Christmas and movies are two of my favorite things in the world. So of course, when you combine them and get Christmas movies, it is a match made in heaven for me. I am not the only one to feel this way. Gathering together with loved ones to watch a Christmas movie with loved ones has become a time-honored tradition.
Christmas movies now make up too vast a subject to ever have a definitive book. However, Jeremy Arnold's Christmas in the Movies is the best book about the subject I have read.
One of the best parts of this book is the wide selection of Christmas movies contained within (the original 2018 edition has 30 and the updated 2023 version has 35). These films include black and white classics such as Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946) to 21st century holiday traditions as Elf (2003) and Love Actually (2003) to more atypical Christmas films as Gremlins (1984) and Die Hard (1988). This selection gives a great overview of how large the world of Christmas movies is and how there is a Christmas movie for you regardless of what your taste is. The list of movies here are also full of many great films that are essential viewing for any movie fan.
Jermey Arnold's writing style also makes this book essential reading. His writing style is very warm, inviting and unpretentious. Yet at the same time, it is incredibly insightful, giving you an even greater appreciation for movies that you have already seen many times.
The 2023 revised addition not only includes more movies, but it also includes overviews of Christmas cartoons, the various film adaptions of A Christmas Carol and Little Women, Christmas film noirs and 21st century Christmas films. These overviews are just as well written and insightful as the essays about each of the main movies.
This is essential reading for anyone who loves both Christmas and movies.
A type of movie that is becoming more common today is the anime compilation film. These are feature length films that are edited from various episodes of an anime TV show. These movies are usually quite entertaining but come off as very messy in their story telling as they are being presented in a format you are never meant for.
Fans of the franchise already know that this film can be separated into two different portions. The first is previously seen material and the second is brand new material (that will serve as the start of season three). The first portion is definitely weaker than the second. This is not due to the content (which is excellent) but rather the editing. The editing is incredibly messy. The filmmakers try to shove too much into too short of a time. The result feels rushed and doesn't work as part of a movie. Taken as part of a movie it feels too rushed. For newcomers it is hard to follow, and the characters feel greatly underdeveloped. For fans they would enjoy watching the full episodes more. With a movie that only runs an hour and a half, why couldn't they just make it longer and edit less out. Everything improves greatly in the second portion of the film. This second portion is played straight without anything noticeable being edited out. During this second portion it truly feel like a movie (despite an abrupt ending) and is simply much more enjoyable to watch. Newcomers will also now have an idea who these characters are.
AS for the content itself, it is excellent. The animation is excellent, the monster designs are creative, the action is exciting, and it has a great sense of atmosphere. It is a shame for much of the runtime; this great content is hurt by poor editing.
Hello my friends and welcome back to another service of Cowboy Church.
Today's musical selection begins with Roy Rogers' 1940 recording of Silent Night. This song was written in 1818 by Josef Mohr and Franz Xaver Gruber. Raised in Salzburg, Mohr became an ordained priest on August 21, 1815. He was then sent to a town just north of Salzburg called Obendorf. That is where he met a schoolteacher named Franz Xaver Gruber, who would later become the organist at Old Saint Nicholas Church in 1816. They were in a need for a song on Christmas Eve, 1818. Mohr presented Gruber with a poem he had written a few years before and Gruber quickly put it to music on his guitar (the organ was broken) and that Christmas Eve the first ever audience heard Silent Night. The tempo of that earlier version was faster paced than the one we know today but it was still very popular with the audience and would soon become a song synonymous with Christmas.
This is followed by Patty Loveless with Beautiful Star of Bethlehem. This recording comes from her 2002 album, Bluegrass & White Snow, A Mountain Christmas.
Afterwards is Washington Phillips with his 1928 recording of What Are They Doing in Heaven Today. /
Then Gene Autry's 1947 recording of Here Comes Santa Claus. Gene wrote this song's lyrics (the music was written by Oakley Haldeman). He was inspired by a time when he rode, Champion Jr. in Hollywood's Santa Claus Lane Parade. He rode in front of Santa Claus and heard a small boy shout, "Here comes Satna Claus." He knew that this would make a perfect Christmas song. This song became such a hit that many Christmas recordings followed as well as songs for other holidays like Easter and Thanksgiving.
Next is Tex Ritter with his 1957 recording of It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. The song was written by Edmund H. Sears. This hymn first appeared in Boston's Christian Register, on December 29, 1849 (yes after Christmas). That version has a verse that does not appear in this version, "But with the woes of sin and strife the world has suffered long; Beneath the angel-strain have rolled Two thousand years of wrong; And man, at war with man, hears not the love-song, which they bring: O hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing!" This verse reflects the state if America at the time this song was written. The Civil War was approaching, and Sears found himself concerned with the division in our country. Unlike many Christmas songs, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear is not a song about peace on Earth but rather a plea for it. With the division and anger that is so prevalent today, this is a perfect Christmas song for our time. This song has been put to different tunes over the years and the two most prevalent are Carol (by Richard Storis Willis in 1850) and Noel (by Sir Arthur Sullivan in 1878). Carol is the preferred version of this song in the U.S. and is the one Willie performs here. The tune had been used for other lyrics dating back to when it was written in 1850, and was first used to accompany, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear in 1878.
Then comes Tennessee Ernie Ford with Jesus Paid it All. Elvina Hall wrote the words to this hymn on the flyleaf of her hymn book and handed it to her pastor. Meanwhile the church's organist John Grape handed the pastor a new piece of music he had just written. Noticing that the poem and the music fit together perfectly, the pastor put the two together and the hymn was born. The hymn came to be in 1865.
Today's musical selection ends with The Sons of the Pioneers with their 1948 recording of Rounded Up in Glory.
Today's movie is Where the Buffalo Roam (1938) starring Tex Ritter.
Now for a Christmas message from Dr. Charles Stanley.
Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again.
Hello, my friends and happy Saturday morning. Once again it is time for some classic cartoons.
Disney cartoons have long been associated with sentimentality and cuteness. Yet this wasn't always the case. The early black and white Mickey Mouse films were mostly pretty much the opposite. They focused purely on the gags and jokes and with keeping the comic momentum going. A perfect example of this is Mickey's Orphans (1931). This movie has all the makings for a sentimental cartoon. It takes place at Christmas time and the involves Mickey adopting a bunch of orphans. Yet all of this is played strictly for laughs and some of the kids can be a little sadistic. A review in the Motion Picture Herald stated, "The youngsters will get a real kick out of this short, and the oldsters will extract a bit of enjoyment." A review in The Film Daily gave the same sentiment stating, "It will delight all children and get many a laugh from their elders." An issue of The Film Daily (Dated February 7, 1932) stated "In addition to El Brendel in person this week's show at the Roxy is a special treat for the kids. The presentation includes four scenes based on 'Mickey's Orphans,' the Mickey Mouse cartoon that was held over for three weeks at this house. The characters of Mickey and Minnie are portrayed by the Arnaut Brothers, popular pantomimists. Patricia Bowman, Fred Waring's orchestra in a novelty entitled 'Dancing Melodies,' and the Roxyettes also are part of the proceedings. In the Mickey scenes, the Roxyettes and ballet group are made up to represent kittens, musical notes and animated furnishings in Minnie's boudoir." This cartoon was reissued to theatres in 1934.
Now for another cartoon mouse, here is Mighty Mouse in The Sultan's Birthday (1944). This film was directed by Bill Tytla, a former Disney animator and possibly my favorite Disney animator. Terry Toons producer Paul Terry thought Tytla was a great animator but a less than stellar director. Terry would state about Tytla, "He was one of the best animators that had ever lived. And he could render anything that you gave him to render very well. But he didn't seem to have that starting quality. He was lost unless somebody laid it out pretty well and then he would embellish it." Terry when talking about Tytla singled out a bit of animation from this particular film. "I remember a dancing girl in that picture. Really made that picture. A beautiful piece of animation."
Next comes Bugs Bunny and the Tasmanian Devil in The Fright Before Christmas (1979). This short was originally created for the TV special Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (1979). This was the final of three segments in that special and was directed Friz Freleng. This makes this the first time Taz was directed by someone other than Robert McKimson. The result like the whole special is a delightful Christmas treat and one of the best uses of Taz after the golden age of Looney Tunes. Also appearing here is Bugs' nephew Clyde. Clyde had only appeared in two theatrical shorts, His Hare Raising Tale (1951) and Yankee Doodle Bugs (1954). Both of those were directed by Friz Freleng.
Now for The New Three Stooges cartoon, Tin Horn Dude (1965). The Three Stooges voice themselves in this made for TV cartoon.
Now it is time for a commercial break.
Now it is silent movie time with the Walt Disney directed Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in Empty Socks (1927). This cartoon was lost for years, when in 2014 archivist Kjetil Kvale Sørenssen found a print in the National Library of Norway, incorrectly labeled as a Felix the cat cartoon. The film runs shorter than the average Oswald cartoon making it seem likely there are still a couple minutes missing. The cartoon features a legendary trio of animators working on it, Ub Iwerks, Hugh Harman and Rollin “Ham” Hamilton. Hugh and Ham would leave Walt the following Spring. Both would later become instrumental figures in the earliest Looney Tunes shorts. Ub Iwerks would go on to be one the most important figures in early Disney history, even being Mickey Mouse's co-creator (with Walt Disney of course). Unlike many Christmas cartoons of this era, this film was actually released in December. It had its general release on Monday, December 12, 1927.
Next is Betty Boop in Is My Palm Read (1933). This short features Betty at her sexy, naughty and surreal pre-code best.
Now we celebrate Christmas with Pooch the Pup in Merry Dog (1933). This short has everything I love about Walter Lantz cartoons of this era. The jokes are incredibly silly and more often than not just plain strange. In fact, this film is pretty much one bizarre joke after another, and I simply love it. The following is an exhibitors review from the Motion Picture Herald, "MERRY DOG, THE: Pooch the "Pup—Excellent cartoon for anybody's program. "Night Before Christmas" theme with snowstorm and blizzard effects which almost made us forget that it was the hottest day of the summer. (106 and no shade.) Running time. 8 minutes. —Wm. Sayre, Delmar Theatre, Morrill, Neb., Rural and small town patronage."
Today's cartoon selection ends with A Garfield Christmas Special (1987). This is a very underrated TV Christmas special that I believe deserves much more attention and love than it gets.
Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for more animated treasures. Until then may all your tunes be looney and your melodies merry.
Resources Used
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: The Search for the Lost Disney Cartoons by David Bossert
Of Mice and Magic: A History of the American Animated Cartoon by Leonard Maltin
So far, I have been a big fan of director/writer Chloé Zhao's work (The Rider (2017), Nomadland (2021), Eternals (2021)) and this movie is just the kind of greatness I expect from her.
This movie follows the story of Willaim Shakespeare meeting his wife, falling in love and having children, including a boy named Hamnet. However, as he follows his dream of being a playwright, he spends less and less time with his family, leaving them alone during hard times. I don't know how true this story is. I have read almost all of Shakespeare's plays (as well as having watched many movie adaptions) but have never done much looking into his actual life.
This is a pure tearjerker plain and simple. Anyone susceptible to these types of movies and even some who are not usually, will find themselves an emotional wreck with a least a couple moments. Yet this movie is much more effective than many sad movies as of lot. Too many modern sad movies simply seem to take a perverse pleasure in torturing the main character as much as possible, simply piling one misery on top of another until it simply becomes ridiculous. Yet this is luckily not the case here. While the sad scenes are truly heartbreaking, there are also moments of joy, sweetness and romance here. These scenes all make the story feel more real and natural, making the heartbreaking scenes even more effective. There are also some very quiet and reflective scenes here. One of Zhao's best gifts as a filmmaker is how well she can use quiet and silence at the exact right moment to make the movie more emotionally powerful. This can be seen in all her movies, but it is especially effective here. The film is also boosted by very real and moving performances from Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckly as the leads. Both bring a real emotionally honesty to this movie. Buckley's performance in the final scenes will leave you heartbroken.
If I had one complaint about this film, it is that for some reason, the filmmakers decided not to use William Shakespeare's name until the film was nearing its end. This is pointless because we all know this is a movie about Shakespeare, especially after he writes, " But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." Even someone who has never actually read Shakespeare knows where that quote is from.
