SOXTALK DECEMBER 2008 HOLIDAY LIST SPECTACULAR!

[watchtower41]

I've only voted for one that made the list thus far, but I'd envision we'll have some good underrated titles in the mix. Already I would not have thought"Jingle" would have been that high up, maybe even a top 10, and thats not even the one I voted for so far. Looking forward to the rest.

 

How many people total voted? Average age?

[qwerty]

Holiday Inn is greatly under appreciated by you youngin's

 

I generally prefer for a black and white not be transferred into color but they did a really nice job on Holiday Inn. I, like a very small group, actually saw the colorized version several years ago to go along with ''The Bells of St. Mary's''. Recently a colorized version has been mass produced and it looks simply awesome.

 

Holiday Inn colorized...

 

The colorized version is fantastic and it really brings to life all the costumes and dresses.

 

Bing Crosby official site...

 

Just click on ''video player'' and you will get a sample version of what i speak.

[Texsox]

I generally prefer for a black and white not be transferred into color but they did a really nice job on Holiday Inn. I, like a very small group, actually saw the colorized version several years ago to go along with ''The Bells of St. Mary's''. Recently a colorized version has been mass produced and it looks simply awesome.

 

Holiday Inn colorized...

 

The colorized version is fantastic and it really brings to life all the costumes and dresses.

 

Bing Crosby official site...

 

Just click on ''video player'' and you will get a sample version of what i speak.

 

I need to see the colorized version. The art has come so far since the early days. I am sensitive to the artistic argument that the film makers would have used different lighting, effects, for color and it isn't true to their craft, but hell if I like it better, why not.

 

The downside is the nostalgia of watching the b&w.

[knightni]

Um... Dasher, Dancer... Prancer... Nixon, Comet, Cupid... Donna Dixon?

 

19. (tie) Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire

 

 

(5 of 21 lists - 36 points - highest ranking #2 Balta1701)

 

 

"Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", also known as "The Simpsons Christmas Special", was the first full-length episode of The Simpsons to air despite originally being the eighth episode produced for season one. It first aired December 17, 1989. It was written by Mimi Pond and directed by David Silverman. The title alludes to "The Christmas Song", also known as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire".

 

Plot

 

Homer, Marge, and Maggie attend Bart and Lisa's Christmas pageant at Springfield Elementary School. At home, Marge asks the children what they want for Christmas and Bart asks for a tattoo. When Marge, Bart, and Lisa go Christmas shopping the next day, Bart sneaks away and starts getting a tattoo reading "Mother". Discovering this, Marge interrupts the process at "Moth" and immediately takes him to a laser removal clinic and spends the family's Christmas money getting Bart's tattoo removed. Meanwhile, at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, Homer learns that he will not be getting a Christmas bonus.

 

When Homer returns home and hears about the loss of the Christmas money, he decides not to tell Marge his bad news. Instead, he does the shopping himself, buying cheap presents from a dollar store. At Moe's Tavern, Homer meets Barney dressed in a Santa outfit. On Barney's advice, he secretly takes a job as a mall Santa. Bart discovers his secret after he rips off his fake beard on a dare by his friend Milhouse, but agrees not to tell the rest of the family.

 

Homer receives his paycheck and is dismayed to see it is only for $13. Barney, who has received a check for the same amount, suggests betting it at the dog track. With encouragement from Bart, Homer decides to gamble his paycheck and takes Bart with him to the dog track. Although Barney recommended they bet on a dog named Whirlwind, Homer decides to bet on a last-second entrant named Santa's Little Helper, believing it to be a sign. Santa's Little Helper, however, comes in dead last (supposedly for the 25th time) and his owner abandons him. The dog follows Homer and Bart, who decide to keep him. When they return home, Homer is going to tell his family about his misfortune, but they think he brought the dog as a gift and everyone has a merry Christmas. In the ending credits, the family sings Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, but Bart adds words, so Homer strangles him.

 

Production

 

FOX was very nervous about the show because they were unsure that they could sustain the audience's attention for the duration of the episode. They proposed that they should do three 7 minute shorts per episode and four specials until the audience adjusted. In the end, they gambled by asking FOX for 13 full-length episodes. The series was originally planned to premiere in the fall of 1989, but due to major problems with the animation of "Some Enchanted Evening", the series instead began on December 17, 1989 with this episode. "Some Enchanted Evening" instead aired as the season finale.

 

The episode, being the first to air, lacked the now famous opening sequence which was later added in the second episode when Groening thought of the idea of a longer opening sequence resulting in less animation.

 

The "santas of many lands" portion of the Christmas pageant is based on Matt Groening's experience in the second grade when he did a report on Christmas in Russia. Groening also used that reference in his strip "Life in Hell" when he spoofed himself as a young man, being told that it is too bad his grandmother is from Russia, because Christmas is against the law there. Also, Matt Groening claims that this episode has been incorrectly credited with creating the "alternate version" of Jingle Bells.

 

David Silverman directed this episode, although Rich Moore storyboarded it and designed Ned Flanders. Several of the scenes were laid out by Eric Stefani, brother of Gwen Stefani. In this episode, Barney had yellow hair which was the same color as his skin, but that was later dropped because of the belief that only the Simpson family should have such hair.

[knightni]

I can count to ten. One, two, three, four, five, nine, six, eight... Well, I can count to five.

 

17. Frosty The Snowman

 

 

(5 of 21 lists - 37 points - highest ranking #7 rangercal, Rex Kicka**)

 

Frosty the Snowman is a thirty-minute animated television special based on the popular song of the same title. The program, which first aired on December 14, 1969 on CBS (where it has aired ever since), was produced for television by Rankin/Bass and featured the voices of comedians Jimmy Durante as narrator and Jackie Vernon as the title character. This special marked the first use of traditional cel animation for Rankin/Bass. Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass wanted to give the show and its characters the look of a Christmas card, so Paul Coker, Jr., a greeting card artist who would later be known for his work in MAD Magazine, was hired to do the animation. The actual animation work was done in Japan, by Osamu Tezuka's studio, Mushi Production. Rankin/Bass veteran writer Romeo Muller adapted and expanded the story for television as he had done with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1964.

 

Plot

 

A young girl named Karen (originally voiced by June Foray, but the next year redubbed by an unknown) brings a snowman (voiced by Jackie Vernon) to life with a top hat discarded by inept magician Professor Hinkle (voiced by Billy De Wolfe). The snowman's first words after coming to life are "Happy Birthday!" Karen's friends suggest names for their new friend including Oatmeal and Christopher Columbus, but Karen decides to call him "Frosty". When Hinkle learns of the magic power his hat actually possesses, he demands that Karen and Frosty return it immediately.

 

Frosty and the children elude Hinkle long enough to have some fun in town, including the confrontation with the traffic cop mentioned in the lyrics, but Frosty soon senses the temperature is rising and worries about melting.

 

With Hinkle in hot pursuit, Karen and Frosty flee together to the North Pole to get Frosty to a place where he will not melt. Helping them in their journey is Hocus Pocus, the professor's rabbit. When they cannot afford a train ticket, the friends stow away aboard a refrigerated train car. Unbeknownst to them, Hinkle has also hitched a ride on the same train. Later Frosty, Hocus, and Karen jump off the train, leaving Hinkle behind once again.

 

Fearing that Karen cannot survive the cold weather, Frosty asks Hocus Pocus who might be able to help them. Hocus suggests (by pantomiming) the President of the United States and the United States Marines, before suggesting Santa Claus. Frosty agrees, and promptly takes credit for the idea himself. The forest animals build a campfire to keep Karen warm until they can locate Santa Claus, but Hinkle again arrives and blows out the fire. Frosty and Karen are again forced to flee, this time with Karen riding on Frosty's back as he slid head-first down a hill. At the bottom of the slope, Karen and Frosty discover a greenhouse filled with poinsettias. Against Karen's advice Frosty steps inside the warm greenhouse, suggesting that he could afford to lose a little weight anyway, but Hinkle again catches up to Frosty and locks him and Karen in the greenhouse.

 

Hocus brings Santa Claus (voiced by Paul Frees) to the greenhouse only to find Karen in tears and Frosty melted on the floor. Santa explains to Karen that Frosty is made from Christmas snow, and that he can never completely melt away. With a gust of cold wind through the open greenhouse door, Frosty is brought back to life and again exclaims "Happy Birthday!" Hinkle again arrives on the scene and demands the return of his hat. He relents only when threatened with being removed from Santa's Christmas list for the rest of his life. Santa states that if Hinkle is truly repentant for his mean attitude and harming Frosty, that he may find a gift in his stocking on Christmas morning, which makes Hinkle run home to write repeatedly his apologies. Santa returns Karen home and Frosty exclaims as he rides off in Santa's sleigh, "I'll be back on Christmas Day!"

 

The credits show all the characters marching through the town square with Frosty in the lead, singing the "Frosty the Snowman" song. Among them is a reformed Professor Hinkle, who is proudly wearing his new top hat.

 

Edits

 

The special originally aired in 1969, but in 1970, several edits were made, including the addition of a yellow-and-orange checkerboard scarf to Frosty's neck and the replacement of June Foray with an uncredited voice.

 

The current restored version, which debuted in 2005, removes the scarf, but does not restore Foray's voice. At the time, rumors implied a controversy over copyrights and/or royalties as the reason behind the change, but the reason remains unknown. Foray has remained listed as Karen's voice in the show's credits, even though the voice is not hers. The original soundtrack with Foray's original voice track is available on CD.

 

Television rights

 

In the United States, CBS continues to hold the telecast rights to the original program (under license from the current copyright holder, Great Britain's Entertainment Rights' Classic Media division, the owner of much of the pre-1974 Rankin/Bass library) and still airs it yearly with the CBS-produced sequel "Frosty Returns" (see below). The CBC holds broadcast rights in Canada. The special also airs on ABC Family in some territories. However, CBS does not own the telecast rights to the 1976 sequel "Frosty's Winter Wonderland" (that film currently airs on ABC Family), which prompted CBS to produce its own "sequel" of sorts, "Frosty Returns" (see below).

 

Sequels

 

Frosty returned in several sequels:

 

* Frosty's Winter Wonderland - In this 1976 sequel by Rankin-Bass, also written by Romeo Muller, narration is provided by Andy Griffith. Jackie Vernon reprised his role as the voice of Frosty.

 

* Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July - This 1979 Rankin-Bass sequel was filmed in stop-motion animation in the style of their classic 1964 Christmas special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Where Rudolph was 60 minutes, and all of the other Frosty specials were just 30 minutes, this ambitious special was feature length, at 97 minutes long. Jackie Vernon once again played the role of Frosty.

 

* Frosty Returns - This 1992 half-hour special is not truly a sequel to the 1969 classic, as it was produced not by Rankin-Bass but by CBS. The characters, setting, and voices are different and the animation (by veteran Peanuts director Bill Meléndez) is vastly different. Despite this, it is shown with the original special every year on CBS and was even included as a bonus on its DVD release. John Goodman provides the voice of Frosty in this special, as Jackie Vernon, the original voice of Frosty, died in 1987.

 

* The Legend of Frosty the Snowman - In this 2005 made for video, Frosty returns yet again - this time in an animated film produced by Classic Media, the current rights holder for the original Rankin/Bass special, and the remainder of their pre-1974 library. This movie has also been bundled with the original 1969 Rankin/Bass special and the CBS sequel. It has also aired on Cartoon Network. The appearance of Frosty resembles much more the Rankin-Bass character design from their original animation, and another character, Professor Hinkel, returns in a cameo, shown in a picture during this special. (This may be an attempt to tie the two shows together, or perhaps an in-joke for those who have seen the original classic.)

 

[knightni]

You're lucky! You might have been stuck with this weirdsmobile for life!

 

16. White Christmas

 

 

(8 of 21 lists - 38 points - highest ranking #6 scenario)

 

White Christmas is a 1954 jukebox musical movie starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that features the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular "White Christmas". The film was directed by Michael Curtiz and co-stars Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.

 

Filming took place between September and November 1953. The movie was the first to be filmed in the new VistaVision process and its lush Technicolor cinematography has ensured that it has had a long shelf life on TV, video and DVD. Released in 1954, it became the top grossing film of that year.

 

The movie was supposed to reunite Crosby and Fred Astaire for their third Irving Berlin extravaganza of song and dance—the first two being Holiday Inn (1942) and Blue Skies (1946). However, Astaire bowed out after reading the script. Donald O'Connor was selected to replace Astaire, but he, too, had to pass because of an illness. O'Connor was replaced by Danny Kaye. The choreography was done by Bob Fosse, although he was uncredited.[citation needed]

 

Vera-Ellen's singing was dubbed by Trudy Stevens, except in the song "Sisters," where Rosemary Clooney sang both parts.

 

The title song was first used in Holiday Inn, released in 1942, when it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep garnered this film an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

 

Rosemary Clooney was not allowed to record her voice for the soundtrack album because it was being released by a record company (Decca) other than hers (Columbia). She was replaced on the soundtrack album by Peggy Lee.

 

Dancer Barrie Chase appears unbilled, as the character Doris Lenz ("Mutual, I'm sure!"). Future Academy Award winner George Chakiris also appears, and has a notable appearance in two musical numbers, but is unbilled. John Brascia is the lead dancer who appears opposite Vera-Ellen throughout the movie, particularly in the Mandy, Choreography, and Abraham numbers.

 

Academy Award-winning character actor Dean Jagger wore a toupee in the film. Also appearing were Mary Wickes, Anne Whitfield, Tony Butala, Bea Allen, Johnny Grant, and a large supporting cast.

 

Plot

 

The story is about two World War II U.S. Army buddies, one a former Broadway entertainer, Bob Wallace (Crosby), and a would-be entertainer, Phil Davis (Kaye). It begins on Christmas Eve, 1944, somewhere in Europe. In a forward area, Captain Wallace is giving a show to the men with the help of Private Davis, ("White Christmas"). Major General Thomas F. Waverly (Dean Jagger) arrives for the end of the show and has a field inspection prior to being relieved of command by General Harold G. Coughlan (Gavin Gordon) The men give him a rousing send-off, ("The Old Man"). During an enemy artillery barrage, Davis saves Wallace's life from a toppling wall, wounding his arm slightly in the process. Using his "wounded" arm and telling Bob he doesn't expect any "special obligation," Phil convinces Bob to join forces when the war is over. Phil using his arm wound as a way to get Bob to do what he wants becomes a running gag throughout the movie.

Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby

 

After the war, they make it big in nightclubs, radio, and then on Broadway. They become the hottest act around and eventually become producers. They subsequently have a big hit with their New York musical, Playing Around. In mid-December, after 2 years on Broadway, the show is in Florida. While at the Florida Theatre, they receive a letter from "Freckle-Faced Haynes, the dog-faced boy", a mess sergeant they knew in the war (according to Rosemary Clooney on the DVD commentary the picture of him in the film is that of Carl Switzer, better known as Alfalfa in the Our Gang series), asking them to audition his two sisters. When they go to the club to audition the act ("Sisters"), Betty (Rosemary Clooney) reveals that her sister, Judy (Vera-Ellen), sent the letter. Bob and Phil help Betty and Judy escape their landlord and the local sheriff. The boys do the song "Sisters" to a record as the girls escape to the train. Phil gives Betty and Judy the train tickets that he and Bob were intending to use. When Bob and Phil arrive on the train, they have no tickets. Using "his arm" again, Phil gets Bob to agree to travel with the girls to Vermont for the holidays, ("Snow"). They discover that the Columbia Inn in Pine Tree, Vermont, is run by their former commanding officer, Major General Tom Waverly, and it's about to go bankrupt because of the lack of snow and consequent lack of patrons. The general has invested all his savings and pension into the lodge.

 

Deciding to help out and bring business in, Wallace and Davis bring Playing Around with their entire Broadway cast up and add Betty and Judy where they can. Bob discovers the General's rejected attempt at rejoining the army, and decides to prove to the General that he isn't forgotten.

 

Bob calls Ed Harrison (Johnny Grant), an old army friend, now host of a successful variety show (intentionally similar to Ed Sullivan's). When Bob wants to make a pitch on the show to all the men under the command of the General in the war, Harrison suggests they go all out and put the show on television, playing up the "schmaltz" factor of the General's situation and generating lots of free advertising for Wallace and Davis. Overhearing only this, the housekeeper, Emma Allen (Mary Wickes), tells Betty. Bob tells Ed that isn't the idea and that he only wishes to make a pitch to get as many people from their division to Pine Tree for the show on Christmas Eve. The misunderstanding causes Betty to leave for a job at the Carousel Club in New York, after Phil and Judy fake their engagement in the hope of bringing Betty and Bob closer together.

 

On the Ed Harrison Show, Bob asks all the veterans of the 151st Division living in the New England area to come to Pine Tree, Vermont on Christmas Eve.

 

All is set right when Betty sees Bob's pitch on the Ed Harrison show. She returns to Pine Tree just in time for the show on Christmas Eve. Believing all of his suits had been sent to the cleaners, General Waverly concludes that he'll have to appear in his old uniform. When the General enters the lodge where the show is to take place, he is greeted by his former division to a rousing chorus of "We'll Follow the Old Man", and moments later is notified that snow is falling.

 

In a memorable finale, Bob and Betty declare their love, as do Phil and Judy. The background of the set is removed to show the snow falling in Pine Tree. Everyone raises a glass, toasting, "May your days be merry and bright; and may all your Christmases be white."

 

Cast

 

Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace

Danny Kaye as Phil Davis

Vera-Ellen as Judy Haynes

Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes

 

* Dean Jagger ... General Waverly

* Mary Wickes ... Emma Allen

* John Brascia ... John

* Anne Whitfield ... Susan Waverly

 

Songs

 

All songs were written by Irving Berlin.

 

* White Christmas (Crosby)

* The Old Man (Crosby, Kaye, and Men's Chorus)

* Medley: Heat Wave/Let Me Sing and I'm Happy/Blue Skies (Crosby & Kaye)

* Sisters (Clooney)

* The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing (Kaye & Stevens)

* Snow (Crosby, Kaye, Clooney & Stevens)

* Sisters (reprise) (Clooney)

* Minstrel Number: I'd Rather See a Minstrel Show/Mister Bones/Mandy (Crosby, Kaye, Clooney, Stevens & Chorus)

* Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep (Crosby & Clooney)

* Choreography (Kaye)

* The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing (reprise) (Kaye & Chorus)

* Abraham (instrumental)

* Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me (Clooney)

* What Can You Do with a General? (Crosby)

* The Old Man (reprise) (Crosby & Men's Chorus)

* Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army (Crosby, Kaye, Clooney & Stevens)

* White Christmas (finale) (Crosby, Kaye, Clooney, Stevens & Chorus)

 

There are brief renditions of other Berlin songs ("Heat Wave", "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" and "Blue Skies").

 

Berlin wrote "A Crooner — A Comic" for Crosby and his planned co-star Donald O'Connor, but when O'Connor left the project so did the song. Crosby and Kaye also recorded another Berlin song ("Santa Claus") for the opening WWII Christmas Eve show scene, but it was not used in the final film; their recording of the song survives, however.

 

The song, "What Can You Do with a General?", which Leonard Maltin calls Berlin's least memorable tune, was originally written for an unproduced project called Stars on My Shoulders.

 

Errors and inconsistencies

 

Several minor errors in editing and inconsistencies exist in the film. For example, in the scene where Bob comes to see Phil in the hospital tent, Bob can be seen alternately sitting closer to and then further away from Phil, even though the camera switches viewpoints for only an instant — while at the same time the truck with the red cross on it is visible in the background. In another apparent error in editing, when the general and his granddaughter take their first steps forward arm-in-arm during the final birthday celebration, the camera angle shifts, and they step forward again from the original location.

 

* When Judy and Betty are in their dressing rooms getting ready for their "Sisters" number, Judy is seen pouring two cups of coffee. She sets the coffee pitcher down, and then the camera angle changes, and she is seen with the coffee pot in her hand again.

 

* After Judy and Phil finish dancing to "The Best Things Happen While Your Dancing," they are shown in an embrace down near the water. However, after the camera angle shifts, Betty is shown walking out of the club and finding Judy and Phil in the exact same position, only now they are right by the doors.

 

* After Bob and Phil are done performing the "Sisters" act as a decoy to help the girls, a quick flash of them shows the "blue attire" they are wearing (i.e. feather fans, head pieces, and sashes) - except it's gray.

 

* When the letter arrives from Washington, Bob says the return address is the War Department. The War Department ceased to exist in 1947 with the creation of the Department of Defense.

 

* The pitcher of buttermilk and the tray of sandwiches move around sporadically in the Count Your Blessings scene in the inn.

 

* During the scene celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the 151st Division, the camera follows the general into the room and the candles on the cake are lit. Then the camera angle changes to the left and as he continues to walk, but the candles are out. The camera angle shifts once more, and the candles are lit yet again.

 

* In the scene where Mary Wickes'character eavesdrops on Bing Crosby's phone call, her button-down blouse is missing a button. Before and after that, all the buttons are fastened securely.

 

* During the "Snow" number, every time the camera angle changes during the sequence, the salt and pepper shaker, the ashtray, and other items move around on the table.

 

* When Bob and Phil accidentally open the sleeping car in which Betty and Judy are sleeping, it looks very different from the sleeping car they are in the next morning when Bob and Phil meet them.

 

* The exterior train shots, supposedly showing a trip from Florida to Vermont, show trains from the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads, neither of which ran east of the Mississippi River.

 

* At the start of the dress rehearsal for the Minstrel Show/Mandy number, there is an orchestra in front of the stage. At the end of the number, the orchestra is gone as Bob, Phil, Judy, and Betty step down from the stage.

 

* In the finale, a horse-drawn sleigh is shown approaching the inn as it snows outside. Given that it had not been snowing for very long, it is somewhat difficult to believe that a horse-drawn sleigh could have navigated the freshly-fallen snow successfully.

 

* In the finale, there is a scene shot from the right side that clearly shows the center "ballerina in white" with a beautiful smile on her face. An instant later — in a shot that is supposed to be seamless as it shifts to frontal view — she is serious and grave-looking.

 

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (September 2007)

 

* Michael Curtiz also directed Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood (the 1938 version with Errol Flynn), Angels with Dirty Faces with James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart, and Yankee Doodle Dandy, along with more than a hundred other movies.

* Vera-Ellen did not actually sing any of the songs for the movie. Trudy Stevens sang all her songs (with the exception of the song "Sisters", on which Rosemary Clooney sang both parts). Vera's own voice is heard singing only in the "arrival in Pine Tree" scene at the railroad station where the quartet reprises the opening lines of "Snow".

* The TV camera in the Ed Harrison Show scene is a real classic RCA monochrome camera; the cameraman is hiding the telltale logo with his hand. The call sign on the camera was real as well — it was that of Channel 4, NBC's (and therefore RCA's) station in New York, WNBT-TV which changed its call sign to WRCA-TV the year of the film's release.

* The photo Vera-Ellen shows of her brother Benny (the one Phil refers to as "Freckle-faced Haynes, the dog-faced boy") is actually a photo of Carl Switzer, who played Alfalfa in The Little Rascals, in an army field jacket and helmet liner. Rosemary Clooney verified this in her narration of the film on the DVD release.

* At the end of "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing" duet with Kaye and Vera-Ellen when Kaye drops to one knee, Vera-Ellen trips over his foot as she circles behind him.

* Even though Judy is the younger Haynes sister, Rosemary Clooney was actually seven years younger than Vera-Ellen.

* Every single costume worn by Vera-Ellen in the film — including her nightclothes — has a high neckline, as Vera-Ellen was battling anorexia at the time the movie was made, which caused her neck to look very aged. The actress struggled with anorexia throughout most of her career.

* Much of the movie's dialog — particularly extended scenes with Bing Crosby — was ad-libbed and improvised.

* The Columbia Inn may look familiar — it was actually the remodeled set from the movie Holiday Inn, which was set in Connecticut.

* General Waverly's war time adjutant, Captain Joe (Richard Shannon) continues to serve the General at the show in Vermont. He informs the General it is snowing.

* A piece of the movie with Bob Wallace (Crosby) and Phil Davis (Kaye) was re-broadcast the year after the film's release, on Christmas Day 1955, in the final episode of the NBC TV show Colgate Comedy Hour (1950-1955).

* The song Snow was composed by Irving Berlin, but originally was titled Free, and had nothing at all to do with snow. It was written for Call Me Madam. The melody and some of the words were kept, but the lyrics were changed by Berlin into a song more appropriate for a Christmas movie. For example, one of the lines of the original song is Free — the only thing worth fighting for is to be free. Free — a different world you'd see if it were left to me. This song can be found on the CD Irving Sings Berlin.

* The first film released in VistaVision, Paramount's widescreen answer to CinemaScope.

* The film is number one in the North American box office in 1954.

* In another popular holiday film National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, lead character Clark Griswold alludes to White Christmas, sarcastically saying, "We're gonna have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny F***in' Kaye".

* George Chakiris also known as Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks in the 1961 classic West Side Story was an uncredited dancer in the "Love" number with Rosemary Clooney. Interestingly, he was also born in the same hometown as another great dancer- Vera-Ellen in Norwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati.

 

[knightni]

I'm on Shag Highway heading West.

 

15. Love Actually

 

 

(4 of 21 lists - 44 points - highest ranking #2 The Bones)

 

Love Actually is a 2003 British romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through stories involving a wide variety of individuals, many of whom are linked as their tales progress. The ensemble cast is composed of predominantly English actors.

 

The film begins five weeks before Christmas and is played out during a week-by-week countdown until the holiday, with an epilogue that takes place one month later.

 

Cast of characters and storylines

 

The film begins with a voiceover from David, commenting that, whenever he gets gloomy with the state of the world, he thinks about the arrivals terminal at Heathrow Airport, and the pure, uncomplicated love felt as friends and families welcome their arriving loved ones. David's voiceover also relates that all the known messages left by the people who died on the 9/11 planes were messages of love and not hate. The film then tells the "love" story of many people, culminating in a final scene at the airport enacted to the tune of The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows", that closes their stories. The film ends with a montage of anonymous persons greeting their arriving loved ones that slowly enlarges and fills the screen, eventually with a shape of a heart appearing.

 

Billy Mack and Joe

 

With the help of his longtime manager Joe (Gregor Fisher), aging rock and roll legend Billy Mack (Bill Nighy) records a Christmas variation of The Troggs' classic hit "Love Is All Around." Despite his honest admission that it is a "festering turd of a record," the singer promotes the release in the hope it will become the Christmas number one single. During his publicity tour, Billy repeatedly causes Joe grief by pulling stunts such as defacing a poster of rival musicians Blue with a speech bubble reading, "We've got little pricks." He also promises to perform his song naked on television should it hit the top spot, and he keeps his word -- albeit while wearing boots and holding a strategically placed guitar -- when it does. After briefly celebrating his victory at a party hosted by Sir Elton John, Billy unexpectedly arrives at Joe's flat and explains that Christmas is a time to be with the people you love, and that he had just realized that "the people I love... is you." He reminds Joe that "We have had a wonderful ride" touring around the world together over the years. And he suggests that the two celebrate Christmas by getting drunk and watching porn. Billy and Joe's story is the only one exploring platonic love, and the two characters are unrelated to any of the other characters in film, although a few of the other characters are shown watching Billy Mack on their TVs. At the end of the film, Billy Mack arrives at the airport terminal with a gorgeous six-foot blonde woman pushing his luggage cart. He refers to her as one of two (and possibly more) new girlfriends, indicating his career has taken a turn for the better. Joe is there to greet him and their friendly relationship remains solid.

 

Juliet, Peter and Mark

 

Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are wed in a lovely ceremony orchestrated and videotaped by Mark (Andrew Lincoln), Peter's best friend and best man. When the professional wedding video turns out to be dreadful, Juliet shows up at Mark's door in hopes of getting a copy of his footage, despite the fact that he has always been cold and unfriendly to her. The video turns out to consist entirely of close-ups of her, and she realizes that he is secretly in love with her. Mortified, Mark explains that his coldness to her is "a self-preservation thing" and excuses himself. On Christmas Eve, Mark shows up at Juliet and Peter's door posing as a carol singer with a portable CD player, and uses a series of cardboard signs to silently tell her that "at Christmas you tell the truth," and, "without hope or agenda... to me, you are perfect." As he leaves, Juliet runs after Mark to give him a kiss and a sweet, sympathetic embrace before returning to Peter. Mark tells himself, "Enough, enough now," perhaps acknowledging that it's time to move on with his life. All three appear at the airport in the closing scenes to greet Jamie and Aurélia, showing that the friendship between Peter and Mark has not been affected by the latter's feelings for Juliet.

 

Jamie and Aurélia

 

Writer Jamie (Colin Firth) first appears preparing to attend Juliet and Peter's wedding. His girlfriend (Sienna Guillory) misses the ceremony allegedly due to illness, but when Jamie unexpectedly returns home before the reception, he discovers her engaging in sexual relations with his brother. Heartbroken, Jamie retires to the solitude of his French cottage to immerse himself in his writing. Here he meets Portuguese housekeeper Aurélia (Lúcia Moniz), who speaks only her native tongue. Despite the language barrier they manage to communicate with each other, with subtitles indicating they are at times in agreement with each other, and sometimes of opposite minds. Jamie returns to England, where he takes a course in Portuguese. On Christmas Eve, he decides to ditch celebrations with his family to fly to Marseille. In the crowded Portuguese restaurant where Aurelia works as a waitress, he proposes to her in his mangled Portuguese, and she accepts using her recently learned English. The film ends with Jamie and Aurélia, now engaged, returning from Portugal. They are met by Peter, Juliet, and Mark. Aurelia jokes that if Jamie had told her his friends were so handsome, she might have chosen a different Englishman. Jamie then jokes that she doesn't speak English well and doesn't know what she's saying.

 

Harry, Karen and Mia

 

Harry (Alan Rickman) is the managing director of a design agency. Mia (Heike Makatsch), his new secretary, clearly has designs on him. His nascent mid-life crisis allows him tentatively to welcome her attention, and for Christmas he buys her an expensive necklace from jewellery salesman Rufus (Rowan Atkinson), who takes a very long time adding ever more elaborate wrapping while Harry becomes increasingly nervous with the fear of detection. Meanwhile, Harry's wife Karen (Emma Thompson) is busy dealing with their children, Daisy (Lulu Popplewell) and Bernard (William Wadham), who are appearing in the school Nativity; her brother David; and her friend Daniel, who has just lost his wife to cancer. Karen discovers the necklace in Harry's coat pocket and assumes it is a gift for her, only to be given the CD Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now to "continue [Karen's] emotional education," as Harry puts it, instead. She immediately understands Harry is having an affair, and briefly breaks down alone in her bedroom before composing herself to attend the children's play with her husband. Following the play, Karen confronts Harry, who admits, "I am so in the wrong -- a classic fool," to which Karen replies, "Yes, but you've also made a fool out of me -- you've made the life I lead foolish too," before blinking back tears and enthusiastically congratulating their children. As for Mia, she is shown smiling while trying on the necklace. In the final airport scene, Harry returns home from a trip abroad, and Karen and his children are there to greet him. Harry is delighted to see his kids again; his exchange with Karen is more perfunctory, but suggests that, though the two are not on steady terms, they intend to give their marriage a chance.

 

David and Natalie

 

Karen's brother, the recently-elected British Prime Minister David (Hugh Grant), is young, handsome, and single. Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) is a new junior member of the household staff at 10 Downing St. and regularly serves his tea and biscuits. Something seems to click between them, but with the exception of some mild flirting, neither pursues the attraction. When the President of the United States (Billy Bob Thornton) pays a visit, his conservative attitude and flat refusal to relax any policies leave the British advisors stymied. It is only after David walks in to find the President attempting to seduce Natalie that he stands up for the UK at a nationally televised press conference, saying Britain is a great country for things like Harry Potter and David Beckham's right foot ("David Beckham's left foot, for that matter"), and embarrassing the President by saying that "a friend who bullies us is no longer a friend." Concerned that his affections for Natalie are affecting his political judgment, David asks for her to be "redistributed." Later, while looking through a sampling of Christmas cards, David comes across a card signed "I'm actually yours. With Love, Your Natalie." Encouraged by this he sets out to find her. After much doorbell ringing, including a ring at Mia's house, David eventually finds Natalie at her family's home. Hoping to have some time with Natalie, David offers to drive everyone to the local school for the play, the same one in which his niece and nephew are appearing (as he realizes only when his sister Karen -- still unsteady from her recent discovery of her husband's affair -- spots him and thanks him for finally managing to come to a family function). The two watch the show from backstage, and their budding relationship is exposed to the audience when a curtain at the rear of the stage is raised during the big finale and David and Natalie are caught in a passionate kiss. Undeterred, they smile and wave. In the final airport scene, as David walks through the gate at the airport in the finale, Natalie—heedless of the surrounding paparazzi—runs straight through his entourage and leaps into his arms, planting a big kiss on him.

 

Daniel and Carol; Sam and Joanna

 

Daniel (Liam Neeson), Karen's friend, has just lost his wife Joanna to a protracted illness, leaving him and stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster) to fend for themselves. Daniel must deal with his sudden responsibility, as well as the evident end of his love life. ("That was a done deal long ago", he says to Sam, "unless, of course, Claudia Schiffer calls, in which case I want you out of the house straight away, you wee motherless mongrel.") Sam, too, is especially forlorn about something, and eventually reveals that he is in love with a girl from his school, also named Joanna (Olivia Olson), who, he assumes, doesn't know he exists. After seeing Billy Mack's new video in a store window, he comes up with a plan, based on the premise that "girls love musicians . . . even the really weird ones get girlfriends." With Daniel's encouragement, Sam teaches himself to play the drums, eventually acting as drummer for Joanna's performance of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" at the same aforementioned school play. Unfortunately, Sam's drumming fails to make his intention clear, and he and Daniel try to catch Joanna and her family at the airport where her family is heading back to the United States for the holidays. Meanwhile, just before Daniel and Sam's hasty departure from the Nativity play for the airport, Daniel bumps into another parent, Carol (played by Claudia Schiffer), and sparks immediately fly. Once Daniel and Sam reach the airport, the attendant refuses to let Sam through. However the attendant is distracted by another passenger, the jewelry clerk Rufus, and Sam is able to sneak through and race past the security checkpoint. With the gate staff distracted by Billy Mack's naked performance -- as promised -- on TV monitors, Sam is able to reach Joanna to confess his love to her just as she is about to board the plane. He is brought back to his stepfather by security guards, but Joanna runs back to Sam to give him a kiss on the cheek. In triumph he leaps into Daniel's arms. In the finale, Daniel and Carol are at the airport, hand in hand, with Carol's son and Sam as he awaits Joanna's return from the States. When Joanna walks through the doors, Sam says, "Hello," restraining the impulse to embrace her. Daniel curses, "He should have kissed her..." but Carol soothes him, "No, that's cool."

 

Sarah and Karl

 

Sarah (Laura Linney) first appears at the wedding of Juliet and Peter, sitting next to her friend Jamie. We learn she works at Harry's design agency and has been in love for years with the creative director Karl (Rodrigo Santoro), a not-so-secret obsession recognized by Harry, who implores her to say something to him since it's Christmas and Karl is aware of her feelings anyway. Unfortunately for all concerned, Sarah has an institutionalized and mentally ill brother who calls her mobile phone incessantly. Sarah feels responsible for her brother and constantly puts her life on hold to support him. Sarah's chance at making love with Karl, following her company's Christmas party (hosted at an art gallery run by Mark), is abandoned when her brother again calls her at the most inopportune time. Karl suggests that she not answer (asking, "Will it make him better?"), but she does so anyway, effectively ending their relationship. On Christmas Eve, she wishes Karl "Merry Christmas" as he leaves the office, and it is clear he wants to say something to her, but he departs and she breaks down in tears before picking up her phone to ring her brother. She is seen spending Christmas in her brother's institution, wrapping a scarf around him and receiving a hug in return.

 

Colin, Tony, and the Wisconsin girls

 

After several blunders attempting to woo various English women, including Mia and the caterer at Juliet and Peter's wedding, Colin Frissell (Kris Marshall) informs his friend Tony he plans to go to America and find love there because, in his estimation, the U.S. is filled to the brim with gorgeous women who will fall head over heels for him because of his "cute British accent." ("Stateside, I'm Prince William... without the weird family.") The first place he goes after landing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is an average American bar where he meets three stunningly attractive women (Ivana Milicevic, January Jones, and Elisha Cuthbert) who, after falling for his Basildon accent, invite him to stay at their home, specifically in their bed, with them and their housemate Harriet (Shannon Elizabeth) ("the sexy one"). They warn him that, because they are poor, they can't even afford pajamas, so everyone will be naked. In the finale, a much cooler and more suave Colin returns to England with Harriet, the fourth Wisconsin girl, for himself, and her sister Carla (Denise Richards) who came on the flight to meet Tony. At the airport Carla embraces and kisses a startled Tony, and tells him that, "I heard that you were gorgeous."

 

John and Judy

 

In a story that was excised completely from the censored version of the DVD release of the film, John (Martin Freeman) and Judy (Joanna Page), who up to this point were unknown to each other, work as stand-ins for the sex scenes in a movie. Colin's friend Tony is part of the film crew, and gives them directions as to the activities they should simulate so that lighting checks and such can be completed before the actors are called to the set. Despite their blatantly sexual actions, and frequent nudity, they are very naturally comfortable with each other, discussing politics, traffic, and previous jobs as if they'd known one another for years. John even tells Judy that "it is nice to have someone I can just chat with." The two carefully and cautiously pursue a relationship, and see the play at the local school together with John's brother. In the finale at the airport, Tony, while waiting for Colin, runs into John and Judy, about to depart on a trip together. Judy happily displays an engagement ring on her finger.

 

Production notes

 

The Working Title Films production, budgeted at $45,000,000, was released by Universal Pictures. It grossed $59,472,278 in the US and $188,000,000 internationally for a worldwide total of $247,472,278.

 

Most of the movie was filmed on location in London, at sites including Trafalgar Square, the central court of Somerset House in the Strand, Grosvenor Chapel on South Audley Street near Hyde Park, St. Paul's Clapham on Rectory Grove, Clapham in the London Borough of Lambeth, the Millennium Bridge, Selfridges department store on Oxford Street, Lambeth Bridge, the Tate Modern in the former Bankside Power Station, Canary Wharf, Marble Arch, the St. Lukes Mews off All Saint's Road in Notting Hill, Chelsea Bridge, the OXO Tower, London City Hall, Poplar Road in Herne Hill in the London Borough of Lambeth, Elliott School in Pullman Gardens, Putney in the London Borough of Wandsworth, and London Heathrow Airport. Additional scenes were filmed at the Marseille Airport and Le Bar de la Marine.

 

Scenes set in 10 Downing Street were filmed at the Shepperton Studios.

 

The set for Daniel and Sam's house was the same one used in the film Notting Hill, which starred Hugh Grant.

 

The scene in which Colin attempts to chat up the female caterer at the wedding appeared in drafts of the screenplay for Four Weddings and a Funeral, but was cut from the final version.

 

Veteran actress Jeanne Moreau is seen briefly waiting for a taxi at the Marseille Airport. Soul singer Ruby Turner appears as Joanna Anderson's mother, one of the backup singers at the school Christmas pageant.

 

After the resignation of PM Tony Blair, pundits and speculators referred to a potential anti-American shift in Gordon Brown's cabinet as a "Love Actually moment," referencing the scene in which Hugh Grant's character stands up to the American president.

 

Principal cast

 

* Alan Rickman ..... Harry

* Emma Thompson ..... Karen

* Hugh Grant ..... David

* Martine McCutcheon ..... Natalie

* Colin Firth ..... Jamie

* Lúcia Moniz ..... Aurélia

* Liam Neeson ..... Daniel

* Thomas Sangster ..... Sam

* Keira Knightley ..... Juliet

* Chiwetel Ejiofor ..... Peter

* Andrew Lincoln ..... Mark

* Laura Linney ..... Sarah

* Rodrigo Santoro ..... Karl

* Bill Nighy ..... Billy Mack

* Gregor Fisher ..... Joe

* Kris Marshall ..... Colin

* Abdul Salis ..... Tony

* Heike Makatsch ..... Mia

* Martin Freeman ..... John

* Joanna Page .....Judy

* Olivia Olson ..... Joanna

* Billy Bob Thornton ..... President of the United States

* Rowan Atkinson ..... Rufus

* Claudia Schiffer ..... Carol

* Ivana Milicevic ..... Stacey

* January Jones ..... Jeannie

* Elisha Cuthbert ..... Carol-Anne

* Shannon Elizabeth ..... Harriet

* Denise Richards ..... Carla

* Lulu Popplewell ..... Daisy

 

[knightni]

What kind of idiots do you have working here?

. . .

The finest in New York!

 

14. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

 

 

(5 of 21 lists - 45 points - highest ranking #2 WilliamTell)

 

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is the 1992 sequel to the 1990 film Home Alone, written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. It stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern. Catherine O'Hara, John Heard, Devin Ratray, Kieran Culkin, Gerry Bamman, Tim Curry, Rob Schneider, Dana Ivey, and Brenda Fricker co-star.

 

Eddie Bracken, Ally Sheedy, Bob Eubanks and Donald Trump make cameo appearances. The movie was filmed in Winnetka, Illinois, O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Miami and New York City (which was star Culkin's hometown at the time).

 

Home Alone 3 followed in 1997 and Home Alone 4 followed in 2002; both without Macaulay Culkin or any of the original cast.

 

Plot

 

Macaulay Culkin stars as Kevin McCallister, who is once again separated from his family during one of their Christmas travels (following the prequel. This time his family travels to Miami, Florida. At O'Hare International Airport, Kevin loses sight of his family while replacing the batteries in his Talkboy (taking his father's bag in the process). He then boards a flight to LaGuardia Airport in New York City, after accidentally following a man who is wearing the same coat as his father. While in New York, he decides to make the most of "the greatest accident of my life".

 

While Kevin did not make it to Miami, his luggage did. Kevin's bag is pulled off the carousel and passed down the line to his cousin, Fuller, who realizes that Kevin did not embark on the flight to Miami. He then notifies Kevin's mother and father (Kate and Peter McCallister), causing Kate to faint. The Miami Airport security staff decides to call O'Hare International Airport, in hopes that Kevin is still in the airport.

 

In New York, Kevin decides he needs a place to stay, and chooses on the Plaza Hotel, using Peter's credit card to check in. The concierge, Mr. Hector (played by Tim Curry), is suspicious of him the entire time he sees him there, going as far as trying to break into his room and prove Kevin a fraud. Along the way Kevin meets several people, including a lady (played by Brenda Fricker) who enjoys caring for pigeons but creeps Kevin out at first.

 

Back in Miami the McCallisters are trying to figure out where Kevin could be since he is not at O'Hare Airport. After being asked to see a photo of their son, Peter realizes that Kevin has his wallet and therefore can be tracked if he uses Peter's credit card (which he has, to no one's knowledge).

 

Meanwhile, Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), the "Wet Bandits" from the first film, have broken out of prison in Chicago and have found their way to New York and try finding another target. Marv also comes up with a new nickname for the duo, the "Sticky Bandits", based on his ability to steal things with the use of double-sided masking tape. (Harry is not amused by the nickname, though.)

 

During one of his days at the Plaza; Kevin decides to hire a limousine to take him around town and makes a stop at Duncan's Toy Chest, a toy store modeled after FAO Schwarz. He buys some goo and becomes friends with the store's owner who gives him a pair of turtledove ornaments as a gift after Kevin donates money to Mr. Duncan's children's hospital fund.

 

Kevin's plan begin to fall apart after he leaves. First, he runs into Harry and Marv on the street outside the store, only being able to escape after littering a sidewalk with fake pearls which cause Harry and Marv to slip and fall. However, once Kevin gets back to the Plaza, Mr. Hector informs him that he is aware of the credit card Kevin used is stolen and begins to chase him through the hotel. Kevin is able to escape by employing a trick he used in the first film - by playing a gangster movie at full volume (this time, Angels with Even Filthier Souls). He uses the service staircase, but once again is caught by Harry and Marv. On the way, Marv tells Kevin of the planned burglary unaware that Kevin is recording the conversation. Kevin then escapes Harry and Marv again and goes into Central Park hiding in the back of a hansom cab.

 

In Miami, the family who is staying in a flea-bitten motel causing them to share one room receive a phone call on the whereabouts of Kevin. However, Kate and Peter are told that Kevin escaped and is now at large. They decide to leave at that moment and head to New York as soon as possible. Once they arrive, Peter and Kate confront the staff at the Plaza for letting Kevin get away. The staff offers the McCallisters a complimentary suite as a token of their apology. Kate then decides to roam the streets herself looking for Kevin (against the advice of both Peter and the staff) while the rest of the family and their luggage are taken up to the suite.

 

Kevin, meanwhile, begins walking through Central Park at night, coming across several homeless people and prostitutes along the way. Scared out of his mind, he then confronts the pigeon lady again but gets his foot stuck between two rocks when he tries to run away. After she frees him, he apologizes for running and the two go to Carnegie Hall to watch an orchestra play Christmas music from a loft. Kevin learns that the pigeon lady's life has fallen apart because of a lack of trust in people and a lack of friends, and promises to be her friend if she needs one. While on his way he stops at the Children's Hospital and remembers both what Mr. Duncan and Marv told him. He then heads to his aunt and uncle's renovated apartment near the park and commences "Operation Ho-Ho-Ho", this time setting up more elaborate booby traps. Then he heads to Duncan's Toy Chest in time to see Harry and Marv start stealing money from the cash register and donation box, taking pictures of the two doing it. He then throws a rock (tied with a note to Mr. Duncan that he had written beforehand) through the window to set off the store alarm and signal Harry and Marv. The two thieves begin to chase Kevin who sets up a see-saw outside the window. Harry jumps on one end but when Marv jumps on the other end, Harry flies through the air and smashes the roof of a parked car nearby. This gives Kevin enough of a head start to get to his aunt and uncle's apartment before Harry and Marv.

 

The showdown begins when Harry agrees to deal with Kevin saying that they won't hurt him if he gives them the camera he used to take the pictures. Kevin then responds by throwing bricks from the roof at Harry and Marv; hitting Marv with all his throws. After the last brick is thrown, Harry angrily storms off and tries to break into the apartment by himself; leaving Marv to recover from his stupor.

 

After encountering many pratfalls and booby traps themselves, the two decide to team up to try and catch Kevin, but are unable to do so. Once they get upstairs, they notice that Kevin has tied a string from a doorknob to a tool chest at the top. When Harry pulls the doorknob, he doesn't realize he just pulled the string, and the tool chest takes its descent down the stairs and breaks the door off its hinges, pushing the two thieves into a wall behind them. Kevin escapes the apartment by using a rope he soaked in kerosene. Harry and Marv try to follow him, but Kevin lights the rope on fire and the two fall to the ground. In the process they break a scaffold causing cans of varnish to fly into the air and splatter all over both of them from their head to their feet.

 

Kevin escapes into the park, but slips and falls on a patch of ice allowing Harry and Marv to catch him. Just as Harry is about to shoot Kevin, the "pigeon lady" appears and throws birdseed onto the criminals, which sticks to the varnish. This causes dozens of pigeons to swarm the two frightened thieves. Kevin then sets off some fireworks, which he bought earlier, to signal the police. They arrive, and as the thieves are arrested the police come across Kevin's photos and tape, further incriminating the Sticky Bandits. Back at the toy store, Mr. Duncan is informed of the arrest and given the note tied to the rock Kevin used to scare away the crooks.

 

Meanwhile, Kate is frantically searching New York City for Kevin. She stumbles across two police officers, and while talking to them she mentions that Kevin deserves to be with his family around his Christmas Tree. Suddenly it dawns on her that Kevin must be at Rockefeller Center, and asks the policemen to take her there. Her intuition proves correct, as Kevin is standing there wishing that his mother would appear. The two embrace and apologize to each other, then head back to the hotel.

 

The next morning, Christmas Day, Mr. Duncan (the owner of Duncan's Toy Chest) sends a whole truckload of presents to Kevin and his family at the Plaza Hotel as a reward for Kevin getting the thieves arrested. Kevin sees the two turtledoves. He goes to see the "pigeon lady" in Central Park, and gives her one of the turtledoves. At the same time, the bellboy (Rob Schneider) comes to the McCallisters' hotel room with Kevin's room service bill. Buzz looks at the bill and says, "Merry Christmas, indeed." Then he sees that they charged him $967.43 on the food Kevin had purchased before and calls out, "Oh, Dad..." Then Peter shouts out, "Kevin! You spent $967 on room service?!" Kevin runs back to the hotel, and the credits roll.

 

Cast

 

* Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister

* Joe Pesci as Harry Lyme

* Daniel Stern as Marv Murchens

* Catherine O'Hara as Kate McCallister

* John Heard as Peter McCallister

* Devin Ratray as Buzz McCallister

* Hillary Wolf as Megan McCallister

* Maureen Elisabeth Shay as Linnie McCallister

* Michael C. Maronna as Jeff McCallister

* Gerry Bamman as Uncle Frank McCallister

* Terrie Snell as Aunt Leslie McCallister

* Jedidiah Cohen as Rod McCallister

* Senta Moses as Tracy McCallister

* Daiana Campeanu as Sondra McCallister

* Kieran Culkin as Fuller McCallister

* Anna Slotky as Brooke McCallister

* Tim Curry as Mr. Hector

* Brenda Fricker as Bird Lady

* Eddie Bracken as E.F. Duncan

* Dana Ivey as Mrs. Stone

* Rob Schneider as Cedric

* Ally Sheedy as New York Ticket Agent

* Donald Trump (uncredited) as Himself

 

[knightni]

Not much chatter here kids...

[The Bones]

I'm very surprised and happy to see Love Actually made the list and I can't wait to see how the top 10 breaks down.

[Flash Tizzle]

I have a good feeling about Bad Santa.

 

I was in the womens big and tall section and heard, "OOOHHHH, that's right. You're not going to.............S-H-I-T right for a week."

[dasox24]

I'm very surprised and happy to see Love Actually made the list and I can't wait to see how the top 10 breaks down.

Me too. I had it on my list, but I really didn't think other people would. When I didn't see it listed among the first few movies, I didn't think I'd see it make the list at all.

[Texsox]

I bought Holiday Inn, the colorized DVD. Actually is was the three pack. B&W, Colorized, and the sound track. I have a friend coming over tonight. We'll see how it passes. I was encouraged looking at the scene that was on the box.

[qwerty]

I bought Holiday Inn, the colorized DVD. Actually is was the three pack. B&W, Colorized, and the sound track. I have a friend coming over tonight. We'll see how it passes. I was encouraged looking at the scene that was on the box.

 

Hope it translates well for you. Let me know what you thought about it.

Edited December 19, 2008 by qwerty

[Texsox]

I was afraid the colorization would prove distracting, but they did a wonderful job with it. It was understated, but almost perfect. The Easter scene was breathtaking. Easily the best job of colorizing I've seen.

[mreye]

Holiday Inn is greatly under appreciated by you youngin's

 

I agree, Tex. My wife digs old movies (Except my favorite - It's a Wonderful Life) and she introduced me to this. I got the 2 DVD pack of Holiday Inn / Going My Way for Christmas for her a few years ago.

 

 

 

[Soxy]

I'm very surprised and happy to see Love Actually made the list and I can't wait to see how the top 10 breaks down.

Me too. It was on my list, but I figured it wouldn't make it because it's such a "chick flick." Glad it did.

 

I think White Christmas should have been higher, but oh well. I love Danny Kaye.

[Steve9347]

Me too. It was on my list, but I figured it wouldn't make it because it's such a "chick flick."

I always argue this fact when people talk about Love Actually. I know it's not your position, but any dude friends that I have who say its a chick flick I just can't believe it. That movie is hilarious.

 

Of course, I enjoy "Bridgette Jones' Diary" as well haha.

[knightni]

No child wants to play with a Charlie-In-The-Box so I had to come here.

 

13. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

 

 

(6 of 21 lists - 47 points - highest ranking #3 PlaySumFnJurny)

 

Rudolph the Red–Nosed Reindeer is a long-running Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass. It first aired December 6, 1964 on the NBC television network in the USA and was sponsored by General Electric. It is based on the song by Johnny Marks, and in turn taken from the 1939 poem of the same title written by Marks' brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired over CBS, who unveiled a high-definition, digitally remastered version in 2005. As with A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph no longer airs just once annually, but several times during the Christmas season. It has been telecast every year since 1964, making it the longest running Christmas TV special, and one of only four 1960s Christmas specials still being telecast (the others being A Charlie Brown Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Frosty the Snowman). And again, as with the Charlie Brown special, Rudolph has now been shown more than thirty-one times on CBS, although in this case, CBS was not Rudolph 's original network.

 

In the story of Rudolph (voiced by Billie Mae Richards, later credited as Billy Richards) numerous new characters are introduced for the first time as it was told by Romeo Muller. From the original song lyrics, the show features Santa Claus and the eight reindeer mentioned in the song. Of them, Donner is identified as Rudolph's father, and Comet is presented as the coach of the reindeer team. Mrs. Claus is also incorporated into the story.

 

Additional characters

 

* Sam The Snowman - The narrator, voiced by and styled to resemble folk Singer Burl Ives, who also contributes several tunes throughout the show. Among the most famous numbers from the special is Johnny Marks' 1962 "A Holly Jolly Christmas", which became a Christmas standard in its own right.

 

* Hermey the Misfit Elf (voiced by Paul Soles) - who prefers studying dentistry to making toys. Hermey became the best-known of all the characters introduced by Rankin/Bass. Quitting Santa's workshop, he and Rudolph run away together seeking "Fame And Fortune." One of many memorable songs from the show, "Fame and Fortune" was added to the special beginning with its 1965 airing as a slightly shorter replacement for the reprise of a number called "We're A Couple Of Misfits", sung by Hermey and Rudolph soon after their initial meeting. The special's 1998 restoration saw "Misfits" returned to film context while the 2004 DVD release showcases "Fame And Fortune" as a separate number. Note: This may not be the case in every market. In New York, WCBS-TV only started airing the "Fame and Fortune" song in the late 1980s. It was then restored in 1998 back to "We're a Couple of Misfits".

 

* Clarice the Doe (voiced and sung by Janet Orenstein) The only deer at the beginning of the movie who accepts Rudolph's red nose and helps him to fly at the reindeer games by telling him he is cute. As they are walking home together after Rudolph had been teased because of his nose, she cheers him up by singing "There's Always Tomorrow."

 

* Yukon Cornelius (voiced by Larry D. Mann) - a prospector who leads the audience to believe that he's searching for either gold or silver, but is actually seeking peppermint as revealed at the end of the original version of the special. His greedy behavior inspires the song "Silver And Gold", sung by Ives and previously well-known in its own right. Yukon is a blustery but benign character and ends up helping not only Rudolph and Hermey, but an abominable snowman, or "bumble" as well. Yukon Cornelius can be seen throughout the special tossing his pick ax into the air, sniffing, then licking the end that contacts the snow or ice. The removal of the scene near the end of the special (for subsequent telecasts) in which Yukon Cornelius discovers a "peppermint mine" by that method near Santa's workshop left audiences assuming that he was attempting to find either silver or gold by taste alone. The scene was returned to the film in 1998 as well.

 

* So-called Tall Elf is a minor character who appears in the "We Are Santa's Elves" and "Holly Jolly Christmas" scenes. Tall, thin and bespectacled, this character was an integral part of the stop-motion commercial and subsequent print ads produced for General Electric for the inaugural broadcast. In Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys, it is revealed that his name is Hank.

 

* Hermey's Immediate Supervisor (voiced by Alfie Scopp) is the portly and ill-tempered goateed foreman and songleader of Santa's workshop. He is outraged at Hermey's persistent disruption of the assembly line with his dentistry studies. He also conducts the elves in their song for Santa, "We Are Santa's Elves". However, for all their rehearsals, and because of them, Santa finds the song annoying. In one of the show's bloopers, Hermey's Immediate Supervisor is voiced by a different (and unidentified) voice actor in the musical scene as he begins conducting the group.

 

* The Bumble (a.k.a. the Abominable Snow Monster of the North) - a yeti who pursues Hermey and Rudolph throughout their adventure since the sight of Rudolph's glowing red nose drives him into a rage. Sam also explains that the Bumble hates everything to do with Christmas as well. When he threatens Rudolph and his family at his cave, Yukon and Hermey come to the rescue by knocking the monster unconscious and extracting all his teeth. He is later seen putting the star on top of the Christmas tree.

 

Several new members of Santa Claus's herd of reindeer include Fireball, a young buck with a distinctive shock of blond hair who befriends shy Rudolph at the 'Reindeer Games'. The Reindeer Games are the annual contest where Santa Claus evaluates the flight skills of his youngest reindeer. It is Fireball who encourages Rudolph to meet Clarice. Clarice informs Rudolph that she finds him cute. Inspired by Clarice's affection, Rudolph impresses all the reindeer assembled with his flying ability. A playful scuffle with Fireball ensues and the clay/mud cap Rudolph has been wearing to hide his glowing nose comes loose. Fireball is the first to witness Rudolph's true appearance and is terrified by the sight.

 

Though Fireball does not appear on screen to be among the reindeer who mock Rudolph at the Reindeer Games, his voice is clearly heard doing so. He can be heard calling him "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and then some other bucks laugh.

 

The Island of Misfit Toys

 

The "Island of Misfit Toys", another canonical addition to the original story, is an island sanctuary where defective and unwanted toys are sent. Among its inhabitants:

 

* King Moonracer - a winged lion who acts as the island's ruler. King Moonracer is responsible for flying around the world each night in search of unwanted toys. He lives in a large castle atop a hill on The Island of Misfit Toys, and acts as a 'governor' to the island, deciding who can or cannot stay on the Island, such as Rudolph, Hermey, and Yukon Cornelius.

 

* Charlie-In-The-Box is a misnamed, but otherwise seemingly normal jack-in-the-box who acts as the island's sentry. Charlie is voiced by Carl Banas, who also voices several other toys in this scene.

 

* Spotted Elephant is a polka dotted elephant and the island's valet.

 

* Misfit Dolly, or "A Dolly for Sue (as she calls herself)" is a seemingly normal girl rag doll with red hair and a red gingham (checkered) dress. Her misfit problem is never explained on the special, but was revealed on NPR's Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! news quiz show broadcast December 8, 2007. The show says that when Arthur Rankin (Rudolph's producer) was inteviewed, he said Dolly's problem was psychological, caused by being abandoned by her mistress and suffering depression from being unloved.

 

* Bird Fish is a toy bird who swims instead of flies. This leads to a plot hole in the final credit sequence, when he is tossed out of Santa's sleigh without benefit of the parachutes/umbrellas being handed to the other toys. ("Swimming Bird's Death Plunge" video)

 

* A misfit cowboy who rides an ostrich.

 

* Trainer, a train with square wheels on its caboose.

 

* A toy boat that sinks rather than floats; a squirt gun that shoots grape jelly; an airplane that can't fly, a bear that rides a bike, and a scooter.

 

It is during this scene that the Marks standard, "The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year" is performed by the inhabitants. Toy versions of nearly every character from this show were produced in the 1990s.

 

Viewers were so taken by these forlorn characters, many complained that Santa is not seen fulfilling his promise to include them in his annual delivery. In reaction, a new scene for subsequent rebroadcasts was produced with Santa, with Rudolph in the lead, making his first stop at the island to pick up the toys.

 

Additional background

 

The songs and incidental music were written by Johnny Marks. In addition to the songs previously mentioned, the score also includes the film's love theme "There's Always Tomorrow", sung by the reindeer Clarice after Rudolph is kicked out of the reindeer games (the song is included in the version aired on CBS and in the DVD version, but is removed from the version aired on CBC Television in Canada). Marks' holiday standard "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" appears as instrumental background music when Rudolph first arrives at the Reindeer Games and meets Fireball. As previously discussed, the song "Fame And Fortune" replaced the "Misfits" reprise for later television broadcasts from 1965 until 1998.

 

In 2006, puppets of Rudolph and Santa used in the filming of this famous television special were appraised on PBS Television's Antiques Roadshow. The puppets had been damaged through years of rough handling by children and storage in an attic. In 2007, both the Rudolph and Santa puppets were restored to original condition by Screen Novelties, a Los Angeles based collective of film directors specializing in stop motion animation. Puppet fabricator Robin Walsh led the project.

Sequels and other filmed versions of Rudolph

 

The 1964 Rankin/Bass classic was not the first animated version of the Rudolph story. Max Fleischer created an 8-minute animated short in 1948 for Jam Handy that has since fallen into public domain, currently being available on budget-priced DVDs and videocassettes.

 

The Rankin/Bass special (which currently airs on CBS) inspired numerous television sequels made by the same studio. The best-known Rudolph sequel is Rudolph's Shiny New Year from 1976 which first aired on ABC and is still aired annually on ABC Family.

 

The feature-length Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July paired Rudolph with another famous creation inspired by a song - Frosty the Snowman, and was released in the summer of 1979, which Arthur Rankin, Jr. would later acknowledge was a bad idea.

 

A direct-to-video sequel, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys, was a CGI-animated release by Goodtimes Entertainment in 2001. An earlier animated feature-length film by Goodtimes, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie was released to theaters in 1998, using traditional cel animation and does not feature any of Romeo Muller's characters.

 

Parodies of, and homages to Rudolph

 

The television special's familiarity to American audiences through its annual rebroadcasts coupled with its primitive stop-motion animation that is easy to recreate with modern technology has lent itself to numerous parodies over the years:

Films by Corky Quakenbush

 

Animator Corky Quakenbush has produced parodies of Rudolph for several American television shows:

 

* In its December 16, 1995 episode the Fox Network's comedy series MADtv aired "Raging Rudolph", which parodied Martin Scorsese's films. In it, Sam narrates in a Joe Pesci-like voice how Rudolph and Hermey got violent Mafia-style revenge on their tormentors. This was followed by two sequels: "The Reinfather", spoofing The Godfather trilogy; and "A Pack of Gifts Now", spoofing Apocalypse Now. The original skit was also rebroadcast in MadTV's 300th episode.

 

* A 2001 episode of That '70s Show ("An Eric Forman Christmas") featured a subplot where Kelso was taunted by his friends for still watching "kiddie shows" like Rudolph even though he was in high school. Later in a dream sequence produced and directed by Quakenbush, Kelso himself appears in stop-motion form in the cartoon, where Rudolph and Santa encourage him to continue watching the show, telling him that he can never be too old to enjoy it.

 

* In December 2005, the George Lopez Show featured an animated segment in which Lopez sees a stop motion version of himself on television in a Rudolph-style special mirroring the theme of the holiday episode.

 

Other parodies of Rudolph

 

* A Christmas episode of Eek! The Cat has a scene with Wendy Elizabeth and J.B. watching the Christmas special "Rudolph, the Red Knows Rambo."

 

* In the 1993 stop-motion animated film, The Nightmare Before Christmas, a very brief, yet noticeable homage is paid to the original Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer story. Part way through the film, the movie's main female character, Sally, pours fog juice into the town's well on Christmas Eve to cover the entire area in a thick fog, in an attempt to stop the main male character, Jack Skellington, from "unintentionally" stealing Santa's role as Christmas's icon, and fly away in his sleigh. When the fog was too thick to see through, and all hope to deliver Jack's version of Christmas seemed ruined, Jack Skellington realizes that his pet ghost dog, Zero, has a magnificently glowing pumpkin nose, which is bright enough to break through the fog. Jack lets Zero go to the head of his skeleton reindeer team, and light the way for him, thus saving Jack's Christmas, and foiling Sally's efforts to prevent Jack's delivery of toys.

 

* In the 2001 animated film Monsters, Inc., there is an Abominable Snowman character (voiced by John Ratzenberger) that bears a significant (and intentional) resemblance to the Bumble.

 

* On Saturday Night Live in 2001, Robert Smigel's TV Funhouse had Sam the Snowman refusing to narrate the story because of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He then took two children to Ground Zero at New York City, but Santa Claus convinced him to narrate the story because people need comforting stories like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Sam decided to narrate the tale, but was immediately interrupted by a special news report. Three years later, TV Funhouse would again parody Rudolph, this time referencing the Red state-blue state divide. In the segment, Santa hangs out with liberal celebrities Natalie Merchant, Margaret Cho, Al Franken, and Moby while skipping over the Red states ("screw the red states, voting for that dumbass president just because of that moral values crap. I don't want any part of them!"). Rudolph's red nose turns blue. Both episodes were directed by Chel White of Bent Image Lab.

 

* In the Fairly Oddparents episode "Channel Chasers", the Rudolph special is one of the shows entered. Adult Timmy resembles Yukon Cornelius and Timmy resembles Hermey. Comet also appears. However, Rudolph's name is never mentioned, though he's referred to as the "freak with the glowing red nose."

 

* In the Lizzie McGuire episode "Xtreme Xmas", one of the ghosts who visits Lizzie in her dream represents Hermey the Misfit Elf, played by Adam Lamberg.

 

* In the Kim Possible episode "A Very Possible Christmas", Snowman Hank, the host of Ron's favorite Christmas special looks incredibly similar to Sam the Snowman.

 

* In 2004 for the show's 40th anniversary, CBS produced stop motion promos for their programming line-up, done in the style of Rankin/Bass animation. Appearing as elves in the CBS promos were puppet versions of CBS stars Jeff Probst from Survivor, Ray Romano and Doris Roberts from Everybody Loves Raymond, William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger from CSI, Charlie Sheen from Two and a Half Men, Phil Simms and Greg Gumbel from The NFL on CBS, and late-night talk show host David Letterman. A new stop-motion animation featuring Rudolph and Santa meeting even more CBS network stars was also aired in 2005.

 

* South Park may have meant to parody the misfit toy sanctuary in episode 104, "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" with its portrayal of a sanctuary for gay animals. In any event, it's positive they did with the Island of Misfit Mascots Commune in "Sexual Harassment Panda", and in addition, the king lion in "Here Comes the Neighborhood", though named after The Chronicles of Narnia's Aslan, sounds very similar to King Moonracer. In "Merry Christmas Charlie Manson!" Cartman's family is seen watching Terrance and Phillip where the duo run up and fart on Rudolph which in turn makes his Nose light up.

 

* The North Pole in the 2003 movie Elf strongly resembles the one in Rudolph, including a snowman character named Leon that parallels Sam the Snowman. The film's opening credits are nearly identical to that of the Rudolph TV special, as well. Additionally, when Will Ferrell's character Buddy sets out to find his father, he leaves by stepping onto a hunk of ice bordering the sea, which detaches and drifts away; this same means of transportation is used by Rudolph and others at various points in the special. Buddy and the rest of the elves are attired in outfits that are similar to that of the specials Head Elf.

 

* The main character of Tigers' Quest, Tiggra, comments that his brother -- named Donner by the author in an intentional nod to his favorite Christmas story -- once suggested that he should have been born with a "glowing red nose" instead of his abnormal white coat. Additionally, Tiggra's mate, Clairese, was named as an homage to Rudolph's girlfriend of the same name (but different spelling).

 

* In an episode of Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, Cookie attempts to force some younger students into making toys, and goes as far as dressing them in costumes much like the elves in the Christmas Special. One even exclaims he would rather be a dentist.

 

* The American Dragon: Jake Long holiday episode "Hairy Christmas" features Fu Dog dressed in the same outfit as Sam the Snowman. His waddle through the snow is done on a sled.

 

* In the Evil Con Carne episode "Christmas Con Carne" a reindeer named Rupert the Green-Nosed Reindeer saves Christmas from Hector's plan to put mind control devices in children's toys. For saving Christmas, Rupert is asked to pull Santa's sleigh. Rupert is a parody of Rudolph.

 

* In the Invader Zim episode "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever", the story of The Most Horrible X-mas Ever is told 2 million years in the future by a Robotic snowman named Mr. Sludgy (Voiced by Fred Tatasciore) who seems to be a parody of Sam The Snowman.

 

* The Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode: "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" features a spoof-like reference to The Island of Misfit Toys in an invention exchange; Joel, Tom, Crow and Gypsy have all invented new toy candidates for residency on the island: Toaster Dolls, Patrick Swayze's Roadhouse Board Game, EZ Bake Steel Foundry, and Mr. Mashed Potato Head.

 

Uses in advertising

 

* In 2004, office supplies retailer OfficeMax released a new commercial featuring the popular "Rubberband Man" character (played by Eddie Steeples) that they had introduced for the back to school shopping season earlier that year. The new holiday ad featured a stop motion puppet likeness of the Rubberband Man handing out Christmas presents to animated characters resembling those from the special.

 

* In November 2007, the Aflac insurance company aired a commercial that utilized the now Classic Media-owned Rankin/Bass characters. Rudolph has a cold and doesn't want to miss work and all his friends start to say that he won't be able to pay for his needs (food, electricity, and dental bills). Santa Claus comes through the cave they are in and tells them about Aflac. The Charlie-in-the Box wonders what will happen if he isn't better by Christmas, and Rudolph thinks the Aflac duck can do the work. Rudolph gets better in a week, but Blitzen is sick, so the Aflac duck fills in for him.

 

* Also in 2007, Food Network promoted their "Season's Eatings" campaign using Rankin/Bass likenesses of the network's personalities, including Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis, Paula Deen, Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay, and Rachael Ray.

 

* Alltel, Office Max, and Aflac commercials were created by Bent Image Lab, although they made unauthorized use of the copyrighted characters.

 

* Apple Inc. parodied Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in holiday 2007 indirectly by featuring Rankin/Bass likenesses of the Macintosh and PC characters, which were featured as people (a 'cool guy' as Mac and a 'nerd' as PC) on many commercials earlier in the year used to advertise Macintosh computers. The commercial featured Mac, PC (Personal Computer), and Santa Claus altogether signing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" as a trio, only for PC to ruin the song. The Santa Claus character in the commercial somewhat resembles the Santa Claus in the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas special.

[knightni]

Yeah baby, Yeah baby, you not gonna s*** right for a week!

 

12. Bad Santa

 

 

(5 of 21 lists - 48 points - highest ranking #1 Flash Tizzle)

 

Bad Santa is a Golden Globe-nominated 2003 comedy film directed by Terry Zwigoff, produced by Joel and Ethan Coen, and starring Billy Bob Thornton as the title character and Tony Cox as his partner in crime. Late comic actors Bernie Mac and John Ritter (in his final live-action film) co-star. Lauren Graham, Lauren Tom, Ethan Phillips, Brett Kelly, and Cloris Leachman are also featured.

 

The unrated version of the film was released on DVD in 2004 and on high-definition Blu-ray Disc (November 20, 2007) as Badder Santa (it is common to differentiate versions with a varied name; e.g., Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Bueller, Bueller Edition). A director's cut DVD was released in November 2006. It features Zwigoff's cut of the film (including an audio commentary with him and the film's editor), but is three minutes shorter than the theatrical cut and ten minutes shorter than the unrated version.

 

Production

 

Bad Santa, Zwigoff's fourth film, was his most mainstream, following the very limited releases of Crumb and Ghost World. The original screenplay was written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who had previously been known for the 2001 family film Cats and Dogs. They would later go on, alongside Bill Lancaster (the original screenwriter; although he has since died, he is still credited), to write the screenplay for the 2005 remake of The Bad News Bears, also starring Billy Bob Thornton. Prior to filming, producers Ethan and Joel Coen and director Zwigoff did rewrites on the script, although by WGA rules, they were uncredited.

 

Several different actors interested in the role of Willie were unable to participate due to scheduling conflicts. Among them were Jack Nicholson and Bill Murray, who were already filming Something's Gotta Give and Lost in Translation, respectively. Coincidentally, Nicholson, Murray, and Thornton all received Golden Globe nominations that same year for their roles, with Murray winning the award.

 

Plot

 

The film begins in a bar on a December night in Milwaukee, where the viewer is introduced to Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton), a bitter, lonely alcoholic. Willie works the holiday seasons as a mall Santa along with his dwarf friend, Marcus (Tony Cox), who works as Santa's elf. Every Christmas Eve, the two of them disable the security alarm after the mall closes and rob the mall safe; afterwards, Marcus returns to living with his wife, Lois (Lauren Tom), while Willie goes to Miami and spends all his money on booze.

 

At the new mall they plan to steal from, Willie's alcoholic rants arouse the suspicion of mall manager Bob Chipeska (John Ritter), who asks security chief Gin (Bernie Mac) to investigate. Meanwhile, Willie meets bartender Sue (Lauren Graham), and they begin a relationship. He also meets a pudgy, preteen boy, whom he nicknames the Kid (Brett Kelly), during their visit in the mall. When he leaves the bar and is confronted by a hostile man (Ajay Naidu), the Kid stops the man from beating up Willie after the guy falsely accuses Willie of being gay. A lonely, unpopular boy, the Kid lives with his senile grandmother (Cloris Leachman); his mother is dead and his father is in prison for embezzlement. After taking the Kid home to the Kid's father's mansion, Willie breaks into the house safe, takes all the money, "borrows" his father's BMW, and winds up spending the money on more booze.

 

Chipeska hears Willie having anal sex with an overweight woman in a changing room in the mall and tries to fire him. However, Willie and Marcus threaten to sue Chipeska for discrimination against African American "little people" like Marcus if they are fired, and Chipeska reconsiders. Marcus is irritated by Willie's reckless behavior, including his new car, his alcoholism, and flirtatiousness with customers and young women. When Gin breaks into Willie's motel room posing as a police officer, Willie takes up residence with the Kid, which proves to be quite a convenience. During his time spent with the Kid, Willie starts to show small signs of kindness, offering advice when the Kid is beaten by bullies and playing checkers with the Kid.

 

Willie has a series of incidents in the mall in between his time spent with the Kid and Sue. During one of his lunch breaks, he yells at a mother and son after Marcus insults him. Marcus is continually disgusted by how unreliable Willie has become. Gin, meanwhile, discovers the history of Marcus and Willie and he demands half of the money and merchandise they plan to steal, creating further friction between Willie and Marcus. Willie goes to the mall drunk the next day and destroys a reindeer display in a drunken rage, shocking the customers. Marcus and Gin try to cover it up, but get into an argument. The next day, Willie tries to commit suicide, giving the Kid a letter to give to the police when they would come to collect his corpse, explaining the mall robbery. He is motivated to live when he sees how the bullies have blackened the Kid's eye. He beats up the lead bully (Max Van Ville) as his friends run away and then gives the Kid a very unsuccessful (but hilarious) boxing lesson.

 

The Kid gives Willie a Christmas present in advance: a wooden pickle he bloodied when he cut himself carving it. He then gets a low-grade report card (all Cs, with the exception of one B), hoping to make Willie happy (from this, Willie learns the Kid's name: Thurman Merman). Thurman asks for a pink stuffed elephant this year, since he hadn't received any presents for the past two years.

 

That night, Marcus and Lois murder Gin with their van when he refuses to take less than half the money. On Christmas Eve, Sue helps Willie and Thurman decorate their house for Christmas. Willie leaves to rob the mall with Marcus. After cracking the safe, Willie takes a stuffed elephant for Thurman. However, Marcus produces a gun and reveals that he is going to kill Willie because he finally has become too unreliable for the job. Fortunately for Willie, the police arrive, having been tipped off by Willie's letter that Thurman gave them. Willie flees and speeds to Thurman's house in order to give him his present; he arrives at the house and is shot eight times by the police in front of the whole neighborhood.

 

Afterwards, Thurman gets his present and it is revealed that Willie has survived and will avoid prison time because of the letter he gave the police, and because "the Phoenix police department shooting an unarmed Santa Claus in front of children was more f***ed up than Rodney King." Marcus and Lois are both arrested and are in prison. Willie, Sue, and Thurman will form a kind of family upon Willie's release from the hospital as Sue is legally given guardianship of Thurman. Furthermore, in an ironic twist of events, Willie is to be made a sensitivity trainer for the police department, so that "incidences such as [Willie's getting shot] will never again embarrass the whole f***ing department."

 

In the final scene, Thurman wears a shirt that Willie sent him, which says on the back, "s*** happens when you party naked," together with his original present. When Thurman goes out for a bike ride, the head bully appears and starts to taunt Thurman by threatening to steal his bike. But Thurman kicks him in the balls and rides off giving the bully the middle finger.

 

Main Cast

 

* Billy Bob Thornton as Willie T. Stokes

* Tony Cox as Marcus

* Brett Kelly as Thurman Merman, the Kid

* Lauren Graham as Sue (aka Mrs. Santa's Sister)

* Lauren Tom as Lois (Marcus' wife)

* Bernie Mac as Gin Slagel

* John Ritter as Bob Chipeska

* Cloris Leachman as Grandma Merman

* Ajay Naidu as Homophobic Santa Hater

 

[knightni]

Mother always taught me: "Never eat singing food."

 

11. Muppet Christmas Carol

 

 

(5 of 21 lists - 50 points - highest ranking #3 SmashROT, scenario, knightni)

 

The Muppet Christmas Carol was the fourth feature film to star The Muppets, and the first produced after the death of Muppets creator Jim Henson. Released in 1992, it is one of many film adaptations of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

 

Plot

 

In this adaptation of the Christmas story narrated by Dickens himself (played by The Great Gonzo) with the occasional commentary of Rizzo the Rat, it is Christmas Eve in 19th century London. The merriment is not shared by Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine), a surly money-lender who is more interested in profit than celebration. So cold to the season of giving is he that his book-keeping staff, including loyal employee Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog), has to plead with him just to have the day off work during Christmas by pointing out that Scrooge would have no customers on the holiday and that it would waste coal to sit alone in the office. Scrooge's nephew, Fred, arrives to invite his uncle to Christmas dinner and two gentlemen also come to Scrooge's offices, collecting money in the spirit of the season. Scrooge rebuffs his nephew and complains that it isn't worth looking after the poor, as their deaths will decrease the surplus population. Fred is shocked at his uncle's uncharitable and cold nature, but repeats his invitation, makes his own donation and departs.

 

Later that evening, Scrooge finds himself face to face with the spirits of his former business partners, Jacob and Robert Marley (Statler and Waldorf) who have been condemned to shackles in the afterlife as payment for the horrible deeds they committed in life. They warn him that he will share the same fate, only worse, if he doesn't change his ways, and foretell the coming of three spirits throughout the night.

 

Scrooge is first visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past, a child-like specter who takes Scrooge on a journey back through time to his youth. He recalls his early school days, during which he focused on his studies (his sister, Fan/Fran is absent, but the Schoolmaster exists); the meeting of a young woman named Belle (Meredith Braun), with whom he would later fall in love; and the final parting between Belle and Scrooge, despite Scrooge's protests that he would marry her as soon as he had enough money. Later, Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present, a somewhat troll-like forgetful entity who lives only for the here and now. He gives Scrooge a glimpse into the holiday celebration of others, including Bob Cratchit and his family who, although poor, are enjoying Christmas together and reveling in the anticipation of the Christmas goose. The Spirit also shows Scrooge's own family, who aren't above cracking jokes at Scrooge's expense. Later, Scrooge meets The Ghost of Christmas Future, a silent entity, who reveals the chilling revelation that young Tiny Tim (Robin the Frog) will not survive the coming year, thanks in no small part to the impoverished existence of the Cratchit family. Furthermore, it is revealed that when Scrooge's own time has passed, others will certainly delight in his absence from the world, with local businessmen attending his funeral only for the free food and Scrooge's servants stealing the very clothes he was to have been buried in. It is this final epiphany that jolts Scrooge back into humanity, and makes him vow to celebrate with his fellow man. Scrooge plans a feast for Bob Cratchit and his kin and learns to adopt the spirit of Christmas throughout the year.

 

Cast

 

* Michael Caine as Scrooge

* Dave Goelz (voice) as Charles Dickens (The Great Gonzo), Robert Marley (Waldorf), Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Betina Crachit, Rat, Zoot

* Steve Whitmire (voice) as Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog), Rizzo the Rat, Beaker, Bean Bunny, Belinda Crachit, Beetle, Lips, Rat, Sprocket the Dog

* Jerry Nelson (voice) as Tiny Tim Cratchit (Robin), Jacob Marley (Statler), Ma Bear, Ghost of Christmas Present, Floyd, Lew Zealand, Mouse, Mr. Applegate, Penguin, Pig Gentleman, Pops, Rat

* Frank Oz (voice) as Emily Cratchit (Miss Piggy), Fozziwig (Fozzie Bear), Schoolmaster (Sam the Eagle), Animal, George the Janitor, Horse and Carriage Driver, Vegetable Peddler

* Steven Mackintosh as Fred

* Meredith Braun as Belle

* Robin Weaver as Clara

* Raymond Coulthard as Young Scrooge

* Russell Martin as Young Scrooge

* Theo Sanders as Young Scrooge

* Kristopher Milnes as Young Scrooge

* Edward Sanders as Young Scrooge

* David Shaw Parker as Voice of Old Joe

* Reginald Turner as Mr. Caine's Double

 

[dasox24]

I always argue this fact when people talk about Love Actually. I know it's not your position, but any dude friends that I have who say its a chick flick I just can't believe it. That movie is hilarious.

Exactly. It's not your stereotypical chick-flick in that it appeals to men too b/c it is hilarious. It's not your gushy, typical romantic comedy all about love, etc. One of my best friend's and I always have to defend our reasons for liking "Love Actually" when all of our other friends give us s*** about it.

[Flash Tizzle]

Soxtalk has disappointed me yet again. Bad Santa at #12? Are all you GOOFY?!

[knightni]

I'm going to try and do 3 or 4 this evening.

[knightni]

Susan, I speak French, but that doesn't make me Joan of Arc.

 

10. Miracle On 34th Street (1947)

 

 

(10 of 21 lists - 64 points - highest ranking #1 knightni)

 

Miracle on 34th Street (also titled The Big Heart in the UK) is a 1947 film written by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton, and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. It is the story of what takes place in New York City following Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, as people are left wondering whether or not a department store Santa might be the real thing.

 

The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmund Gwenn), Best Writing, Original Story (Valentine Davies) and Best Writing, Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, losing to Gentleman's Agreement.

 

Davies also penned a short novella version of the tale, which was published by Harcourt Brace simultaneously with the film's release.

 

In a Thanksgiving tradition, NBC airs the film every year after the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

 

Plot synopsis

 

Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) is indignant to find that the person (Percy Helton) assigned to play Santa in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is intoxicated. When he complains to the event's director, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara), she persuades Kris to replace him. He does such a fine job that he is hired to be the Santa for Macy's flagship New York City store on 34th Street at Herald Square.

 

Ignoring instructions to steer parents to goods that Macy's wants to sell, Kris tells one woman shopper (Thelma Ritter) to go to another store, Schoenfeld's, for a fire engine for her son that Macy's doesn't have. She is so impressed, she tells Julian Shellhammer (Philip Tonge), head of the toy department, that she will become a loyal Macy's customer. Kris later informs another mother that Macy's archrival, Gimbels, has better skates for her daughter.

 

Fred Gailey (John Payne), an attorney and neighbor of Doris, is babysitting the young divorcee's nine-year-old daughter Susan (Wood) and takes her to see Kris. When Doris finds out, she lectures Fred about filling Susan's mind with fantasy, as she has been raising Susan to be a practical young woman. Meanwhile, Susan witnesses Kris talking and singing with a Dutch World War II orphan girl in her native tongue and begins to wonder if perhaps Kris is real. (In the 1994 remake, Kris communicates with a deaf girl via sign language.) When Doris asks Kris to tell Susan the truth, Kris surprises her by insisting that he really is Santa Claus.

 

Upset that Kris really believes he is Santa, Doris decides to fire him. However, Kris has generated so much good publicity and customer goodwill for Macy's that a delighted R. H. Macy (Harry Antrim) promises Doris and Shellhammer generous bonuses, making it awkward to discharge the old man. To overcome Doris's misgivings, Shellhammer proposes a compromise: sending Kris to Granville Sawyer (Porter Hall) to get a "psychological evaluation". Kris easily passes the test, but antagonizes Sawyer by questioning Sawyer's own psychological health.

 

The store expands on the marketing concept. Anxious to avoid looking greedy by comparison, Gimbels implements the same referral policy throughout its entire chain, forcing Macy's and other stores to respond in kind. Eventually, Kris accomplishes the impossible: Mr. Macy shakes hands with Mr. Gimbel (Herbert H. Heyes). Kris then decides to donate his resulting extra bonus money to buy an X-ray machine for the nursing home at which he lives. Macy and Gimbel generously dicker down the price of the machine to wholesale price.

 

Doctor Pierce (James Seay), the doctor at Kris's nursing home, assures Doris and Shellhammer that Kris' apparent delusion is harmless and disagrees with the vindictive Sawyer, who argues that Kris should be placed in a mental hospital. Meanwhile, Fred offers to let Kris stay with him so he can be closer to his workplace. Kris makes a deal with Fred - he will work on Susan's cynicism while Fred does the same with the disillusioned Doris, still bitter over her failed marriage.

 

Then Kris learns that Sawyer has convinced a young, impressionable employee, Alfred (Alvin Greenman), that he is mentally ill simply because he is generous and kind-hearted (Alfred plays Santa Claus at his neighborhood YMCA). Kris confronts Sawyer and, in a fit of anger, raps him on the head with his cane. Doris and Shellhammer arrive at that point and only see the aftermath; Sawyer exaggerates his injury in order to have Kris confined to Bellevue mental hospital.

 

Tricked into cooperating and believing Doris to be part of the deception, a discouraged Kris deliberately fails his mental examination and is recommended for permanent commitment. However, Fred persuades Kris not to give up. To secure his release, Fred gets a formal hearing before Judge Henry X. Harper (Gene Lockhart) of the New York Supreme Court. Warned by Mr. Macy to get the matter dropped, Sawyer pleads with Fred not to seek publicity. To Sawyer's dismay, Fred thanks him for the idea. As a result, Judge Harper is put in an awkward spot - even his own grandchildren are against him for "persecuting" Santa Claus.

 

Fred quits his job at a prestigious New York law firm to defend Kris and has a falling out with Doris, who has no faith in his abilities and calls his resignation an "idealistic binge" over some "lovely intangibles." He replies that one day she may discover that those intangibles are the only worthwhile things in life.

 

At the hearing, New York County District Attorney Thomas Mara (Jerome Cowan) gets Kris to assert that he is in fact Santa Claus and rests his case, believing he has prima facie proven his point. Fred stuns the court by arguing that Kris is not insane because he actually is Santa Claus - and he will prove it. Mara requests the judge rule that Santa Claus does not exist. Judge Harper is warned privately in chambers by his political adviser, Charlie Halloran (William Frawley), that doing so would be politically disastrous for his upcoming reelection bid. The judge buys time by deciding to hear evidence before ruling.

 

Fred calls R.H. Macy as a witness. Mara pointedly asks if he really believes Kris to be Santa Claus. Realizing that denying Kris could ruin his Christmas sales season, Macy starts to give an equivocal answer, but when Mara asks him point-blank, Macy remembers the expressions on the faces of small children upon seeing Kris and firmly states, "I do!" On leaving the stand, Macy fires Sawyer. Fred then calls Mara's own young son to the stand. Thomas Mara Jr. testifies that his father had told him that Santa was real and that "My daddy would never tell a lie! Would you, daddy?" Outmaneuvered, Mara concedes the point.

 

Mara then demands that Fred prove that Kris is "the one and only" Santa Claus, on the basis of some competent authority. While Fred searches frantically for a way to prove his case, Susan, by now a firm believer in Kris, writes him a letter to cheer him up, which Doris also signs. A mail sorter (Jack Albertson) sees it and realizes that the post office could clear out the many letters to Santa taking up space in their dead letter office by delivering them to Kris at the courthouse.

 

Kris receives Susan's letter and is uplifted by this breakthrough. Just then, Fred learns that over 50,000 pieces of mail have been delivered to Kris. Seeing an opportunity, Fred first establishes the authority of the United States Post Office, maneuvers Mara into agreeing for the record and then presents Judge Harper with three letters addressed only to "Santa Claus" and notes that they have been delivered to Kris. Fred nonchalantly admits he "has further exhibits." When Judge Harper demands he "put them here on my desk", the post office delivers all the bags of letters to Harper's desk. Fred then argues that the United States Post Office, a branch of the federal government, accepts Kris' claim as the one and only Santa Claus. This conveniently lets Judge Harper, now struggling to crawl out from behind the bags of letters, to rule in favor of Kris. Afterwards, Doris invites Kris to dinner, but he reminds her that "it's Christmas Eve!"

 

On Christmas morning, Susan is disillusioned because Kris was unable to get her what she told him she wanted most, a house in the suburbs. As they are about to leave, Kris gives Fred and Doris a route home, supposedly to avoid traffic. Along the way, Susan is overjoyed to see the house of her dreams with a For Sale sign in the front yard. (The house exactly matches the drawing she had shown Kris earlier.) Fred learns that Doris had encouraged Susan to have faith, and suggests they get married and purchase the house. He then boasts that he must be a great lawyer, since he managed to do the seemingly impossible. However, when he notices a cane leaning against the fireplace that looks exactly like the one Kris used, he remarks uncertainly, "Maybe I didn't do such a wonderful thing after all."

 

Cast

 

* Maureen O'Hara as Doris Walker. O'Hara was initially reluctant to take the role, as she had returned to Ireland before being called back to America for the film. However, she immediately changed her mind after reading the script.

* John Payne as Frederick M. Gailey

* Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle

* Natalie Wood as Susan

* Porter Hall as Granville Sawyer

* William Frawley as Charlie Halloran

* Jerome Cowan as District Attorney Thomas Mara

* Philip Tonge as Julian Shellhammer

* Alvin Greenman as Alfred

* Gene Lockhart as The Hon. Henry X. Harper

* Harry Antrim as R. H. Macy

* Herbert H. Heyes as Mr. Gimbel

* James Seay as Dr. Pierce, a geriatrics physician at the Brooks Memorial Home for the Aged

* Thelma Ritter as a harried shopper

* Percy Helton as the drunken Santa Claus stand-in the parade

* Ann Staunton as Mrs. Mara

* Bobby Hyatt as Thomas Mara, Jr.

* Jack Albertson and Guy Thomajan as two United States Post Office Department employees

 

Production

 

Despite the fact that the film is set during the Christmas season, studio head Darryl F. Zanuck insisted that it be released in May, arguing that more people went to the movies during the summer. So the studio began scrambling to promote it while keeping the fact that it was a Christmas movie a secret. Fox's promotional trailer for the film depicted a fictional producer roaming the studio backlot and encountering such stars as Rex Harrison, Anne Baxter, Peggy Ann Garner and Dick Haymes extolling the virtues of the film. In addition, the movie posters predominately featured O'Hara and Payne with Gwenn's character kept in the background. By contrast, modern home video packaging has Gwenn and Wood dominating the imagery with the DVD release having Kringle in his Santa Claus costume.

 

The house shown at the end of the movie is located at 24 Derby Road in Port Washington, New York. It looks practically the same, except the roof line has been altered by the addition of a window.

 

Awards and honors

 

The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmund Gwenn), Best Writing, Original Story (Valentine Davies) and Best Writing, Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, losing to Gentleman's Agreement. It was ranked ninth by the American Film Institute on its AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers. In 2005, Miracle on 34th Street was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

 

In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Miracle on 34th Street was acknowledged as the fifth best film in the fantasy genre.

 

Inaccuracies

 

* There was no Mr. Macy per se by the time of the film. In 1896, R. H. Macy's was acquired by Isidor Straus, who went down with the Titanic in 1912.

* In the book, Reel Justice, the authors point out that Judge Harper had an easy way of dismissing the case early without the political repercussions he feared. This was when the prosecutor rested his case immediately after Kris Kringle admitted in court simply that he believed he was Santa Claus. In doing so, Judge Harper could have ruled that prosecution had forfeited its opportunity to prove that Kringle was dangerous, the basic point of such hearings (his actual mental state itself being irrelevant), and ordered the subject immediately released.

* When demonstrating that he has taken several mental examinations in the past, Kris Kringle says that Daniel D. Tompkins was John Quincy Adams' Vice President, but Tompkins actually served under James Monroe. John C. Calhoun was Adams' Vice President, and later Vice-President again for most of Andrew Jackson's first term of office.

 

Remakes

 

There are four remakes of the movie, as well as a Broadway musical. In addition, Lux Radio Theater broadcast an adaptation in 1948.

 

1955 version

 

A 1955 television movie starring Thomas Mitchell as Kris Kringle and Sandy Descher as Susan Walker. Titled The Miracle on 34th Street instead of just Miracle on 34th Street. Originally aired as an episode of TV's The 20th Century Fox Hour.

 

1959 version

 

A 1959 television movie starring Ed Wynn as Kris Kringle; also featured was Orson Bean. This version of the popular Valentine Davies story was broadcast live and in color on NBC the day after Thanksgiving in 1959 and seemed to have disappeared completely. NBC made a kinescope of the program, probably for broadcasting opening night on the West Coast. The copy was in a large collection of kinescopes donated by NBC to the Library of Congress and recently unearthed by Richard Finegan, who reported his quest and experiences in the December 2005 issue of Classic Images.

 

1963 Broadway musical

 

A 1963 Broadway musical version, entitled Here's Love, was written by Meredith Willson.

 

1973 version

 

A 1973 television movie starred Jane Alexander, David Hartman, Roddy McDowall, Sebastian Cabot, Suzanne Davidson, Jim Backus, David Doyle and Tom Bosley. It was adapted by Jeb Rosebrook from the George Seaton screenplay, and directed by Fielder Cook. Mrs. Walker's first name is changed to Karen in this version.

 

1994 version

 

A 1994 feature film version featured Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Dylan McDermott, J.T. Walsh, Timothy Shea, James Remar, Jane Leeves, Simon Jones, William Windom and Mara Wilson. It was adapted by John Hughes from the Seaton script, and directed by Les Mayfield. Due to Macy's refusal to give permission it was replaced by the fictitious "Cole's". Gimbels no longer existed by 1994 and was replaced with the fictional "Shopper's Express". Alvin Greenman (Alfred in the original version) was featured as the doorman.

 

This remake had a more serious tone than the original and a large portion of the movie was rewritten, although the majority of the plot and characters remained intact. The characters of Alfred and Sawyer were removed entirely and Kris is instead manipulated to land himself in trouble due to a conspiracy between the drunken Santa fired at the beginning of the film and the agents of a rival store.

 

This version made much of the fact that the world in its current state is filled with greed and cruelty as demonstrated by how willing the people in the conspiracy were to lock up an innocent, benevolent man for their own selfish ends. This is contrasted with the number of people who support Kris, which includes an orderly at the hospital where he's placed and, apparently, the police officers who arrested him. There is a scene where Kris tells Dorey that he sees himself (Santa Claus) as a symbol of hope and compassion in a jaded modern world of selfishness.

 

Another key difference is that the prosecutor concedes in the original movie there is no way to prove there is no Santa Claus. In the 1994 version however, he does try to disprove the existence of Santa Claus. For example, he points out in 1969 that Pope Paul VI downgraded St. Nicholas' feast day in response to the overcommercialization of Christmas.

 

The film also added a subtext concerning religious faith. This is demonstrated in the climax of this version, where Judge Harper rules in favor of Kris after Susan presents him with a Christmas card containing a one-dollar bill with the words "In God We Trust" circled and he declares that if the United States government can issue its currency bearing a declaration of trust in God on faith alone, then he can rule that Santa Claus exists in the man of Kris Kringle. The words "In God We Trust" were not added to U.S. paper currency until 1957, so they would not have been on the one-dollar bill when the original version was made.

 

The film also contains an early appearance by Allison Janney, who later played C. J. Cregg on the television series West Wing. In Miracle on 34th Street, she reprises the role played by Thelma Ritter in the original version. There is also an early appearance of Horatio Sanz as one of the hospital orderlies (This was brought to attention when Dylan McDermott hosted Saturday Night Live).