50 classic holiday movies gallery: from ‘it’s a wonderful life,’ ‘a christmas story’ to ‘die hard’ and ‘the holiday’

The concept of the holiday movie began back in 1898 with G.A. Smith’s pioneering silent film _Santa Claus_. The first of its kind to show the depiction of Santa that only runs just shy over

a minute. Since then Hollywood has belted out an array of films that have either been true to the genre such as _A Christmas Story; The Holiday; Miracle On 34th Street; Jingle Jangle: A

Christmas Journey_ or films like _Die Hard_; _Brazil,_ and _Gremlins_ that have teetered on the edge of identifying as a holiday film. Then there are the anti-holiday movies and the

Christmas horrors. Subgenres of their own like the slasher _Silent Night, Deadly Night_, _Black Christmas,_ and _Christmas Evil_, a John Waters favorite, so you are inclined to know what

demented viewing you are in for. RELATED: 50 CLASSIC VALENTINE’S MOVIES GALLERY: FROM ‘AMELIE’ & ‘IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE’ TO ‘PARIS, TEXAS’ & ‘BREATHLESS’ Waters even makes the list of

unconventional Christmas classics. His 1974 cult film _Female Trouble, _starring Divine as Dawn Davenport, a bratty teen who is so disappointed by her parents not buying the shoe she wants,

throws a fit, and her mother, under the Christmas tree because “nice girls don’t wear cha-cha heels.”  The running theme that conjures up the spirit of most holiday films is what is the

true meaning of Christmas? Protagonists like Jack Skellington in Tim Burton’s _The Nightmare Before Christmas, _George Bailey in the 1946 classic _It’s a Wonderful Life, _and Frank Cross,

the Dickens character in _Scrooged, _all endure this question of what really matters at this time of year. Scroll through our picks for Deadlines’ top 50 classic Holiday films that range

from tear-jerkers to heart-wrenching horrors, 80s fantasy and 90s nostalgia. * THE HOLDOVERS, 2023 Directed by Alexander Payne, and starring Dominic Sessa, Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine Joy

Randolph * VIOLENT NIGHT, 2022 Dir. Tommy Wirkola starring David Harbour. * HAPPIEST SEASON, 2020 Dir. Clea DuVall, starring Burl Moseley, Alison Brie, Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Mary

Holland, Victor Garber, Mary Steenburgen; children from left: Asiyih N’Dobe and Anis N’Dobe. * TANGERINE, 2015 Dir. Sean Baker, starring  Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mickey O’Hagan. * JINGLE

JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY, 2020 Dir. David E. Talbert, starring Madalen Mills, Kieron Dyer, Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key and Hugh Bonneville. * THE HOLIDAY, 2006 Dir. Nancy Meyers,

starring Kate Winslet, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. * ELF, 2003 Dir. Jon Favreau, starring Will Ferrell. * LOVE ACTUALLY, 2003 Dir. Richard Curtis starring Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant,

Martine McCutcheon and Liam Neeson. * DR. SEUSS HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, 2000 Dir. Ron Howard starring, Taylor Momsen and Jim Carrey. * THE ICE STORM, 1997 Dir. Ang Lee starring

Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Joan Allen and Christina Ricci. * LITTLE WOMEN, 1994 Dir. Gillian Armstrong, starring Claire Danes, Winona Ryder, Trini Alvarado, Kirsten Dunst and Susan

Sarandon. * BATMAN RETURNS, 1992 Dir. Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny De Vito. * ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES, 1993 Dir. Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Anjelica Huston,

Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Christin Ricci, Carel Struychen, John Franklin and Joan Cusack. * THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, 1993 Dir. Henry Selick, starring Jack Skellington (Chris

Sarandon), Sally (Catherine O’Hara). * MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL, 1992 Dir. Brian Henson starring Miss Piggy, Michael Caine, Fozzie Bear, Kermit and  Gonzo. * EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, 1990 Dir. Tim

burton, starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder. * WITCHES, 1990 Dir. Nicolas Roeg, starring Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling and Jasen Fisher. * HOME ALONE, 1990 Dir. Chris Columbus, starring

Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci Daniel Stern and Catherine O’Hara. * MOTHER GOOSE ROCK ‘N’ RHYME, 1990 Dir. Jeff Stein, starring Shelley Duvall, Art Garfunkel, Woody Harrelson, Debbie Harry,

Cyndi Lauper and  Little Richard. * HOOK, 1991 Dir. starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts. * NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION, 1989 Dir. Jeremiah S. Chechik,

starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo and Juliette Lewis. * SCROOGED, 1988 Dir. Richard Dooner, starring Bill Murray and Carol Kane. * DIE HARD, 1988 Dir. John McTiernan, starring Bruce

Willis and Alan Rickman. * THE PRINCESS BRIDE, 1987 Dir. Rob Reiner, starring Cary Elwes and Robin Wright. * PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES, 1987 Dir. John Hughes, tarringSteve Martin, and

John Candy. * BRAZIL, 1985 Dir. Terry Gilliam starring Katherine Helmond, Jim Broadbent, Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist and Robert De Niro. * THE GOONIES, 1985 Dir. Richard Donner starring Ke

Huy Quan (aka Jonathan Ke Quan), Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman and Jeff Cohen. * SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT, 1984 Dir. Charles E. Sellier Jr., starring Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer

McCormick and Toni Nero. * GREMLINS, 1984 Dir. Joe Dante, starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates and Hoyt Axton. * THE NEVERENDING STORY, 1984 Dir. Wolfgang Petersen starring, Noah Hathaway,

Falkor (voice: Alan Oppenheimer), Barret Oliver and Tami Stronach. * TRADING PLACES, 1983 Dir. John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. * A CHRISTMAS STORY, 1983 Dir. Bob Clark,

Starring Peter Billingsey (pictured), Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin. * FANNY AND ALEXANDER, 1982 Dir. Ingmar Bergman, starring Ewa Froling, Erland Josephson, Bertil Guve, Pernilla Allwin

and Kristina Adolphson. * CHRISTMAS EVIL, 1980 Dir. Lewis Jackson, starring Brandon Maggart, Jeffrey DeMunn and Dianne Hull. * BLACK CHRISTMAS, 1974 Dir. Bob Clark, starring Olivia Hussey.

* FEMALE TROUBLE, 1974 Dir. John Waters, starring Susan Walsh, Divine and Cookie Mueller. * WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, 1971 Dir. Mel Stuart starring Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson

and Peter Ostrum. * THE SOUND OF MUSIC, 1965 Dir. Robert Wise, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. * CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS, 1965 Dir. Bill Melendez. * MARY POPPINS, 1964 Dir.

Robert Stevenson, starring Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. * THE APARTMENT, 1960 Dir.Billy Wilder, starring Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon. * MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, 1947 Dir. George

Seaton, starring Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood. * IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE, 1947 Dir. Roy Del Ruth starring Gale Storm and Don DeFore. * IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE, 1946 Dir. Frank Capra,

starring Carol Coomes, Donna Reed, Karolyn Grimes, James Stewart, Jimmy Hawkins and Larry Simms. * MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, 1944 Dir. Vincent Minnelli, starring Judy Garland and Tom Drake. *

THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, 1940 Dir. Ernst Lubitsch, starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. * REMEMBER THE NIGHT, 1940 Dir. Mitchell Leisen, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara

Stanwyck. * THE WIZARD OF OZ, 1939 Dir. Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Mervyn LeRoy and starring Margaret Hamilton, Judy Garland and Ray Bolger. * REVE DE NOEL (THE CHRISTMAS DREAM), 1900

Dir. Georges Méliès starring Georges Méliès  * SANTA CLAUS, 1898 Dir. George Albert Smith, starring Laura Bayley, Dorothy Smith and Harold Smith.