December is a grand ol' month-- having a few of my favorite holidays-- including that holiest of days when wise men came to see a baby born who was clearly more than just an ordinary child-- I'm speaking of course of my birthday on the 27th-- there's also my little Bro's birthday on the 29th, Christmas Eve which is always a fun and festive celebration with family and New Years Eve which is something I look forward to whether we go to first night, stay in with some special food or travel, its a nice way to end the year.
I'm also festive about the films of the season, in no particular order a half dozen of my absolute favorite holiday movies;
1. Its a Wonderful Life (1946) George Bailey's sappy story still brings a tear to my eye when he comes to realize he's poor and broke with too many kids to feed and a future filled with McCarthy hearings and invisible rabbits.
2. A Christmas Story (1983) C'mon-- Ralphie is a welcome edition to any holiday lineup and just in case any monsters show up he's got Kolchak The Night Stalker for a dad. What more could a kid want-- except maybe a Red Ryder BB Gun?
3. SCROOGE (1971) The Albert Finney Musical (yes I said MUSICAL) has always been not only my favorite musical but one of my favorite movies of all time. Alec Guinness as a slightly foppish Jacob Marlee Ghost is priceless and there are some genuinely spooky moments in this adaption of Dicken's ghost story.
4. Meet John Doe (1941) If George Bailey doesn't make you break down, this one will. Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck are fantastic in this one.
5. It's a Lame Christmas Tree, Charlie Brown! (1966) or something like that-- it's not as good as Great Pumpkin, but it's still pretty solid.
6. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1966) This Rankin Bass puppet animation has the precursor to Indiana Jones in the form of Yukon Cornelius! BUMBLES BOUNCE!!
