Movies Of Christmas Past

Containers of leftovers stacked in the fridge mark Thanksgiving's passing and the approach of Christmas's apoplectic apex. Tis the season for the celebratory cinephile to emerge. Everyone has their favorite holiday movie, but my taste goes to the more bizarre. less popular films. Imagine that?


Here are my bizarro Top Five:
1. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) - Odd, but I remember being 10 and watching this at the Westmont Theater on a rainy weekend afternoon just before Christmas. That would have been 1964. Could this have gone right to kids' matinee fodder? Probably, it's a very bad film. So bad, I just have to see it whenever it airs, usually on Mystery Science Theater. Great trivia - an 8-year-old Pia Zadora plays the Martian girl


2. Go (1999) - A strange film with three intertwined story lines jumping between LA and Las Vegas involving a drug deal. Now that says Christmas! Timothy Olyphant plays a santa-hat wearing drug dealer who kidnaps Katie Holmes - Mondo Outre.


3. A Christmas Wish (also released as The Great Rupert - 1950) - This movie gives bad a bad name. However it has two redeeming factors. The first is the film's hero, Rupert, a trained squirrel. Rupert is done in stop motion animation. The second is a scene in which Jimmy Durante performs his classic Inka Dinka Doo. Good night Mrs. Calabash, where ever you are! The film was produced by the great George Pal known for such sci-fi classics as The Time Machine and The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao. 

4. The Ref (1994) A black comedy with Denis Leary, Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey that always tickles my funny bone. My favorite scene is when burglar/intruder, Leary, has Spacey and Davis tied up in their bedroom. They are still bickering about what the family needs. Leary says, "You know what this family needs? A f**kin' mute!"






5. We're No Angels (1955) This is my favorite Christmas movie of all time. Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, and Peter Ustinov, prisoners on Devil's Island, stumble into the village's general store during their escape attempt. They end up befriending the hapless shopkeeper (Leo G. Carroll) and his family. Luckily villainous Uncle Andre (Basil Rathbone) shows up as the focus of their murderous larceny.


I present these for your edification and the chance to experience something deliciously different this holiday season, . As ever - BB




"We came here to rob them and that's what we're gonna do - beat their heads in, gouge their eyes out, slash their throats. Soon as we wash the dishes." - Humphrey Bogart as Joseph in We're No Angels