Welcome to the 833rd Edition of my series. I continue my focus on all holiday oriented or at least referenced films. I will still look to keep the diversity as I always do and try to accommodate to everyone's holiday taste in some way. I don't really have much else happening so I will just get on with my selections for the week.
Anna and the Apocalypse (2017): I start the week out with this British zombie musical comedy which was directed by John McPhail. Ella Hunt stars as Anna who looks forward to Christmas but a zombie apocalypse breaks out. Anna and her friends must band together to survive and save their loved ones. Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire, Marli Siu, Ben Wiggins, Mark Benton, Paul Kaye, Sean Connor, Euan Bennet, Ella Jarvis, Ruth McGhie, Kirsty Strain, and many others co-star in this film. This is a fun take of the zombie genre that adds musical numbers and something different for the holidays. Just remember though, there is no such thing as a holiday ending. This is available to watch on Pluto TV.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992): Last week I had the Mickey Mouse and friends and this week, I use the Muppets for my adaptation of the Dickens classic. Brian Henson directed this adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens and is his directorial debut. Michael Caine stars as miser Ebenezer Scrooge who we all know is very bitter about Christmas and is visited by three ghosts to show him different parts of his life. Kermit the Frog, voiced by Steve Whitmire, and Miss Piggy, voiced by Frank Oz, play Mr. and Mrs. Cratchit. Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, David Rudman, Jessica Fox, Steven Mackintosh, Raymond Coulthard, and many others co-star in this film. We see about all of out Muppet friends in some way or another. Paul Williams wrote the soundtrack and a few really good music numbers. Caine is great in the role of Scrooge. This is a really good version of the story as long as you like the Muppets. This is available to watch on Disney Plus.
Last Christmas (2019): Paul Feig directed this holiday romantic comedy which was inspired by the George Michael's song of the same name. GAME OF THRONES alum Emilia Clarke stars as Kate who is an aspiring singer working in a year-round Christmas store. Her life is full of bad luck and bad decisions but things change when she meets a kind hearted young man named Tom, played by Henry Golding. Emma Thompson, Michelle Yeoh, Boris Isakovic, Maxim Baldry, Margaret Clunie, Patti Lupon, Lydia Leonard, Madison Ingoldsby, Rob Delaney, Peter Serafinowicz, and many others co-star in this film. Look for Wham member Andrew Ridgeley as an audience member. The star of movie in a sense was the music of George Michael whose music is used a lot in this movie. Thompson in addition to being in the movie also co-wrote the story with her husband Greg Wise. The two leads work well together in a pretty well-written love story with good use of the soundtrack. Now for those who are playing "Whamageddon", I guess this is not the time to watch it.
The Christmas Party (1931): This is my holiday short for the week that is kind of a slice of Hollywood. Child star at the time Jackie Cooper stars in this as himself who wants to throw a Christmas party for his teammates on the football team. His mom allows it but learns there are too many people to Jackie asks Louis B. Mayer permission to hold it on one of the Hollywood soundstages. Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Marion Davies, Jimmy Durante, Clark Gable, Norma Shearer, and a few others make cameos as themselves and helping out at the party. This is a pretty good look at Hollywood from that era. This is available to watch on Youtube and is only about ten minutes long.
Backfire (1950): Vincent Sherman directed this film noir that takes place during Christmas Eve. Gordon MacRae stars as Bob Corey who is nursing injuries in a Veterans' series. He learns that a friend of his had disappeared under mysterious circumstances which may involve murder. Bob sets out with his nurse Julie, played by Virginia Mayo, to investigate what is happening finding more than he wants. Viveca Lindfors, Dane Clark, Edmond O'Brien, Ed Begley, Frances Robinson, Richard Rober, Sheila Macrae, and many others co-star in this film. This has holiday reference to it but is not really a holiday film. This is a pretty intriguing and complex film noir that will require full attention.
Black Christmas (1974): Now I bring the popular holiday slasher which was directed by Bob Clark. This centers around a sorority where a group of sorority sisters are making their holiday plans but are getting some creepy phone calls and soon learn there is a killer on the loose. Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey, John Saxon, Keir Dullea, Marian Waldman, Andrea Martin, James Edmond, Doug McGrath, Art Hindle, Lynne Griffin, Michael Rapport, Leslie Carlson, Martha Gibson, and many others co-star in this horror film. This is perfect for horror fans to watch for the holidays and is a rather underrated horror movie in my opinion. They made a great low-budget movie and it is usually just acknowledged for a Christmas holiday movie but really ranks with some of the best. I have not seen the two remakes that I am aware of but I doubt they can top this one no matter their budget. This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel.
Rare Exports (2010): This is my Finnish holiday film for the week which was directed by Jalmari Helander. This is a very strange story that tells the legend of Santa Claus in a small town. Santa is unearthed by archaeologists and shortly after that, children begin to disappear leaving the town to band together. Jorma Tommila, Onni Tommila, Peeter Jakobi, Tommi Korpela, Rauno Juvonen, and many others co-star in this fantasy horror film. I don't have any better explanation than what I game. I will say that it is different and clever. As the tagline says, "this Christmas, everyone will believe in Santa Claus". This is available to watch on Hulu.
Christmas in Connecticut (1945): Now I go the romantic comedy route again which was directed by Peter Godfrey. Barbara Stanwyck stars as food writer Elizabeth Lane who lives a great life on a farm with a husband and baby. Her boss Alexander Yardley, played by Sydney Greenstreet, insists that she put on Christmas for him and returning soldier Jefferson Jones, played by Dennis Morgan. The only problem is that none of these claims are true, she is not a cook, she is not married, and she has no children so with the help of a couple friends, she puts on a front hoping this does not expose her to her boss. Reginald Gardiner, S.Z. Sakall, Robert Shayne, Una O'Connor, Frank Jenks, Joyce Compton, Charles Arnt, and many others co-star in this holiday comedy. I know I've featured a lot of violence on this one so for those that prefer to have laughs, this is a good choice and really a good choice in general for holiday films.
The Gathering (1977): Now I continue with a tv movie which was directed by Randal Kleiser. Ed Asner stars as the dying Adam Thornton whose focus was always his career and not his family. It is days before Christmas and convinces his estranged wife Kate, played by Maureen Stapleton, to have a Christmas so he can apologize to the kids but worries how it will go over after all these years. Rebecca Balding, Sarah Cunningham, Bruce Davison, Veronica Hamel, Gregory Harrison, James Karen, Lawrence Pressman, John Randolph, Gail Strickland, Edward Winter, Stephanie Zimbalist, and many others co-star in this holiday Christmas tv movie. This is one of the very few live-action projects to be produced by Hanna-Barbara. This is a pretty good holiday movie on making amends and reconnecting with family. This has gone rather underrated through the years and deserves a look.
Batman Returns (1992): I end the week with a holiday superhero movie which was directed by Tim Burton. Michael Keaton reprises his role of Bruce Wayne who might be Batman from the 1989 film BATMAN. Now Batman is dealing with the Penguin, played by Danny Devito, and Catwoman, played by Michelle Pfeiffer. Christopher Walken stars as the corrupt businessman Max Shreck who tries to help the Penguin. Michael Gough, Michael Murphy, Cristi Conaway, Andrew Bryniarski, Pat Hingle, Vincent Schiavelli, Steve Witting, Rick Zumwalt, Anna Katarina, Gregory Scott Cummins, Travis McKenna, Doug Jones, Branscombe Richard, Paul Reubens, Diane Salinger, Stuart Lancaster, Sean Whalen, and many others co-star in this superhero film. Reubens plays the Penguin's father in the beginning. This is some pretty fun stuff here with Keaton as a great Batman. It also takes place during the holidays making it a good watch for this time of year. This would be the last one directed by Burton and the last time Keaton plays Bruce Wayne. This is available to watch on HBO Max.
Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned next week for some more holiday films.
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