
If you were in Atlanta in 1954, you could have seen White Christmas at the Fox Theatre. The film was based around the song by the same name, which Irving Berlin wrote for Bing Crosby in 1940. Holiday Inn (1942) was the first film featuring the song White Christmas and the song won the Academy Award Best Music/Original Song category that year.
Christmas in Connecticut was playing at Buckhead Theater in December of 1945, as well as the Temple and Center Theaters. Temple Theater was at 456 Cherokee Avenue in the Grant Park area and Center Theater (later called Central) was located on Whitehall Street.
Rhodes Theatre, located on Peachtree Road next to Rhodes Hall, featured Meet Me in St. Louis in February of 1945. RKO Pictures promoted it as a holiday film and love story, but it was initially not received well by post World War II America. A portion of the story line takes place during Christmas, and more importantly the iconic song Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is sung by Judy Garland in the film.
Many of the old movies that are now considered Christmas classics, were not produced with that in mind. For example, Miracle on 34th Street was released in June 1947. It was advertised as a romance, featuring actors John Payne and Maureen O’Hara on the movie poster. A newer version of Miracle on 34th Street was released in 1994, however I prefer Natalie Wood and Maureen O’Hara any day.
Of course, you didn’t have to go downtown in the 1930s and 1940s to see a movie. Other theaters included Brookhaven Theater which opened in 1938, Avondale Theater in Avondale Estates which opened in 1938 and Decatur Theater which opened in 1940.
Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) has aired Christmas movies annually for years. TBS and their showing of old movies and Christmas movies are probably responsible for my being a fan of old movies. It was great news to me when Turner Classic Movies launched in 1994.
In addition to Christmas feature films, animated television Christmas specials began airing in the 1960’s. Some of the most popular include Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964), Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1968).
Everyone has their favorite holiday movies, whether black and white Christmas classics, animated television programs, Christmas classics such as A Christmas Story, Home Alone, Christmas Vacation, Elf, Love Actually, or The Santa Clause, the many Hallmark Holiday movies, or new releases on Netflix or Amazon Prime. A holiday movie adds fun to the season and provides a time to relax, especially needed in 2020.
Other sources cited include cinematreasures.org, tcm.com and The Atlanta Constitution movie advertisements.
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